She awoke to someone caressing her face and gently saying her name. She opened her eyes and saw Drake leaning over her, his face a mask of worry, his warm hazel eyes tinged with fear. "Oh no, not you too," she groaned. "Not both of you in the same day." She moaned and closed her eyes again. He said something about being right back but she didn't quite understand.
He returned with a bowl of water and a cloth and began dabbing at her lip. She was lying on the couch and she struggled to sit up a bit but that caused the tears that Charles had made in her dress to gape open, fully revealing her breasts. Her hands quickly attempted to pull the fabric together but Drake had already seen too much. He averted his eyes and saw something glittering on the floor. It was her pendant. The one that reminded her of his eyes. He reached down and gently picked it up, holding it in his palm as it glowed in the light. Women before had commented on how his eyes were like pieces of amber and he wondered if that was the reason she had it. Laying it on a nearby table, he turned his attention once more to her lip. The familiar sparks of passion burned in his eyes as he attempted to maintain his composure and tend to her.
As she gazed up at him, her heart pounding in her chest, her frayed nerves tingling, her battered senses whirling, she could hardly believe he was here. Once again, having him so close set the butterflies in motion. She hadn't felt them once since leaving the ship. Clutching at her torn dress with one hand, she pressed the other against her stomach in an attempt to quell them. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so," she replied weakly. Under her breath she cursed, "Damn butterflies."
"Butterflies?" he asked. He wondered if she hadn't yet fully come around and was hallucinating.
"Where's Charles?" she managed to ask.
Drake gritted his teeth and said "On his way back to England, if he's got any brains at all." He glanced at her dazed eyes and said, "I kicked him out, threw him in his carriage and told the driver to take him back to the harbor."
"Why are you here?"
"Stop talking, you're making your lip bleed again."
"I don't care. What are you doing here?"
Dabbing at her lip again, he looked into her eyes and said, "Apparently rescuing you."
Virginia met his gaze and was drawn in again by those amber eyes. He was so close to her that she knew she wasn't going to be able to resist him.
"I came back to see you," he said softly, staring into her emerald eyes.
"To see me?" Still slightly dazed and disoriented, she put her hand on his chest. Her touch sent shock waves through him and he sucked in a deep breath.
She could feel the hardness of the muscles there and the beating of his heart. He seemed to radiate heat and she again looked deeply into his eyes.
Quietly he said, "I think your lip is fine now."
"Good, you can kiss me then," she didn't realize she had said the words until a moment later.
Drake wasn't going to wait for her to change her mind. His lips gently descended onto hers. She kissed him back, winding her arms around his neck, her entire body tingling with delight. He wound his large hands into her hair which had come loose during her struggles. His hair tumbled to his shoulders as her small hands pulled it loose. He sighed as he felt the strands sliding over his cheeks. How he had missed her doing that. The passion in their kiss deepened and he gathered her up in his arms. He climbed to the top of the stairs and she murmured "left, end, left." He turned into her bedroom and lay her down on the bed.
He sat next to her and stroked her hair back. He again kissed her gently and asked, "Shall I leave you alone?"
She had gone this far and she wanted more, she wanted all of him. She could find out later how long he intended to stay. Right now, in this moment, her desire for him overrode all her senses. Her need to have him touch her, to once again take her to the heights of passion, quieted the small voice in the back of her head that was trying to warn her, trying to tell her that this was unwise and was going too fast. She reached up and wound her hands around his neck, kissing him again, and she said, "No, stay."
He got up and walked over to the door. She was at first terrified that he was playing some cruel game with her and that he was going to leave, but he just closed the door and returned to the bed. He discarded his coat, waistcoat and shirt before crawling across the bed to her, pinning her in place with his eyes. A thought about Thomas floated through her mind but then Drake's lips were on hers again and she forgot everything except him.
Billy returned home from the smith with the repaired chandelier pieces and as he stood in the front foyer he could hear the floor above him creaking. He cautiously mounted the stairs and turned down the hall towards their bedrooms. He saw that Virginia's door was closed. Wondering what she was doing to cause so much noise, he was about to knock when he heard voices. Virginia's voice and a man's voice. They weren't exactly talking though and it took a moment for him to realize what was happening. Wide eyed, he stepped back from the door. The sounds coming from inside her room were unmistakable and blushing, he quietly tiptoed back down the hallway. He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back down the hall, puzzled over who it could be who was in there with her. It must be Thomas he thought to himself. He went into the ballroom and climbed back up the ladder to continue his work on the chandelier.
A while later he heard someone coming down the stairs. Wanting to make his presence known, he began to whistle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone standing in the doorway. He turned and almost fell off the ladder when he saw Drake standing there wearing only his breeches and a loosely buttoned shirt.
"Hello Forrester," he said cheerfully.
"Hello, Cap'in," he said warily. He had suspected that the relationship between the two of them while on the ship had been physical, and he had, of course, heard the rumors, but thought that they were nothing but rumors. And even if he hadn't approved it had not been his place to say anything. But things had changed and now he was going to say something.
Drake knew that he and Virginia hadn't been very discreet during their lovemaking and that Billy surely knew what had happened. Even if he hadn't, his current state of dress would confirm it. "I suppose you know what just happened," he said as Billy came down the ladder.
Billy approached him and staring up at him, he said coldly, "Yes, I do."
