The coins I collect arent rare, said Leo. Theyre quite ordinary. Except for the fact that they belong to other people.
I do not follow.
Leo dipped his hand into his pocket and produced a handful of change. He set the coins upon the counterpane, arranging them beside her leg in a neat line. Commonplace currency: farthings, pennies, shillings.
This. He pointed to a sixpence. Belonged to Lord Huyton. This. He nudged a hapenny. Lord Feerings. Leo saw the question in her eyes, and answered, laughing, I didnt steal them. Merely asked for change and it was given.
But ... why?
He shrugged. Its hard to explain. I suppose having something that was once so difficult to obtain is part of it. Now I have coin in profusion, but I like owning something that belonged to one of the gentry. Something so mundane, but important. Leo gave a wry smile. Now I sound like I should be in Bedlam.
No, it makes sense. And it did, in a peculiar way. Both you and these gentlemen having use of coins. Despite everything that they say, all their prejudice, the need for coins makes you equals. It confirms what they might never acknowledge.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. Something in an aristocratic girls education must make them astute. Yet, he added thoughtfully, I suspect it isnt the education, but the girl that makes the difference.
Living ones life dependent on others goodwill, one learns to make a close study of ones environment. She had seen hardly anything of the larger world, but that which she knew, she understood very well.
I congratulate myself for making such a wise decision in my choice of a bride.
By all means, she replied, take credit for my perspicacity.
He chuckled, but his gaze drifted from her face back down to the coins. And then she understood.
You would like me to collect some coins for you, she deduced.
There are certain men whose coins I want.
At first, Anne thought to refuse. She could not fault Leo for his idiosyncrasies. Almost everyone had them, including herself. Yet his was a mania altogether private, something between himself and his desires.
Still, it was such a small thing. And if it helped forge a stronger bond between her and Leo, she knew her directive.
If you write their names down for me, she said after a pause, and if theyre married, Ill gather coins for you. She was not particularly adept at making idle, pleasant conversation, and had not the slightest understanding how she might obtain these coins, but she had faith in her wits. A solution might present itself.
The coins must come from the men themselves. Not their wives or children or servants.
Here was an added complication, and frankly, one even more eccentric than she had anticipated. If thats what you wish.
He seemed surprised
that she agreed. Truly? Youll do this?
It might be an enjoyable challenge.
He moved so quickly, Anne had no chance to react. One moment he stood beside the bed, and the next, he leaned over her, his large hands cupping her head, tilting it back. He kissed her. Not the tentative exploration of the wedding night, but a full, sumptuous kiss, demanding and carnal. His lips were ravenous on hers.
For a moment, she could do nothing but let it happen, stunned into immobility. Then instinct and need guided her. She slid her hands up his arms, to hold tight to his hard shoulders. Her lips parted, inviting him in, and he took the kiss deeper.
This was ... extraordinary. Beyond any kiss she had ever received, the few times she had gotten them. Not just two mouths meeting, but a complete submersion into sensation. Only his hands and his lips touched her, yet she felt him, felt him everywhere. In the rush of her blood and softness of her flesh. Most especially between her legs and the tips of her breasts, now achingly sensitive. Leo kissed as he lived: without compromise, without quarter.
His tongue swept into her mouth. She touched it with her own, and Leo groaned.
She could not stop her response, the primal surge of desire. But fear sharpened the edge of that desire. It was too much. She was overwhelmed. Hed devour her, and she would not only be powerless to prevent it, she would present herself on a silver charger, the willing animal eager to be feasted upon until only bones remained. She already sat in bed. It would be easy, very easy, for him to pull her down and put his weight atop hers. Claim her fully.
A sound escaped her, a moan partway between arousal and terror.
At once, he pulled his mouth away.
His gaze, bright and hot, held hers. He looked as stunned as she felt. As though neither of them could comprehend what had just happened.
For a moment, he seemed on the verge of taking her mouth again. His fingers tightened in her hair. Abruptly, he let go, yet she felt the strength in him it took to do so. He stepped back, until a respectable distance of several feet separated them.
Ill write that list up for you. His voice had hoarsened, and she caught the trace of a rough accent. The saddlers son emerging from beneath a carefully cultivated luster.