Page 17

CHAPTER 17

“ Y ou have scared off my wife,” Edwin joked as he watched her leave the study.

“She does not seem to appreciate our sense of humor.” Theo tutted, shaking his head.

“Then perhaps do not jest like that in her presence. She certainly does not like it when people make fun of me,” Edwin said proudly as he took his seat.

Magnus smiled. “She is quite principled.”

“Indeed, she is,” Edwin agreed. “And I adore her for it. No lady is as perfect as she is for me.”

“You seem completely enamored with her. That is a good thing,” William observed. “I feel the same about my wife.”

“Did I inform you that she charmed the Italian dignitaries so smoothly at the masquerade ball that they were immediately ready to do business with me?”

Magnus’s eyes widened. “Are you telling me that more doors would open for my business if I marry?”

Theo laughed. “Now, watch him try to ensnare a poor, unsuspecting lady into marriage.”

“Speaking of the masquerade ball, it is rather scary that you were attacked. We must find the culprit before he strikes again, don’t you think?” William asked.

Edwin nodded.

“You are right,” Magus said. “It is rather unusual for it to be a robbery. After all, people rarely get robbed at a ball where hundreds of people are in attendance. It is simply absurd.”

“If you will listen, I suppose I have an idea who attacked me—or rather, the man who ordered the attack.”

Theo’s eyes darkened. “Do you mean that the man who attacked you might have been sent by another?”

Edwin nodded. “I know how it must sound, but after discussing with my wife, I believe that my attacker was merely paid by another man—a far more influential man.”

“How?” William asked.

“Ava noticed that the attacker’s clothes were tattered, like those of a scoundrel on the streets,” Edwin explained. “Now, how would a thug know that there is a ball at Wellington’s residence if he was not already informed by a member of the ton?”

“Who could possibly hate you enough to send a scroungy man with a knife after you?” Magnus asked.

“I have a suspicion,” Edwin sighed.

His friends perked up. William scooted closer to him, Magnus furrowed his brow in worry, and even Theo, the jester, looked serious.

“Who do you think it could be?” William asked

“Think about it for a moment. One of the main reasons anyone would kill or harm a nobleman is money. Now, I do not have any business dealings with thugs. Why, then, would they want to harm or kill me? So, it must be someone from the ton who is affected by my business that paid the thug.”

Edwin watched as realization dawned on his friends’ faces.

“If we go by this assumption,” Theo said, “then you may have a dozen suspects. After all, it’s only normal for some people’s businesses to be impacted as your business grows. That is simply business.”

“There is a man,” Edwin admitted. “A man I suspect. His business was quite affected when I became the sole supplier of timber in Europe.”

Magnus gasped. “Are you speaking of the Earl of Wilbury?”

Edwin nodded. “Moreover, he has not quite hidden his grudge against me. In fact, shortly before Ava became my wife, I saw him approach her.”

Theo nodded. “Everyone in the ton knows that Wilbury has been telling everyone who would care to listen what he thinks of you.”

“But why would a respectable gentleman do something so diabolical?” Magnus asked.

“Money would make even the most respectable of men engage in illegal activities,” Theo said.

Edwin could not help but agree with him. Most gentlemen of the ton would engage in illegal activities for the right amount of money.

A good example of this was Magnus. He was inarguably the most respectable member of their group, and yet he had opened a gambling hell when he was in dire need of money. Edwin himself had invested in the business when he noticed how profitable it was.

“Theo is right. If some of us have engaged in rather unlawful schemes just for money, then who is to say that Wilbury would not attempt to kill me for the same?” He stared at Magnus as he said this.

“Warning your wife not to marry you is one thing, but making an attempt on your life? That is simply diabolical.” William furrowed his brow.

“He must pay if that is the case. We must make sure that Wilbury pays,” Magnus declared.

“But how do we make him pay if there is no evidence linking him to the crime?” Theo asked.

“You are right,” Edwin sighed. “To make him pay, I must find irrefutable evidence that proves his guilt.”

There was a moment of silence as they considered the best course of action.

“Gathering evidence would certainly be difficult,” Theo said, “especially since nobody saw the face of your attacker.”

“It might be a long shot, but I suppose I can help,” Magnus offered.

Edwin sat up quickly. “Anything you say now may help.”

“I could have Wilbury followed. Who knows, we might find something incriminating,” Magnus suggested.

Edwin simply nodded.

Nobody asked where Magnus would find the men who would tail Lord Wilbury. They did not need to. After all, in his business, it was not unusual for him to deal frequently with people of questionable character.

“I cannot help but wonder. Could you perhaps also ask them if they know who attacked me?” Edwin asked.

