Carnal Knowledge Ch. 03

She wiggled away from him, and his cock slid from her body. He fisted his hands to keep from dragging her back.

Eliza sat up abruptly and faced him. "I want to know, Lord Rockdale. Is this your habit--to force women in your employ?"

He sat up as well, fighting down his welling irritation.

She faltered, her expression distressed. "W--why me?"

He met her heated entreaty with a dark stare.

"Tell me, damn you!" She pounded the mattress with her hand. "Not only have you forced me to have intimate relations with you, but you are a blackmailer and a thief!"

Rockdale narrowed his eyes and rose from the bed, looming over her. She shrank back from his advance.

He smiled and knew it was not a nice smile.

"I am lord of this estate and everything and everyone on it. It is my right to take what is mine. Besides, my sweet, have I not given you pleasure as well as taken my own?"

He trailed a finger down her bare breast, and she slapped it away.

"You arrogant bastard! You are not some conquering Viking, and I am not yours just because you are my employer. I have a home and family who love me. I will leave here as soon as I am able." She glared up at him defiantly.

The thought of Eliza being able to leave him filled the earl with inexplicable anger. He bent over her, using his larger size deliberately to intimidate her.

"You have not asked where I went on my trip, little dove."

He watched her reaction carefully and smirked as her expression turned wary.

"My man of business and I took a trip to Lancashire. Beautiful countryside there, do you not think?"

He continued speaking, and she gasped in sudden understanding.

"Yes, I have made a splendid new investment. Bought the sweetest little cottage," he paused, "in fact, you may know the family that rents the cottage. Mrs. Lockhart is her name, and the daughter, oh yes, her name is Abigail, I believe. The most beautiful girl...just on the cusp of sweet womanhood."

Rockdale did not hide the triumph that swept him, and he saw fear and fury erupt in her blue eyes.

She launched herself forward, screeching at him. "You, monster! How dare you do this?"

He caught her, restraining her flailing arms, and hauled the furious girl into his lap. "Do not be so distraught, darling. I will, of course, continue to rent to your family under the same terms as your old landlord. That is, if you and I come to a certain understanding."

***

Eliza fought against his grip mightily, her body bowing and bucking. She stared at the hateful earl in resentment, noting bitterly he seemed to exert no effort at all.

"I loathe and despise you," she spat at him, her body finally weakening.

"I gather that," he said, "but still, here we are. Do we have an understanding, Miss Lockhart?"

"What bloody understanding? Am I to be your slave? Subject to your every depraved, perverted whim?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

"No! No, I won't do it!"

He forced her back down on the bed, his weight holding her down. "Consider this...I will see that a doctor from London visits your ailing mother every week that you stay. Furthermore, when our affair is concluded, I will give the cottage in Lancashire to you free and clear."

She froze in place, shocked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I can." He shrugged. "However, there are things I will expect from you in return."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "You want to keep fucking me?" she whispered.

"Of course. But what I have in mind entails a little more than just fucking. I want to teach you...mold you into my perfect sexual partner. And you, my little governess, will be a willing pupil in whatever I wish you to learn and to experience."

"Being a lord does not give you leave to treat another person this way," she said hoarsely. "You have fenced me in, threatened the livelihood of my family, and given me no alternative but to give in to you. Though I am a commoner, a woman, and weaker than you, I still have a right to make my own choices," she said bitterly.

"Eliza, don't be tiresome. Truthfully, you should be grateful I have decided to take you in hand."

She gaped at him. "Surely, you cannot be serious!"

"You must face reality, darling. You have no male relatives to see to your welfare, no funds, and no social standing. You're woefully innocent to the ways of the world, and your face and form are...shall we say...quite stimulating." He pinched her nipple hard and rolled away from her to stand.

He began to pull his clothing back on and continued, "A man was going to claim you, take your maidenhead. At least I gave a care to your pleasure when I took your virginity."

"You tied me up!"

"You shouldn't have been traipsing about half-naked."

She spluttered in outrage. "I was not--!"

He tossed her balled-up nightgown at her, catching her in the head. "Besides, didn't your parents ever tell you not let strange men pour things into your drink?" He shook his head in mock reproval.

"You're mad," she hissed, jerking her nightgown over her head. "What would your wife say about you doing this to her children's governess?" she demanded.

He became very still, and Eliza swallowed hard.

The earl chuckled without humor. "She accused me of fucking the household servants and the every woman I encountered, but I was completely faithful to her. More fool me, as she was screwing most of the young bloods in London, including my closest friend. I don't even think Nicholas and Anna are my true offspring. So don't imagine that I am violating the memory of my dear, sweet, virtuous wife."

His words hung in the air between them.

After a moment, Rockdale continued, "After the bitch was dead, I decided it was high time for me to have a woman on MY terms."

"Isn't that...isn't that what mistresses and whores are for, my lord?" she asked unsteadily.

He turned away from her to peer out the window into the darkness. "Since Isabelle died, I've sampled both, believe me, darling. Not much satisfaction in dipping your wick into some slut that's been had more times than she can count.

"I wanted something different. Not another slut, certainly not another wife," he shuddered. "A girl that was...fresh and...unsullied. I explained it all to my friend Harry Cavendish one drunken night, and he told me he knew of just the perfect girl for my new endeavor."

Eliza blinked slowly, her mind awhirl. "Surely...surely, you don't mean Sir Harold?" She struggled to process this new information.

He laughed shortly and turned back from the window. "None other."

"But, he was a friend of my father!"

"Undoubtedly, darling, but he's a right old pervert as well. Haven't sat on his lap before have you?"

"What!"

"Better warn your sister, he has an eye for the youngish ones."

"Oh, my God! That's disgusting." Eliza covered her eyes and fought back the tears that threatened. "I thought he wrote me a letter of recommendation!"

The earl guffawed. "Oh, he did. I had a cock-stand just reading it." He moved closer and cupped one of her breasts in his hand. "Bloody hell, the old fart knows exactly what I like."

Eliza tried to jerk away, but he grabbed her upper arm and dragged her body up against his.

"So, love," he drawled. "Do we have an agreement?" Let's get this all settled now, shall we? It's time for your first lesson."