Page 40 of Sir Hugo Seeks a Wife (Cinderellas of Mayfair #1)

A Yorkshireman for me!

Sir Hugo has my heart.

I’ll take what I can see.

We’ll never be apart.

Athene watched as Hugo pulled the carriage up with a flourish in the stable yard. Paul emerged to take the horses’ heads. “Good morning, Paul.”

He dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Sir Hugo. Lady Brinsmead.”

Athene still started every time anyone called her Lady Brinsmead. She supposed that one day, she’d get used to it. In about twenty years maybe.

She glanced around the empty yard. Hugo’s stables were large and modern and should be bustling with activity. “Are you all on your own?”

Paul and Hugo shared a glance. Hugo answered. “I sent all the staff on an outing to the coast. I wanted you to myself when I showed you your new home.”

“What a lovely thought.” She smiled at him. These days, she did a lot of smiling. “But that means Paul’s missed out on the treat.”

“I don’t mind, my lady. Sir Hugo’s promised to train me up with Fogg. I might be head groom one day.” The prospect made the boy’s eyes shine.

Hugo sent him an approving glance. “You proved your worth when her ladyship was missing, lad. I’m lucky to have you working for me.”

Paul went as red as a rowanberry with pleasure and managed a flustered bow.

“Now, once you get the horses settled, you can head off for an afternoon with your family.” Hugo jumped down from the carriage and held his hand out to assist Athene. “Your mother will love seeing you.”

Paul gave them both a happy grin. “Aye, Sir Hugo. Thank you.”

Athene felt barely a twinge as she stepped out of the carriage. Which was a relief. For weeks, every movement had been agony. “You’re a kind man, Hugo Brinsmead. It’s one of the first things I noticed about you.”

Hugo gave a theatrical grimace as Paul led the horses away. “Not my manly physique?”

She laughed. “Trust me, I noticed that as well. You crowded out poor Sylvie’s shop.”

He hooked her arm through his and turned toward the yard entrance. “I’m a big bugger.”

“You are,” she said. “It’s rather thrilling.”

She thought that she heard him muffle a groan. Since her accident, their relations had been of necessity chaste. At first, even kissing had been painful. Hugo had borne his enforced celibacy with good humor, but she could tell that all this proximity without sexual congress wore on his nerves.

It wore on her nerves, too. Especially once she started feeling better.

“I’m glad you think so. It’s too late to decide you prefer a fellow built like a greyhound.”

She laughed again and looked around as they strolled along the side of the mansion. The unseasonal sunlight turned the local stone silver.

Hugo noticed her curiosity. “Would you like to see the grounds?”

Actually she had a few ideas about what she’d like to do. And appealing as the outdoors might be today, she required privacy to bring those ideas to fruition. “No, inside, I think.”

They rounded the building to reach the front. A gravel turning circle extended in front of an elegant double staircase that led up to a porticoed door. “The house is lovely, Hugo.”

Pleasure brightened his expression. “I hoped you’d like it.”

“How could I not?” It was smaller than Clere Towers where she’d grown up. That appealed to her. Already she sensed a warmth at Hampden Crags that promised future contentment. “It strikes me as a place where people have been happy.”

“I had a very jolly childhood.” He drew her up one of the flights of stone steps. “Although at times, I couldn’t help thinking that a chap didn’t need quite so many sisters.”

She laughed. When Hugo’s sisters had called on them in York, they’d welcomed her into the family. It was clear that they loved their brother and were delighted that he’d found his bride. “Whereas I longed for a sister. You could have sent one of yours over to keep me company.”

After all these years alone, she could still hardly believe that she now had a family.

Miles had accepted her back into his life, and Hugo’s large and exuberant clan treated her as one of their own.

She’d worried that they might disdain a woman who worked in a sweet shop, but they’d been fascinated about her life in London.

“There were times when I’d have been pleased to send you the lot of them.” He wasn’t doing much of a job of hiding his fondness for his sisters, so she didn’t exactly believe him.

She was yet to meet his mother, who currently enjoyed her wedding trip in Italy. But the new Lady Repton had sent her a lovely letter, saying how much she looked forward to meeting her son’s bride when she and Sir Henry returned in April.

Athene and Hugo paused behind the graceful balustrade on the top landing. He bent his head to study her. “How are you holding up? Was the drive from York too long? Maybe we should have stopped at an inn halfway.”

She loved his care for her, but she reached a point where she was ready to claim the rest of her life. “I’m fine, Hugo. The doctor said as long as I’m cautious, I can do most things now.”