Magnus nodded. “Of course I can. But it is quite unlikely that they know. These thugs might brag about petty thefts, but they would never admit to a crime as grievous as attacking a duke at a ball,” he pointed out. “However, I am certain that we will know more about Wilbury by tailing him.”

“I believe you,” Edwin said.

If there was something he had learned over the years, it was that Magnus was not only influential in the ton, but he was also influential among common circles due to his business.

If there were one man who could unravel the mystery of his attacker, it would certainly be Magnus.

Edwin’s friends had only just left when Ava entered his study, gauze and other dressing materials in hand.

He groaned. “Ava! I promise you, you do not need to change the dressing yet.”

Ava shook her head, an amused look on her face as she set the materials down. “I am afraid I must. And you’d better not resist,” she warned. “Remember, I successfully treated my sister’s wounds right from childhood to their rebellious teenage years.”

Edwin chuckled. “Now, I am absolutely terrified.”

“You should be,” she cautioned as she slowly stepped towards him. “I will not take no for an answer.”

“Fine!” Edwin threw his hands up in surrender.

“You agree?” She paused, looking at him with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

“You seem surprised,” he noted.

“Perhaps because I know you like to put up a fight.”

Edwin laughed. “Perhaps I realized I need not to when I can simply get something out of the arrangement.”

He watched as she leaned back, eyeing him with suspicion.

“Now, what depraved activity have you cooked up this time?” she asked.

Edwin pressed his lips together in a bid to suppress a smile.

“Depraved?” he gasped, trying his best to look hurt. “You have no idea just how much your words wound me.”

“I would have believed that if I thought you capable of feelings,” she jested.

“My proposition is simple; you help me with my writing and I let you dress my hand. You see, there is nothing suspicious going on.”

A small smile crept onto Ava’s lips as she eyed him. “I still do not quite trust you.”

“Why?” He feigned surprise.

“Why would you want me to help you with your writing?” she asked.

Edwin waved his bandaged hand. “You might not have noticed, but I was stabbed in the hand, and as of right now, I simply cannot use my hand.”

“You are far too dramatic,” Ava said, chuckling. “I mean, there are a number of people you could ask to help you with your writing. Your steward, perhaps, or your valet. I am certain they would be more than pleased to assist you. You do not need me.”

Edwin knew she had caught him. However, he was determined not to surrender without a fight.

“I just do not trust any of those men with confidential documents.”

“You do not trust your steward and valet, whom you have known for years, and yet you trust your wife, whom you have known for only a matter of months?”

Edwin shrugged. “You are my wife. If I do not trust my own wife, then who can I trust?”

“Fine,” she relented as she sat on the chair opposite his. “But you must know that I am aware that you have something up your sleeve.”

“Uh… Ava,” he said, “I’m afraid I must point out that your choice of seat is quite inconvenient.”

“Is that so?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.

“I would rather you sit close to me.” He patted his lap as he gave her a suggestive look.

Ava shook her head, amused. “When you say I must sit close to you, you cannot perhaps mean that I must sit on your lap, do you?” she gasped.

“It is only so I can properly instruct you on what to write,” he insisted.

He watched as she tapped a finger against her luscious lips, as though she were deep in thought, and he felt his cock harden. He could not help it; simply watching his wife aroused him.

“Fine!” She rose to her feet. “However, I must warn you. If you do anything inappropriate or untoward, I will have no choice but to leave.”

Edwin lifted his hands in surrender. “I promise you, I will not do anything unless it is necessary for you to help me write.”

“Hmm!” she grunted as she approached him, holding his gaze.

Edwin swiftly pushed his chair back to create space for her. She finally stopped in front of him and turned around so that her back was facing him. A wave of heat rushed through his body.

When she finally sat on his lap, he took a sharp breath, and a groan escaped his lips. The heat radiating from his chest seeped into her, and she felt a hard length probe her buttocks.

“Why is it so uncomfortable?” she muttered as she rose to her feet.

It took everything in him not to pull her right back into his lap.

She braced her hands on his thighs as she sat again. This time, as she lowered herself onto him, his member nestled perfectly between her buttocks.

“Now, this is quite better,” she muttered, squirming a little to make herself comfortable.

“Uh…” he grunted.

“Is anything the matter?” she asked, peering curiously over her shoulder at him.

Edwin simply shook his head; his voice would betray him if he spoke.

“Good!” She turned back and sifted through the papers on his desk. “Now, what document do you need my help with?”

Edwin gestured to a stack of papers on his left, and she pulled them towards herself.

“Now, what is this?” she hummed, peering at the first paper in the pile. “It is a letter from the steward.”

“Indeed.” Edwin nodded. “He wanted to know if he must review the rent for some of the tenants.”

“What do you say then?” she asked.

Edwin sighed as he considered.

