Courting Miss Hughes

Chapter 9

Wild frenzied hair danced around her as she stood there, in the middle of the forest, mocking him, challenging him, provoking him to come ever so close to her.

Her linen shirt clung to her slightly, with the top button undone, giving him a sinful invitation. Her breasts that moved slowly, with her heaved breathing, painted a most erotic picture. He could imagine himself burying in her bosom. She moved back slowly as he approached her, like a fawn running away from a hunter. Her back was now against a tree trunk, with her lips parted and fingers clawed into the bark behind her. She stood in anticipation. Before she could blink her eyes Arthur's lips were upon her, capturing hers in a most fervent kiss.

A small moan of shock escaped her lips which only made him deepen the kiss. And when she kneaded her fingers through his hair, he didn't hold back on pulling her closer and grabbed her tightly by her hips. How a woman could look so enticing in a loose fitting male attire was mystery to him. But he was too focused om devouring her lips to ponder on that subject.

Before he knew it, his vivid dream jolted him up from his sleep, as if a bolt of lightning had struck him. He woke up with beads of sweat on his forehead and his cock in an upheaval.

Katherine Hughes. He thought with a ragged breath, was bane of his existence. The woman he found so vexing in the daylight, and who was was equally vexed by him, had managed to invade his dreams at night. In general, all women, presently living under his roof irked him, but at-least they put in an effort to make themselves agreeable to him. Not Miss Hughes. The minimal amount of conversations they had, mostly ended in an argument of some sort. When they ran into each other on occasion, which was rare, as she was determined to avoid him at every turn, her face was always stoic. She always opted to give a silent curtsy, never a word or a smile, not even a small grin that he was so accustomed to receiving from every female he encountered.

Despite their mutual distaste for each-other, she had managed to haunt his dreams frequently, ever since their encounter in the forest. Disagreeable she maybe, but he certainly found her to be quite handsome. She might have been too plain for the fashionable taste of the ton, but her simplicity had its own raw charm.

In the end, she was a beautiful woman and he a man, who could not deny the natural attraction he felt towards her. He did try to subdue it by avoiding her as much as she avoided him, wishing that his feelings will wash away with time. He could not figure out what vexed him more, her defiant nature or the desire she had unknowingly stirred in him, that he seemed to be loosing control over. He had, had his fair share of short-lived infatuations as a young dandy and had even kept one or two mistresses in London at one point. But those days for him were long over. He had come to his senses sooner than most gentlemen his age, and taken his rightful place besides his father in management of Marquessate. This did not mean that he did not engage in carnal liaisons with women every now and then, he was a man after all. However, he was careful not to get too involved in such affairs. What happened in the dark of the nights in London was always kept neatly separated from his duties in the daylight.

Turning his thoughts to less riveting topics, he started thinking about what lay ahead of him the next day. The thought of going through Wimbledon steward's ledgers was enough to put him into the arms of sweet slumber again. He only hoped that Miss Hughes will not invade his dreams again.

Next morning, when he had awoken later than usual, he called for Mr. Harlow, first thing. While Mr. Harlow, helped him get dressed, Arthur inquired if he had discovered anything uncanny or scandalous about Henry Cecil. His valet did not disappoint him in quenching his curiosity. Harlow had uncovered few scandalous details about each Cecil, save for Miss Rebecca. For Henry, Harlow reported two scandals. First, that he was engaged to some country girl few years ago but the engagement was broken due to reasons unknown. Second, that he was believed to have impregnated a scullery maid, but the family had concealed the scandal very well and sent the said maid to some remote part of the country where she could not be found by any member of the ton.