“Of course not! I am your best friend, am I not?”
Daphne nodded. “Adrian has proposed, and my father has given his permission for us to marry,” she whispered. “Our betrothal will be announced tomorrow.”
Isabella squealed with delight and embraced her friend. “I am delighted for you,” she said. “I am convinced you will be perfectly happy. I have never seen a more perfect match.”
“Well,” Daphne said with a grin, “I am sure that many people will look at you and Sebastian and think just the same thing, even though you have gone about it in a slightly less conventional manner.”
Isabella glanced across the room to where her husband was sitting, talking to some of their guests. She thought, as she always did when she looked at him, that she had never seen a more handsome man. She felt another flutter of excitement when she imagined what they might do together later, when they were alone. She held it as a secret in her heart, that she already knew what most young ladies would not discover until their wedding night.
“I must go back to Sebastian,” she said to Daphne. “But I am delighted to hear your happy news.”
She returned to the table and sat next to Sebastian. He broke off the conversation he was having and turned to face her.
“I have two interesting pieces of news to impart to you, Isabella,” he said.
“Oh, indeed?” she replied. “I would have thought you would have been quite tired of gossip by now!”
He laughed. “It is not gossip in that sense, my dear. It is more like news, of people that we know, that I thought you might find interesting.”
Isabella nodded. “I am sorry for teasing you, Sebastian.” She smiled inwardly, that she could now be so familiar with him. She was sure they had a lot to look forward to together. “Please, do tell me the news, if you would like to.”
“Well, I thought you might like to know that the Duke of Harbridge has returned to London,” Sebastian said.
Isabella remembered the last time she had seen the duke, in the parlour on Christmas Eve. “I think that I would not have made him happy, had I been forced to marry him,” she said softly.
Sebastian nodded. “I agree with that, and of course, I thank God every day that you did not have to marry him, and you can be with me instead. But it is good news, I think. He is a man of business at heart, and if he is in town, then he can immerse himself in the business world.”
“Yes, indeed,” Isabella agreed. “He was never happier than when he was talking about his business interests. I must confess that I found it rather dull. I think even Felicity did, and she always tried much harder than me to be biddable and pleasing in his company. But if he is in town, surrounded by like-minded people, then I think he will be much happier.”
“That is just what I thought,” Sebastian said. He squeezed her hand again. “You see, our thoughts are almost always in unison.”
She felt the pressure of his fingers against hers, and imagined all the other things that she now knew his hands could do to her. She let out a sigh. It could not be long, surely, before they could withdraw to be alone together? She was not sure how much longer she could wait to feel his hands on her body.
“The other news that everyone is talking about is that Lord Harrow has fled to the continent,” Sebastian continued. “But the sheriff’s men are apparently on the brink of catching up with him. It seems that your father’s hard work over the last few days to gather evidence against him is coming to fruition, despite the fact that he burned that letter when Felicity found it. The news is that his downfall is expected imminently.”
“Well, I am glad to hear that,” Isabella said. “He deserves everything that comes to him, after what he did to your father. I only hope that Felicity does not suffer too much as a result.”
Sebastian looked at her in wonder. “You are rather more forgiving than me when it comes to Felicity,” he said softly. “She nearly ruined everything between us.”
She looked into his eyes and let out a soft sigh. “I do not think that anything could have stood between us, in the end, Sebastian.” She paused for a moment and felt his hand moving onto her thigh, under the table. His fingers crept upwards and she shivered, waves of desire flooding her body. “Like Psyche and Eros, we were always meant to be together.”
***
“I thought I would never get you alone,” Sebastian breathed, pushing the door closed behind them.
Isabella giggled. “We have the rest of our lives to be alone, Sebastian,” she murmured.
“I know, but I need you now,” he whispered.
The chamber they had found themselves in was small and dark, but it did not matter. They had all they needed, here together.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, pressing his mouth against hers.
She let out a moan. His kiss was enough to drive her wild with desire, and she knew there was much more to come.
He pushed her backwards against the wall, lifting her hands above her head and holding them there with one hand. All the while, he kissed her hard. His other hand began to explore her body, with a fervent energy that set her on fire.
He pushed down the bodice of her dress and cupped her breast, then found her nipple and began to rub it with his thumb until it became hard under his touch.
