Felix remembered the softness of her skin against his lips as if it were yesterday. He craved the strength of her fingers in his hair as he brought her to release with his tongue and mouth. His heart raced at the thought of her skin pressed against his once more.
His body tensed at the memory.
“Hastings,” the duke called, appearing from Sally’s shadow suddenly. He must have been there the whole time Felix had lingered at the door burning from within.
“Your Grace.” Felix swiftly buried the longing as Sally’s grandfather approached, reminding himself to keep his feelings private.
Rutherford hobbled closer, using his canes for support. “So glad you could join us.”
As if he could refuse. “A pleasure, Your Grace.”
Admiral Templeton, Earl of Templeton, Sally’s father and the duke’s heir, approached too. His face was red and he clutched a drink in hand. “Thank you for coming at such short notice. Sorry about this nonsense interfering with business.”
“I understand completely.” He nodded, noticing that Sally’s spine had stiffened as he spoke. It pleased him to know she recognized his voice after so long, because she had always had that effect on him. As a young man, he had been head over heels. Hopelessly drawn to her despite their differences in background and her being his commanding officer’s eldest daughter.
She turned slowly and their eyes met. The dark of the churning winter sea before a storm offered a friendlier welcome. Her eyes narrowed farther as he smiled. Perhaps he had expected too much of her to have seen the error in her assumptions on her own. Her father’s intrigues ran deep even now.
He bowed and took a step closer. “My lady.”
The courtesy, a formality to everyone else, rang true as he spoke the words. Sally had been his once, and he still considered her the star about which he turned. Everything he had done in his career was to protect her way of life. To prove himself worthy of winning her back.
The lady at Sally’s side took in his dress uniform with exaggerated slowness. “Do we know each other? Captain?”
A tense undercurrent swept the room when Sally made no immediate response.
He had not hoped for much of a welcome, but refusing to identify him was a cruel blow to his pride. Especially after what they had done together that last night. He faced the stranger and bowed. “Captain Felix Hastings at your service.”
The lady cast a startled glance at Sally but recovered her composure quickly, smiling with a fierceness he could not mistake for anything else but protectiveness of Sally. “Oh, I have long wanted to meet you, sir. Lady Duckworth, Arianna to my dearest friends, of Lofton Downs.”
The name Arianna was somewhat familiar, but not the title. There had been a woman, a connection of Sally’s, who had been spoken of frequently if he recalled correctly. Time and circumstance had kept them from meeting when they had been younger.
He bowed politely. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he murmured, keeping watch on Sally’s face because she was near and he was uncertain of this other woman.
Lady Duckworth beamed at him. “Sally, have you been introduced?”
“I cannot recall.” She smiled, but her eyes flashed with irritation at the question.
“Yes, I think we have met before. In Portsmouth, six years ago it must have been now,” he answered for Sally. Her eyes narrowed to slits and he smiled widely, enjoying her discomfort. “I was a lieutenant aboard the admiral’s ship in those days.”
Young and foolish.
Sally cleared her throat. “Laurence, my younger brother, serves aboard the captain’s ship now.”
Oh, yes she remembered him. She just did not want to be reminded of the past or their engagement. Just like everyone else in her family. “Indeed, I do command him. He is a fine officer and a good man.”
Sally wore a smile that lacked warmth despite her next words. “Welcome to Newberry Park.”
“Thank you. It is a dream come true to be here.”
That startled her enough that she licked her lips, a sure sign of nervousness. “I hope you enjoy your brief respite and can return to your ship soon to continue the war against the French.”
Felix wanted her nervous. He wanted to get her alone too and rail at her, but not when there were witnesses, and most of them her relations.
When she linked arms with Lady Duckworth and smiled dismissively, he saw it as a sign he had gotten under her skin. She wanted him to go away, and he would eventually because his yearning for her had been hopeless then and still was. But first he would set the record straight about his intentions six years ago. “As soon as the admiral gives me leave I will go,” he assured her. “I keep my promises.”
She glanced away at his words and Felix took the time to drink in her profile, her elegance. Something he had known deep in his heart from the beginning that he had not deserved. A sudden smile lit up her face, and he turned to see what had pleased her.
Lord Ellicott.