Fifteen

Fit for a Queen

Returning to the table, Philip handed a new pack of cards to the countess. “A rubber of nine, my lady?”

“Did I not say I prefer long play, mein liefer?” she replied suggestively, and proceeded to shuffle the cards. In offering them back to Philip to cut, she leaned into him much closer than necessary, brushing his arm with ample breasts that threatened to spill from her gown.

“Do we play with or without honors?” Philip asked with an appreciative smile as he cut and then handed the cards back to her.

She languidly stroked a finger along his arm before starting the deal. “But of course, mein liebling. While there is always honor in holding the king, I find myself very pleased in receiving knaves as well.”

“Shall we commence now?” Susannah interjected with a tight smile, turning over the first card before the countess could answer.

Lady Messingham’s high queen determined she would proceed, and as play progressed, so did Philip’s hyperawareness of her every look and gesture. He felt her growing sensitivity to him, even in their play. The tension was as palpable as a pulse. When their light banter ended in seconds of locked gazes, she would avert her face, or dismiss the moment with a laugh. Yet, more than once, he had caught her regarding him with a peculiar expression speaking more than simple speculation. No. He was not mistaken. Lady Messingham was neither the worldly jade she pretended to be nor as unaffected as she wanted him to believe.

The evening ended in triumph. Accurately interpreting every signal passed between their opponents, and applying Philip’s strategy supplemented by his subtle cues, they played brilliantly. They had taken the vast majority of tricks, and due to Philip’s skill at the deal more than their rightful share of honors.

Lady Messingham suppressed her outright jubilation until settling in the privacy of her carriage when Philip joined her under the pretense of escorting her home. Once inside, he closed the door and signaled the driver. She turned to face him, utterly basking in their victory.

She regarded him, breathless with delight, her unadulterated joy setting her aglow. “Did you see Lady Yarmouth’s expression when we took the final trick? It was absolutely priceless!”

Her skin flushed and her eyes shone with excitement, much as he imagined she would appear in the throes of passion. Ensconced completely alone with her in such close quarters, Philip was barely able to think. Their earlier play had only intensified his ache, so in tune had he become to her every signal, word, and nuance in their exchanges. The experience had taken complete hold of him and he wanted her beyond his understanding.

Philip reached inside his coat pocket, remembering the prize they had won. The necklace was magnificent, three rows of shimmering stones with a brilliant teardrop diamond at its center. He held it before her eyes and she gasped at its splendor, evident even in the dimly lit interior of the carriage.

“Jewels fit for a queen… or at least for a king’s mistress,” he said with a laugh. “May I?” he asked softly.

“Yes, indeed,” she answered. Breathy with anticipation, she turned sideways to grant him easier access. Philip placed the gems against her throat, stroking a few stray tendrils of hair from her nape before closing the clasp.

The feel of his warm breath caressing her nape as he closed the clasp shook her with a frisson she had long forgotten. The touch of his fingers against her skin sent her pulse skittering. He didn’t release her, but moved his fingers gingerly from the clasp and bent his head to brush his lips against the sensitive flesh joining her neck and shoulder.

She closed her eyes, heightening the sensation, as his tongue began to trace her pulse and his mouth moved over her skin, tasting inch by inch, while his hands began a gentle exploration, tracing the path of the necklace to the diamond teardrop lying just above the cleft of her breasts.

She moaned softly as a thick cloud of desire descended, enshrouding her. “Priceless indeed,” he murmured against her skin. She had almost resigned herself to surrender, his gentle touch having torn down her defenses bit-by-bit, but the intimation of his words penetrated the thick fog of her desire.

Her eyes snapped open. “Pray remove the necklace, Philip.”

He abruptly ceased the caress.

“Remove the necklace,” she repeated icily.

“Why?” he asked, confounded.

“You helped me to win back my emeralds, for which I am grateful. The necklace is rightfully yours. I, however, am not.”

“I don’t want the damned necklace!” His voice was hoarse and frustrated by unslaked lust. “Consider it a gift.”

“A gift?” she repeated. “You think to buy me, then? Like a whore?”

“I would hardly compare the jewels of the king’s mistress with the trinkets of a whore.” He smirked, but his attempt at humor fell short of its goal.

“Well, I shan’t be bought with shiny trinkets… or even with priceless ones.” She grasped the necklace and jerked it defiantly from her neck, breaking the delicate clasp.

“I suppose you would have accepted it readily enough from him,” Philip accused.

“From whom?” she demanded.

“From Pitt, of course. He spent the entire evening alternating between making sheep’s eyes at you and endeavoring to impress you with his speeches.”

“How dare you make such an accusation after the way you conducted yourself with Lady Yarmouth!”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You know that was all part of the game.”

“I do wonder about that, Philip, after the way she fondled you.”

“Fondled, is it?” He barked with laughter. “Now who’s jealous?”

“I’m not jealous! Nor do I want the necklace. I’ve told you before, I won’t be beholden to any man.”

“You know that’s not what I intended.”

“No? Then precisely what did you intend?”

Lacking a better answer, he growled back, “I don’t bloody well know! But I’ve come to doubt if you are worth the aggravation of finding out!”

“Then you needn’t trouble yourself further. I have learned enough from our lessons to acquit myself sufficiently at the tables—without your help.”

“The hell you will! A bleating sheep to the wolves is what you will be if you are so ill-advised as to sit at any real gaming table without me.”

“Oh, I beg to gainsay you on that, my young buck! I’ve managed my life perfectly fine before your arrival and no doubt will survive your departure just as well.”

Her remarks only added fuel to his simmering fire of frustration. He dangled the necklace before her eyes and stuffed it back into his pocket. He then signaled the driver with a sharp rap of his sword hilt on the carriage roof.

“Just what are you doing?” she demanded, as the carriage came to a clattering halt.

Philip replied with stiff control, “You’ve done with my tutelage, and I’ve long since wearied of your games.” He opened the door. “I go to find more rewarding company.”

His meaning was not lost on her as he leaped out of the carriage. “You are insufferable!”

“And you, my lady, are nothing more than a bloody cock-tease.”

She gasped.

He growled.

They both signaled the driver, and the carriage door slammed shut.