"Now that you are here, we ought to make some new plans." Prudence cast a thoughtful glance at the wardrobe. "We must discover a way to conceal you in case the apparition appears."
"You may forget the wardrobe," Sebastian said. "I have no intention of spending the rest of the night in it."
"Where will you hide, then? Under the bed?"
Sebastian swore softly. "I don't think it will be necessary for me to conceal myself until we have some indication that the ghost is about to make his appearance."
"But if the apparition proves to be one of Mrs. Leacock's nephews, we don't want to let him know you're here. We cannot light a candle and we must be very quiet."
Sebastian raised his brows. "I assure you, I can be extremely quiet. There is plenty of light from the moon, so we do not need a candle. For once there is no damned fog, although I suspect it will arrive again at dawn. Our only concern now is how to pass the time until our ghost chooses to appear."
She looked at him expectantly. "We probably should not converse. We might be overheard."
"I agree." Sebastian walked toward her.
"I suppose we could play a hand of whist," Prudence suggested. "Unfortunately, I do not happen to have any cards with me."
"Then we shall have to think of some other method of amusing k ourselves." Sebastian caught her chin between thumb and forefinger. He gently raised her face so that he could see her eyes more clearly.
Prudence stood very still, as if the touch of his hand had stunned her into immobility. She looked up at him with a wide, searching gaze that held both curiosity and wariness.
"My lord?" she whispered breathlessly. I
"There is something I wish to know, Prue."
Her lips parted slightly. The tip of her tongue touched the corner of her mouth. "What is that?"
"Do you think it possible that you can discover something more to recommend me than just my amusing little hobby?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Allow me to show you," he said softly.
Sebastian bent his head and brushed his mouth slowly across her lips. She made a small, inarticulate little sound that utterly captivated him.
Deliberately he deepened the kiss and traced the fine line of her jaw with his thumb.
A delicate shiver went through Prudence. Sebastian felt it instantly. Relief and satisfaction poured through him. He could make her want him, he told himself.
Prudence moaned softly as he eased apart her lips. He felt her hands move first to his shoulders. Then her arms stole around his neck. She pressed herself closer.
Heat rose within him. He could hardly feel the cold at all now. It had been temporarily banished by the fire of his need for Prudence.
Prudence gasped when he temporarily freed her mouth to explore her soft neck. "Sebastian, I don't know if this is a sound notion."
"Trust me, Prue."
"I do trust you," she said quickly.
"Good." He slid his hand down her back, deliberately urging her closer until her soft breasts were crushed against his chest and the gentle curve of her mound pressed against his shaft. His body was already hard with arousal.
"Sebastian, you make me feel so very strange." Prudence gently touched the nape of his neck. The caress sent a thrill of anticipation through him. She stood on tiptoe and tangled her fingers in his hair. Then she began to return his kisses with untutored passion.
She had obviously n'ot learned much from Underbrink, Sebastian thought with deep satisfaction.
His blood surged through his veins like heavy lightning. All thoughts of trapping a ghost fled. He could handle an apparition or two if one happened to appear tonight. In the meantime there were far more important matters.
He was going to make love to Prudence, who, whether she knew it or not, would soon be his wife.
"Sebastian?"
"It's all right, my sweet." He drew her toward the vast bed. "Everything will be all right."
"I cannot seem to think clearly when you are kissing me," she complained.
"Neither can I." Sebastian smiled. "Fortunately, there is no pressing need for clear thinking at a time like this." He gently removed her spectacles and set them on the nightstand.
She gazed anxiously at him, as if he had lifted a veil and left her completely exposed. An aching tenderness welled up within Sebastian.
"You are lovely," he whispered.
Her eyes widened in startled surprise. "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I really think so." He took her earlobe between his teeth and bit gently. "And I want you very much."
"You want me?" She sounded dazed now, as if her exceedingly clever little brain had suddenly come up against a truly baffling dilemma. "I'm not certain I comprehend your meaning, my lord."
"You will comprehend it soon enough. God knows I cannot hide it much longer. You have no notion of your effect on me, do you?"
Her smile was tremulous. "If my effect on you is anything like yours on me, we are faced with a most unusual problem, sir. I am not at all certain what we should do next."
"As it happens, I know precisely what to do next."
Sebastian lowered his head and kissed her again. Her arms tight-sned around his neck. When he felt her lean into him in a silent signal of feminine surrender, he eased the toe of his boot between her slippered feet.
She drew in her breath but made no protest when he gently forced his thigh between her legs. The skirts of her gown rode upward as he lifted his knee and planted his foot on the bed behind her.
Prudence gave a tiny, muffled shriek when she abruptly found herself straddling his thigh as if she were perched astride a horse.
"Sebastian. Good heavens." She clung to him in shock.
"Hush, my sweet. We must not make too much noise. We don't want to scare off the ghost." Sebastian groaned as he felt the intimate beat of her soft, warm femininity burning through his breeches.
Not just heat, he thought triumphantly, but a telltale dampness, too. He caught the faint, tantalizing scent of Prudence's growing arousal and very nearly lost his self-control.
"My lovely, Prue," he said in awed wonder. "Where have you been all these years?"
"In Dorset," she said very seriously.
Sebastian hid his smile in her hair. He slipped his hand up along her stocking-clad leg and touched the top of her bare silken thigh. She flinched in reaction. Then she breathed deeply.
"For some reason," Sebastian said, "I feel I know you very, very well. It is as if we were old friends, you and I. Or perhaps lovers."
"How very odd." Her voice was dreamy now, soft and warm and thick with desire. "I was thinking much the same thing just before you arrived. It is as if we have been intimate acquaintances for years, although we have known each other for only a very short time."
"We are going to know each other even more intimately before this night is done," Sebastian vowed.
He could wait no longer. She wanted him and he wanted her. They were engaged. It was suddenly all very simple and straightforward.
Sebastian eased his booted foot back down off the quilt, lowering Prudence slowly onto her toes. Before her feet had quite touched the floor, he was pushing her back onto the bed.
He drew in his breath at the sight of her lying there amid the rumpled white sheets. Her skirts foamed above her knees, revealing the garters that secured her practical cotton stockings. The curve of her calf was very elegant as it tapered down to her delicately shaped ankle. Above the garters her thighs were beautifully rounded.
Sebastian stared down at Prudence's legs and envisioned them wrapped around his waist. He heard himself make a hoarse, inarticulate sound deep in his throat.
"Is something wrong?" Prudence looked up at him in concern.
"No, nothing is wrong. Nothing has ever been this right." Sebastian ripped at the fastenings of his shirt. He heard the fine linen tear, but he paid no attention. All that mattered now was making love to Prudence.