The concern in his face lingered. “Jolting around in a carriage must have been uncomfortable. I should have been more careful. I was just in such a damned hurry to get you here. I’ve pictured you in my home since I met you.”

She stretched up on her toes and kissed him. When he pulled away after a few seconds – the way he’d pulled away so often since her accident – she murmured in protest and caught the back of his head. The kiss deepened, promised more to come.

By the time they drew apart, Athene had reason for satisfaction. Hugo wanted her just as powerfully as she wanted him. He was just being considerate, which at this point was admirable but annoying.

He opened the door to reveal a hall tiled in black and white and another grand stone staircase rising to the upper floors. “Welcome to your new home, lass.”

“I already love it, Hugo.” She cupped his jaw. “But not as much as I love you.”

He kissed her again. “And I love you.”

When she stepped forward, Hugo caught her arm. “Wait. I’ve been dreaming of this moment.”

Puzzled, she glanced back then gave a gasp of surprise as he swung her up into his arms. “How gallant.”

His lips twitched. “Get used to it, my love.”

Her silly heart thrilled as he crossed the threshold into the cavernous hall. He was inclined to mock his powerful physique, but something primitive and female inside her melted at the knowledge that he was so strong and protective.

She curled her hand around his neck and tugged at the hair at his nape. “Take me upstairs, Hugo.”

“Are you tired?” He frowned in concern. “I knew that trip was too much for you.”

She responded with a huff of amusement. Perhaps he was sometimes a little overprotective. He’d treated her like she was made of Venetian glass since he’d found her with Miles at the King’s Arms.

“Hugo, I’m not tired at all.” Fumbling a little, she loosened the bow at her chin that secured her bonnet. Without checking where it landed, she dropped the expensive frippery to the ground. “Except perhaps tired of my husband avoiding his marital duties.”

Shock widened Hugo’s gaze. “Are you sure?”

Athene arched her eyebrows. “Don’t you want to?”

His groan told her all she needed to know about his frustration. “Don’t be a deuced lackwit, Athene. You know I want to.”

“Then?”

He strode to the base of the staircase. “Promise me that you’ll tell me if there’s any pain.”

“I promise. Although what hurts right now is wanting you like this and not having you.”

He met her gaze, his blue eyes shining with ardor. “I’ll be careful.”

She drew a deep breath, feeding her senses with his fresh leather and horses and open-air scent. “The first time.”

It was his turn to laugh. He began to climb the stairs, and she snaked her hand around the back of his neck. “My lady, you put me to the blush.”

She had a vague impression of paintings on the wall then a long corridor lined with a red and blue carpet. Hugo carried her into an airy bedchamber with a huge oak four-poster in the corner. A fire blazed in the hearth. He must have timed things so the staff weren’t long gone.

“Shall I put you down?” Hugo asked.

She pushed off his stylish beaver hat. “What do you want to do?”

“Hell, Athene, I want to lay you across that bed and push so deep that I become part of you.”

A thrill crackled through her, as she brushed back the wing of golden hair that flopped across his forehead. “That’s what I want, too.”

Excitement lit his eyes to sapphire. Her need surged as he swung her around and set her upon the bed. He stepped back to remove his gloves and his navy superfine coat. With shaking hands, he ripped off his waistcoat. A button rattled on the wooden floor at the edges of the Turkey carpet.

“The shirt, too,” she ordered, stripping off her own gloves.

He hauled his shirt over his head.

“Mmm, yes,” she sighed, luxuriating against the bedspread. She loved his broad, powerful chest with its light covering of golden hair.

He grunted with amusement. “You’ve seen it all before.”

She had, but not for a while. While her injuries healed, he’d insisted on sleeping apart. He’d worried about moving around in his sleep and crashing into her. She supposed it made sense, but she’d missed him like the very devil. “It never gets stale.”

He approached the bed. “Shall I take off your shoes?”

“Yes, please.”

He made short work of sliding off her red half boots. After a few deft touches, she no longer wore stockings either. “Drawers, too?”

“Yes.” She bumped her hips up, as he shoved the froth of skirts and petticoats aside.

He untied her undergarments and tugged them down her legs.

When he placed a kiss on her pubic hair, her muscles constricted in uncontrollable response.

“If you want me to help you out of that dress, you’ll have to sit up. ”

The earthy proof of her excitement edged every breath. Hugo’s nostrils flared, as he caught the scent of her arousal. “I don’t want to wait that long.”