Authors: Saralynn Hoyt
"Who is it?" she asked in a low voice, not wanting
to wake Alice.
"Ford. I mean, Mr. Northcliffe."
What in heaven’s name was he doing up at this hour, knocking
on her door?
"It’s late, Mr. Northcliffe," Sabrina said,
opening the door a mere crack.
"Is it?" He sounded genuinely surprised. Pulling a
pocket watch from his vest, he frowned darkly at the gold piece. "I must
have forgotten to wind it. My apologies, Mrs. Tremaine. I just wanted to make
certain you were settled in comfortably."
Sabrina held her wrapper more tightly at her chin as she
watched Ford fumble with his watch. He was so handsome, with his dark blond
hair and gold-rimmed spectacles that seemed to enhance his strong features and
light brown eyes. He was in his shirtsleeves and it was apparent that his body
was well proportioned, with a broad chest, wide shoulders, strong arms and a
narrow waist. She thought she could almost forgive him anything, even intruding
upon her privacy at such an indecent hour.
"Yes, I’m quite comfortable. Thank you. The room is
more luxurious than I expected."
"Of course," Ford said running his hand through
his hair.
Sabrina wondered if it was as soft as it looked, even if it
was a tad longer than was fashionable.
"If you need anything at all, just ask. I want you to
feel that this is your home," he said, looking around as if waiting for
someone to interrupt them. "Well, I should go. So sorry to have disturbed
you. I’m afraid I don’t keep regular hours myself and sometimes I forget that the
world runs on a more standard schedule than I do."
"Goodnight, Mr. Northcliffe."
"Yes, of course, goodnight, Mrs. Tremaine." Ford
turned and walked to the left then did an about face and strode down the hall
in the opposite direction.
Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief. That had been too close.
What if he had insisted on coming in? But of course he wouldn’t dare. An
unmarried man did not enter a single woman’s quarters without an invitation.
Would he? After all, Ford was her employer. A small thrill went through Sabrina
at the thought of what might happen if she found herself in such a compromising
situation with Ford. After all, it wasn’t as if she was an innocent. And it had
been some time since she had laid in the arms of a man. Five years, to be
exact. Edward hadn’t touched her since he had started to gamble seriously. And
although he hadn’t exactly been a masterful lover, he had given her some
satisfaction, and of course the greatest gift of all, Alice. But the feelings
that Ford evoked in her were quite different than anything she could remember
experiencing with her husband.
Ford made her feel hot and tingly in places that made her
blush. And unlike with Edward, Sabrina felt as though she could easily be the
instigator in luring Mr. Northcliffe to her bed. With Edward, she had been
intimate when he had wanted it, but had never felt the need to ask for such
things. With Ford, however, even now, she wanted to touch his face and taste
his mouth. To slowly pull his clothes from his hard, masculine body and run her
hands over the heated surface of his skin. She shivered thinking about it. Crawling
into the huge four poster bed, Sabrina snuggled under the covers and tried to
go to sleep, but images of Ford assailed her. She could easily imagine running
her fingers through his silken, golden mane and she wondered if the hair on his
chest was blond too. He was so tall and slim. Not skinny but not bulky either.
A shudder ran through her body at the thought of seeing him with his clothes
off. She shouldn’t be allowing such images to run rampant through her mind, but
she couldn’t seem to help herself. Ford was exactly the kind of man she had
fantasized about coming to her rescue. Especially in the last few years of
Edward’s life when she hardly ever saw her husband. Edward would spend all his
free time that he wasn’t gambling with their daughter. At least Alice hadn’t
suffered from a lack of her father’s attention.
Giving up on trying to fall asleep, Sabrina allowed herself
to give in to her imaginings of making love to Ford Northcliffe. Her body
thrummed to the wicked fantasy and she was soon wishing for the completion that
only a man could give her.
****
Ford rubbed the bridge of his nose, lifting his glasses
slightly from their perch. He was exhausted and the sun was just about to come
up. He had spent the night in his laboratory again. But instead of working on
his influenza vaccine, he had been daydreaming about Sabrina Tremaine.
