Geoffrey’s mind slipped momentarily from Charlotte to the baby whom Lord Caithwell and Lady Anne had named after the man who had helped save his life. Even with Charlotte’s strange potion that had disguised death and convinced the prison doctor to sign the release forms, if Geoffrey hadn’t caught Giles as he fell through the scaffold trap door after being wrongly convicted of murder, he would be dead and Lady Anne would be facing a life of scorn and ridicule.
The thought of being worthy enough for Lord and Lady Caithwell to name their son after him, made his heart swell with pride. He certainly didn’t want to lose Giles’ good opinion, but Charlotte made it damned difficult for him to keep his mind on the task in hand.
He gritted his teeth as the tops of Charlotte’s ivory shoulders came into view and willed himself not to ease the dress further to lay a trail of searing kisses along her exposed skin. Concentrating hard on the remaining buttons, he reached the last of them and stepped back quickly as she freed herself from the dress. He bit back another groan as she wriggled her hips to help dislodge the gown.
What felt like hours later, she stepped from the skirts, picked up the layers of delicate silk and flung the dress over the rail that separated the stalls. Moving nearer to the mare, she stroked her gently, her hands skimming slowly down the horse’s neck as she spoke to the animal in gentle tones.
Geoffrey tried to keep his eyes averted from the tantalizing sight of Charlotte wearing nothing but her petticoats, pantaloons and high-laced boots, but he was fighting a losing battle. Though covered from nearly head to foot, the fine white garments gave the impression of revealing far more of the beautiful woman than they disguised. Her long and graceful arms, covered only at the top with the tiny lace sleeve of her chemise, glowed a warm white in the lamplight. The curve of her breasts filled the gathers of material and he could almost swear that he could see the merest hint of darker skin where her nipples touched the fabric.
He felt sweat gathering at the base of his spine as he gazed further.
She was tiny at the waist, her hips flaring below the curves made for hands to hold, and he felt beads of perspiration break out over his whole body as she turned to face the horse. The cheeks of her deliciously rounded derriere were pressed up tightly against the fabric of her pantaloons, the diaphanous petticoats transparency leaving nothing to his imagination at all. He didn’t have time to do more than swipe the drips of salty water from his forehead with his sleeve before Charlotte suddenly disappeared around to the rear of Star Gazer.
“Hold her head for me and talk to her as gently as you can.” Charlotte’s voice echoed around the stall.
Further down the stables Charlotte’s own horse, Lightning, seemed to sense that something was going on. The huge stallion screamed inside his stall and kicked at the wooden door. The sound of his distress filled the building.
Geoffrey rubbed Star Gazer between the eyes as he spoke softly to her and she whinnied a response to her mate.
“See what happens when you worry your man. He is anxious for you and wants his son to be born quickly. Your foal will be big and strong like him and you will be a proud mama soon.” The mare snorted out hot air and then nuzzled his shirtfront in response to his words.
Charlotte suddenly appeared beside him again, wiping her greasy arm with a handful of fresh hay.
“Yes, well that’s what happens when we let them out unattended together in Alexander’s pasture. In truth, I blame Giles. If he hadn’t been so blasted noble and had told the magistrate immediately that he was bedding his soon to be bride at the time of Lord Ellesworth’s disappearance, he wouldn’t have been so busy getting himself hanged, and we may have considered the consequences of leaving the horses out in the pasture together more carefully.” She smiled up at Geoffrey as she dropped the last of the soiled hay. He raised a querying eyebrow. “The foal’s leg was turned backwards. I’ve pulled it into position so if Star Gazer can just help us now, we could have a wonderful new foal in a few minutes.”
The beautiful grey horse whinnied again and took a few steps around the stall