Daughters of Castle Deverill by Santa Montefiore Page B

drowsy and the sheer delight of being part of such a fashionable crowd gave her a heady sense of
omnipotence. So when Frank Linden took her by the hand and led her up the stairs to find a quiet room where they would not be disturbed, she happily obliged. In the darkness of one of the guest
bedrooms he pressed her against the wall and kissed her. It felt good to receive the attentions of a man again and she wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She closed her eyes and
felt the room pleasantly spin.
    When she opened them again she was lying on the bed in her underwear and Frank Linden’s hand was beneath her slip and caressing her breast. She was too sleepy to do anything about it and
besides, the sensual feeling it gave her made her writhe in pleasure like a cat. A low moan escaped her throat and Frank, taking that as a sign of encouragement, slid his hand onto her inner thigh
where it lingered for a moment, tentatively teasing. As Bridie didn’t protest, rather her staggered breath and soft sighs left him in no doubt that she was willing, he slowly and gently moved
his hand north, until it glided over her skin, under her silk panties, and on up her thigh until it could go no further. Bridie widened her legs with abandon. Her moaning grew into gasps and sighs
as she allowed the delicious warmth to spread into her belly.
    When she awoke, Frank was lying asleep beside her. She could hear the music coming from downstairs, but it was slow and mellow, and a woman was singing. She climbed off the bed without waking
him and fumbled about for her clothes. Once she was dressed she turned the brass doorknob as quietly as she could and slipped into the corridor. As she stepped onto the landing, Elaine was sitting
on the top stair, smoking a cigarette. Bridie sat down beside her. ‘You all right?’ she asked.
    ‘Does petting count as infidelity?’ Elaine asked in a dull voice.
    ‘I think Mr Williams would count it.’
    ‘Then I’ve just broken one of the Ten Commandments.’ She turned to Bridie and her big blue eyes shone. ‘Didn’t I say a girl needs a little adventure from time to
time?’
    ‘I think we should go home now,’ said Bridie.
    ‘You’re right. I’ve had enough adventure for one night.’ Elaine narrowed her eyes. ‘Where’s Frank?’
    ‘Asleep.’
    Elaine gasped. ‘You didn’t!’
    ‘I have no one to betray,’ Bridie retorted with a shrug. ‘Adventures are essential for a young widow like me, are they not?’
    ‘Are you going to see him again?’
    Bridie shrugged. ‘I don’t think so.’
    ‘Just a bit of fun.’
    ‘Yes, tonight I discovered how a girl can have fun without . . . complications.’ She wished she had known
that
when she had been a maid at Castle
Deverill.
    Elaine smiled drunkenly. ‘I could have told you that, Bridget.’
    ‘Are you good to drive?’ Bridie asked, knowing that she wasn’t.
    Elaine grabbed the banister and pulled herself onto her feet. ‘Never been better,’ she giggled.
    The two women linked arms and began to slowly and unsteadily descend the grand staircase. ‘God bless America,’ said Bridie, for she truly believed that America had given her a second
chance.
    Elaine squeezed her friend’s arm. ‘God bless
us
,’ she said.

Chapter 6
    Celia and Archie spent Christmas with Sir Digby and Lady Deverill at Deverill Rising, their sumptuous Georgian home in Wiltshire, which Digby had bought and renovated at vast
expense with the first fortune he had made in the South African diamond mines. Originally the house had been called Upton Manor, but that wasn’t nearly grand enough for the brash and newly
rich Digby Deverill. Memories of summers at Castle Deverill inspired him to give his home a name which would last through history and give a sense of dynasty and substance. Therefore he swiftly
renamed it Deverill Rising, endowing it with the gravitas of his new status and the weight of his historical name. Their son George would have