It had been foolish of him to knock on her bedroom door when
she was obviously already in bed. But at the time he didn’t think he could have
stopped himself even if a cure had suddenly dropped from the sky. Every time he
saw her he wanted to spend more time with her. Sabrina was beautiful, yes, but
there was something more, something intangible that caused electricity to spark
in the air between them. He thought he might be perfectly happy just to have
her in the room without even exchanging a word between them. She made him feel
alive after so many years of barely thinking about the world outside of his
obsession of finding a cure. Of course he’d had several women in his bed, but
he’d hardly even noticed them compared with how he woke up when Sabrina was present.
He couldn’t muster so much as a blurry image of what even one of those other
women had looked like, let alone remember their names. And even though he’d
only known Sabrina a day, he knew that he would never forget her sensuous, full
lips, her deep sapphire blue eyes, the silky midnight of her hair and the pure
music of her voice.
In just a few minutes he would be eating breakfast with her
and they would certainly need to talk. They must discuss her role in the house
and he wasn’t entirely prepared for the conversation. Ford had no idea how a
woman like Mrs. Tremaine would expect to be treated. Like a lady, he supposed,
and not an employee. But that technically was what she was. There was no
ignoring the facts. He was paying the lovely Sabrina Tremaine to be his wife in
every way but one. The one thing he couldn’t do with her was the only thing he
couldn’t seem to stop imagining since the moment he had laid eyes on her. He
had to pull himself together, and quickly.
Ford made his way to his bedroom where he changed his
clothes and washed up. He stood in front of a mirror in his private water
closet and shaved the stubble from his chin. He nearly cut himself smiling at
his reflection. When was the last time he had been concerned with being groomed
in his own house? Not since Mother had died, at the very least. Sabrina Tremaine
had made an impression on him and suddenly he was wide awake and eager to share
a meal in her more than pleasing company. With one last glance at his
reflection, Ford adjusted his spectacles over his serious brown eyes and ran
the comb through his thick golden hair that he briefly noted needed cutting. He
would have to ask his valet to do so, if he could find the lad. He knew the boy
was about because fresh clothes were laid out from time to time and his shoes
were polished on regular basis. No time to think about such mundane matters
now, Ford thought as headed for the breakfast room, eager to see Mrs. Tremaine
again. He stepped through the doorway and caught his breath in surprise. Sabrina
was even more stunning than he had remembered. And when she lifted her enormous
blue eyes to his, his breath caught in his throat and his heartbeat sped
unreasonably. Not to mention the uncomfortable tightening of his trousers. He
took his seat quickly, hoping his face didn’t give his lascivious thoughts
away.
Maybe hiring Mrs. Tremaine wasn’t as brilliant a plan as he
had first imagined.
"Good morning, Mrs. Tremaine," Ford said in an
oddly strained voice. "I hope you slept well?"
Sabrina blushed, recalling how Mr. Northcliffe had visited
her rooms last night, and found her in her dressing gown. She wanted to be
angry with him for being so thoughtless, but it was impossible to muster that
emotion for the man when he was simply the most generous person she had ever
encountered. Ford Northcliffe appeared to be kind, sympathetic, intelligent, handsome
and rich. Why in the world wasn’t the man married? He must have a flaw much
worse than anything she could imagine.
"Good morning, Mr. Northcliffe," she responded
politely. "I slept very well, thank you. We—I haven’t had a decent
mattress in months." Sabrina desperately hoped Ford hadn’t noticed her
minor slip of the tongue.
"Good, good," Ford said, with a distracted air. He
was obviously a man who had many things on his mind. "Well, I suppose we
should discuss your position and the duties I’ll expect you to perform."
Sabrina could have sworn that Ford blushed when he said
those last few words. She sincerely hoped he wasn’t thinking the same
distressingly intimate thoughts that had been plaguing her since she had first
encountered the ridiculously attractive man. Of course he wasn’t, she chided
herself. I must quit behaving like a smitten schoolgirl. I am here to work, and
nothing else. Sitting up straighter, Sabrina regained some of her scattered
composure.