Ava trembled slightly in his lap. It was quite subtle, but he caught it in the same way he caught the goosebumps that rose over her skin when his breath fanned it.

He smiled wickedly to himself.

“Tell the steward that I do not wish to raise the rent. Let us give the tenants another season,” he replied.

“That is quite kind of you, I must say.” She dipped her quill into the inkwell, then leaned over the paper and started scribbling a response.

“You may not believe me, but I am far from the monster the ton has painted me as,” Edwin murmured.

“I am not quite certain, husband. After all, I have seen you transform into a hideous monster and set out in the dead of night to kidnap children.”

That coaxed a laugh out of him. “I suppose you are right.”

He leaned over her shoulder to see what she was writing. Then, he pulled back a little so that his mouth hovered near her ear.

“Now, tell him that…”

Ava shivered slightly.

“Are you fine?” Edwin asked.

Ava cleared her throat. “Quite fine.”

He nodded. “Good. Now, let’s continue. Tell him to ensure that the repairs on the summer house are finished as soon as possible.”

She scribbled in silence for a moment. “Done.”

“Now, to the next one,” he said. “I must write a letter to Parliament.”

“That sounds rather important.”

“Indeed, it is. I cannot attend the next sitting, so I must make my stance known,” he explained. “Now, write that I simply cannot support Lord Wilbury’s bill because while it is rather advantageous for nobles, it would cause even more hardship for the merchants and middlemen.”

Ava scribbled on for a few more moments and then stopped, raising her head.

Edwin reached out his uninjured hand towards the letter. His arm grazed her breast, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hmm! You have done well to capture my tone.” He made a show of reading the letter, even as his arm rested against her breast.

“I take it that you like what I’ve written, then?”

“Indeed, I do. Now, the next letter shall be to my accountant. Tell him”—he lowered his left hand to her lap and slowly pulled up the skirt of her gown—“to send a cheque of fifty pounds to the merchant…”

Ava pretended not to notice what he was doing, and that excited him even more.

“… who is importing the drapes for the drawing room. Then”—he bunched up her skirt till he reached the hemline, exposing her lap—“tell him that he must give…”

He traced his fingers slowly up her chemise. Ava’s breath itched, and she stiffened.

“… thirty pounds to Mr. Ashworth for the ponies”—he stopped when he reached her crotch—“that he shall be supplying me with.”

“Is that… Is that all?” Ava asked in a hoarse voice.

“Yes. Now, write.”

Ava leaned away from him as she pored over the papers, consequently pushing her buttocks back, giving him even more access to her crotch.

Edwin smiled wickedly before tracing a single finger across her hips through her chemise. The fabric, even though a barrier, made his touch even more sensual.

Ava arched her back and made a sound he could not quite decipher. However, she did not stop writing.

“I like how dedicated you are to the task I gave you,” he praised.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Edwin found the bundle of nerves at the apex of her sex and stroked it lightly.

A moan escaped her lips. “Edwin…”

“Did you just call my name?” he asked.

Ava shook her head.

“Good.” He rubbed circles around her bud and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her neck.

“Oh!” she gasped loudly, her hand knocking into the inkwell.

The inkwell tilted to the side, and in the next moment, dark ink spilled on the paper.

Ava gasped. “Oh, no!”

“Tsk! Tsk! How could you let this happen?”

Ava glanced back at him, scrunching up her face. “It was you. You were bent on distracting me.”

“That is only an excuse,” Edwin said lightly. “You never told me to stop, did you?”

“I must rewrite this,” she groaned.

Edwin turned her around to face him with his injured hand. “I would say you have to atone for your misdeeds, don’t you agree? Perhaps the punishment might remind you that you must not let yourself be distracted next time.”

Ava raised her eyebrows at him. “It is hardly my fault.”

“It does not matter. You do not have to worry, of course. My hand is injured, so I cannot punish you myself.”

Ava sighed dramatically. “Whatever shall you do, then? Punish me some other day?”

“I have an even better idea!” A wicked gleam entered his eyes. “You do it yourself.”

Ava looked rather shocked. “Do it myself? How would?—”

“You do not have to worry,” he assured her. “I shall instruct you. You will be fine if you follow my instructions.”

Ava nodded.

“Stand up and strip out of your gown.”

While she busied herself with doing that, he cleared the desk.

By the time he turned back to her, she was only clad in her chemise. He nodded in approval.

“Sit on the desk,” he instructed.

She took confident steps towards the desk and sat on the edge, still facing him.

“Take out your breast slowly,” he said, “and keep your eyes on mine.”

He watched as she pushed her chemise off her shoulders and then down her chest to bare her round, large breasts. He simply could not keep his eyes off them.

“Beautiful…” Edwin swallowed.