The Naked Gentleman by Sally MacKenzie

Author:Sally MacKenzie
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Adult, Historical
ISBN: 9780821780763
Publisher: Zebra
Published: 2008-03-24T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Viscount Manders let out a hearty belch, quite impressive for such a small person. He grinned as a trail of milk dribbled down his chin.

“Good boy,” Lizzie said, wiping him off and kissing him before offering him her other breast. He made little grunting, snuffling sounds and then was quiet, the tiny fingers of one hand spread out against Lizzie’s celestial blue gown.

Could she ask Lizzie about the odd scene with Bennington and Felicity? Meg shifted in her chair. She and Lizzie—and Lord Manders—were seated under an oak tree quite a distance from the rowdy group playing bowls.

Would Lizzie know the answer? She was a married woman—but what did the activity in the garden have to do with marriage, besides the fact that the viscount was now engaged to Lady Felicity? Surely Robbie hadn’t—no, she could not contemplate the thought.

She was not a complete innocent. In her many hours spent outside observing plants, she’d happened on a few animals engaged in the act of procreation. She had a general idea of the mechanics of the deed—or at least, she’d thought she had. A hot flush heated her cheeks.

None of the creatures she’d seen in the fields and farms of Kent had engaged in any of the activities Mr. Parker-Roth had initiated. The animals had not even faced each other during the encounter. Really, the whole thing had looked rather embarrassing and uncomfortable—not that she had looked carefully, of course. Once she’d ascertained what they were about, she’d averted her gaze. She knew the rules of proper behavior, even if she chose to break them on occasion.

Frankly, the only reason she’d been able to discern for enduring such indignities was to have a baby—and even that was a mixed blessing. Emma had been terribly uncomfortable when she’d been in the family way. She’d been tired and ill in the beginning, and tired and cranky at the end. She hadn’t been able to eat or breathe or see her feet. Lizzie had managed a little better, but she and Robbie had been frantic when her pains began, afraid she’d die in childbed like her mother.

And then, of course, there was all the work and worry of actually tending an infant.

No, after hearing Emma and Lizzie discuss their ordeals—suitably edited for her poor, unwed ears—and watching them go days without sleep with fussy babies, she wasn’t terribly eager to take her turn. But if she wanted her own home, she’d have to marry, and men wanted children—or at least they wanted to engage in the activity that resulted in children. Not that they had to do the work of bearing and birthing their progeny. Of course not. If they did, well, she’d wager there’d be significantly fewer children in the world.

Still, the things Parks had done to her had certainly been…intriguing. She fanned herself with her hand. Perhaps there was something pleasant about procreation.

Lizzie coaxed another burp from Lord Manders.

What had Lord Bennington been doing with Lady Felicity? Parks seemed to know

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