"Yes, that would be most beneficial. Although I think I
have a general idea of what your needs will be." This time it was Sabrina
who blushed. Why did everything they said seem to have a double entendre? It
was quite unsettling. "What I meant to say, is that I’ll be performing the
duties that a wife might provide—" Oh, this was just awful, Sabrina
thought as her face and neck burned with the heat of her embarrassment. Why was
this so difficult?
Ford cleared his throat and paused to run a finger around
his collar. He looked even more uncomfortable than she felt. If only he weren’t
so handsome, and kind. If only he had some flaw she could focus on, then she
would be able to approach her situation from a more businesslike position.
"For instance; accepting invitations, general
correspondence, planning dinner parties, and making sure the household is run
properly." Sabrina could only hope that Ford’s thoughts had not turned in
the same direction as hers. "Of course the final say regarding these
details would be yours."
"Yes, I believe that is what I had in mind." Ford
attempted composure as he considered her. "I don’t think it would be
improper, if you agree."
"As long as I don’t actually attend the parties and
dinners, it should be quite acceptable." Sabrina really had no idea what
was ‘proper’ in this sort of circumstance. She doubted anyone did. This sort of
arrangement wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence.
"That sounds fine," Ford said, looking anything
but comfortable with the arrangement. "You should start with my
correspondence. I’m afraid I’ve been quite delinquent in responding to all the
various social affairs I’m invited to. And of course, you’ll have full
supervision of the household staff."
Sabrina nodded in agreement. "I can meet with the staff
right off, and then attend to your correspondence. By this evening I should
have a better idea of where things stand." She already knew that she would
never be at ease in Mr. Northcliffe’s company. How in the world was she going to
withstand these twice daily meetings? He made her feel decidedly unsettled and
she couldn’t imagine a time when conversing with him would become effortless.
But she had to try. No matter how her blood rushed through her veins every time
she looked at him and no matter how her heart raced, she needed to learn to
treat Ford as her employer. Respect and distance was the protocol she would
live by.
"Excellent," Ford said, moving the food around on
his plate but not actually eating anything. No wonder Delores was concerned;
the man’s mind was not in the present. "And I would appreciate it if you
can make most of the decisions without me. I’m very close to a breakthrough and
I want to devote every possible moment to my experiments."
"Of course. Tonight we’ll try to get most of the big
things out of the way. Your preferences and such, and then I’m certain that
I’ll be able to go on from there without bothering you overmuch." She took
a sip of hot tea before asking her next question, hoping Ford wouldn’t be
annoyed by it. "What kind of experiments are you doing, if I may ask?"
Sabrina couldn’t help but be curious.
Ford looked startled that she would be interested in his
work. A slow smile that melted her insides spread across his face and a sparkle
entered his golden brown eyes behind his spectacles. Afraid that she would get
lost in those mysterious depths if she didn’t glance away, Sabrina looked at
her hands.
"I’m searching for a cure for influenza and I try
different formulas on mice." Ford looked grim as he searched for the words
to explain his mission. "I’ve been working on it for years, but I think
I’m close this time."
"That sounds very important." Sabrina wanted to tell
him how she would be devastated if Alice became sick with the disease, but she
couldn’t let that bit of information slip out just yet. "I would enjoy
learning more about what it is you do. So that I can more readily anticipate
your needs," she quickly added, thinking that she may have been out of
line for an employee.
"It would be helpful if you knew my schedule, I
suppose," Ford said, thoughtfully. "Then you could make sure that
events you accept on my behalf won’t be too much of a strain on my research
timetable."
"Would you mind showing me your laboratory?"
Sabrina asked, hoping she wasn’t overstepping her bounds. But for some reason,
with this man, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by every aspect of his life.
Just sitting across the breakfast table from him made her
breath catch and her bosom tingle. He did things to her insides that no man had
ever done, and if he would deign to give her even a glimpse of his private
life, she could at least find some satisfaction in that. Since having any other
part of him or his world was simply out of the question. She no longer lived in
that realm of existence, the life of privilege and parties, servants of her own
and nice clothes. That was her past and she must be content with the way things
had turned out.