Her Gift - Bundle Pack by Laurel Bennett Page A

laughed, a soft sound that
moved across Charlotte’s skin like satin. “May I help you
disrobe?”
    “May I ask what your position within
the household is?” Charlotte squeaked.
    “I am not a member of the household
staff,” she said, shaking her head. Her silky blonde curls danced
across her shoulders. “I am here for your pleasure.” She had a
voice like a siren and a smile that could sink ships. All gracing
the most perfectly proportioned figure.
    “Yes, you mentioned pleasure,”
Charlotte murmured. “Do you also attend to the duke’s pleasure?”
She pretended to pluck at an errant string on her sleeve. The words
sounded waspish even to her own ears.
    A tinkling little laugh was the lady’s
response. “Do you really want to know the answer to
that?”
    Did she? Probably not.
    “I didn’t think so,” the woman
continued. She sat down on the edge of what must be the duke’s bed.
“His Grace is familiar with your late husband,” she said
cautiously, watching closely for a reaction from Charlotte. She
refused to provide one, aside from stiffening her spine. The
woman’s voice softened even more. “He was known for being unkind in
bed.”
    True fear crept up Charlotte’s spine.
“Who told you that?”
    “It’s a well-known fact,” Mary said
with a shrug. “That’s why His Grace thought you might like to spend
some time with me.”
    He pities
me . She buried her face in her hands and
blinked back her tears. She refused to cry in front of this
beautiful woman. When she looked up, the woman was gone. “His Grace
is very good at figuring out what a woman needs and then giving it
to her,” she said from behind Charlotte’s left shoulder.
    “I thought my assignation was with His
Grace.” She sighed heavily.
    “It will be. Later.” Mary ran the tip
of one well-manicured finger down Charlotte’s arm. A shiver crept
up her spine. “Do I affect you at all?” she whispered.
    “In what way?” She probably sounded
like a dolt, but she didn’t know how she was supposed to respond.
“You’re a lady,” Charlotte croaked.
    “His Grace thinks you will
enjoy me. And His Grace is never wrong about these things.” She
made a little tsking sound with her tongue. “He thought you to be the adventurous
sort. He’ll be disappointed when I tell him he was wrong.” She took
a deep breath. “At least let me help you prepare for later with
Trent.”
    “Trent?”
    “His Grace,” she said with a laugh.
Then she clapped her hands together. “I’ll play the part of your
lady’s maid, since I’m already here.” She made a spinning motion
with her finger. “Turn around.”
    “When will His Grace
arrive?”
    “Trent,” Mary said forcefully. “Say it
with me.” She mouthed the word in a dramatic manner.
    “He hasn’t given me leave to use his
name,” Charlotte murmured.
    She pointed to the room around her.
“He plans to have a liaison with you later. Of course, he will
expect you to call out his name. His real name. More than once, if
the rumors about him are true.” She winked at Charlotte.
    Heat crept up Charlotte’s cheeks.
“What do you get out of this?” Charlotte asked as she swept her
hair to the side and exposed the fastenings at the back of her
dress.
    “I’d hoped for the pleasure of serving
you,” she said without even stopping to consider her
words.
    “That pleases you?”
    “Pleasing others? Yes. Because my
master, when I return to him, will want to hear all about my
endeavors. And if I fail to please you, I will be punished. In a
most delicious way, but punished none the less.”
    “You’ll be punished if I don’t accept
your… offer?” What else should she call it? Dear God, she was out
of her element.
    “I am here to please you. If a bath
and help dressing you pleases you, I’ll do both with a smile. Then
I can tell my master that you were extremely content when I left
you.”
    Charlotte shook her head quickly, as
though she could dislodge the errant thoughts