He waited a few minutes before asking, “are you warmer now?”
“Yes, thank you for thinking of this. I would never make such a suggestion.”
“Gillian, if I may state the obvious, we are in our coach alone. Mother and Philly are in London. No one will interrupt us if I lift your chin and kiss you. I would venture to say I may be able to kiss you several times before we arrive at Whitings’ front gates.”
To his delight, he felt her smile against his linen. Maybe, he would be able to manage this marriage business after all.
“I’ve never been kissed on the open road before.”
While he wanted to know exactly who and where she was situated when whoever the blackguard was who kissed her, he bit back the question.
“My dear Gillian, we must correct that oversight this very instant.”
He tightened his hold on her and eased her around until she was flush against his chest. Ever so slowly, he lowered his head and touched his lips to hers. He nibbled at her bottom lip and nudged her chin downward to gain entrance to her mouth.
Moreham moaned as Gillian shivered and reached upward to wind her arms around his neck. His virgin wife did have an innate sense of what to do when kissing. He relished the feel of her tongue caressing his own. Never had a simple kiss affected him so. A tingling sensation shuddered through him as Gillian eased herself onto his lap to press herself even closer. What absolute bliss this was.
One moment Gillian was kissing him and the next she was not. “Look! There is Whitings. Through the trees. Just there. Do you see?” She all but bounced across the seat to look out the window before looking back at him and smiling another one of those fulsome smiles of hers. “I am so glad we will have these days here. I know you are chomping at the bit to start sleuthing, but I’m so glad to have time to say my goodbyes to the staff. They are like my family. I grew up here. Aunt Isadora would accompany Uncle Whitney to Town for the season and several other trips a year. She felt it was better for me to remain behind. I resented that edict at the time but now I know she gave me a wonderful gift in my friends here.”
Seizing the opportunity, he slipped across the seat and nestled her body back against his chest then leaned forward to look out over her shoulder. The coach rocked and Moreham grabbed her around her waist and pulled her even closer. If Cross or Sturm had predicted he would be here with his wife in his arms, he would have laughed in his friends’ faces.
“Hmmph! Oh my, I must have the steward fill in the holes in the drive before Uncle Whitney arrives.” Gillian noted.
Gillian moved to sit up, but he held her in place. This was an opportunity he was not going to cast aside. No doubt the household staff waited for them in the house for formal introductions. If he had to share Gillian with her friends then he would avail himself of a kiss. Moreham maneuvered her around so he could look into her eyes for a sign she wanted this kiss as much as he did.
Not seeing rejection, he lowered his head. Contact with the metal rims of her spectacles scraped his nose. Gillian reared back and removed the offensive item and gave him an expectant look. His breath caught in his throat for a moment before throwing all caution to the wind and kissing her again.
Moreham wished he could call up to his coachman to continue around the drive for the rest of the day. He knew any moment, Gillian would realize they had stopped by the front portico of the manor, where the butler stood waiting, and draw away from him.
To Moreham’s surprise, no footman flung open the coach door, and more importantly, Gillian did not pull away. He took her by the shoulders and eased her back.
“Gillian, we have arrived.”
He’d never seen any woman look as beautiful as she did at that moment. Why had he ever thought merely pretty? Her eyes glowed, filled with wonder. She reached out and touched his lips.
“I never knew. Last night…this kiss? Why doesn’t someone tell ladies lovemaking is to be relished not repelled? I mean with the right man. At this moment, I know you are the right man for me. I’m so glad our paths crossed.”
Her confession surprised him so much he couldn’t hold back his laughter. “Oh, Gillian, your honesty warms my heart. To answer your question, we are getting out of this carriage or I will embarrass you by telling John Coachman to depart and drive through the lanes for the rest of the day and have my most wicked way with you. Sweetness, no one tells young ladies about the pleasure of kissing because then young ladies would want to be kissed, then the ladies would want to learn what else there is which is when all the trouble starts. Quite a conundrum, don’t you think?”
He stretched across the coach and rapped on the wall behind the coachman’s seat. The door sprung open immediately with Whitney’s butler standing at the ready on the bottom step under the portico. The man’s officious bearing was marred by the huge grin he wore.
“Shall we?” Moreham asked before stepping out of the coach before taking her hand. He enjoyed touching her. A twinge of foreboding wafted around in his brainbox, but he refused to think on it. The day was beautiful, and he had just kissed his wife. Her reaction to said kiss had been every bit as
