The Seduction of an Earl by Linda Rae Sande Read Free Book Online Page B

both ends of the land as well as down the middle, at right angles to the river, to allow the fields to be watered during dry times and drained in times of too much rain.” Pausing a moment to be sure his audience was still interested, he saw Lady Hannah’s brow furrow.
    “How, then, will you keep the river from flooding your fields when there is too much rain?” she wondered, her body barely perched on the edge of her chair. She was leaning forward again, apparently very interested in irrigation.
    The thought of river water spilling into the ditches he planned to have dug in the next few weeks was suddenly replaced with the thought of Hannah’s breasts spilling forth from her bodice and into his eager hands. He was sure one of them would fill a hand completely, perhaps even overflow the edges of his fingers and flood onto his  ...
    Gates ! he admonished himself. He had to think of gates. The gates of hell . And higher necklines.
    “At the points where the irrigation ditches and the river meet, there will be a sort of gate – a large, flat piece of iron with a rope attached that can be strung over a pulley. Then the gate can be raised and lowered between two guide tracks,” he explained, his hands motioning in the air as he described the devices, making sure to include the marquess in his explanation. “A sort of dam that can be put into place when no water is needed, and then lifted up when the ditch needs to be filled.”
    Hannah’s mouth opened as she listened to his explanation, understanding immediately how the system would work. “That’s brilliant! Did you come up with the idea yourself?”
    Henry couldn’t help but allow a grin at Hannah’s enthusiasm. “Thank you,” he murmured, nodding as he said so and suddenly feeling as if her assessment was the last bit of encouragement he needed to actually put the irrigation system into place. I could name the system the Gates of Hannah . “Some of it, yes. I like to design things to ... to solve problems,” he admitted. The Gates of Hannah . He found himself imagining Hannah, naked and atop his bed, her milky white thighs spreading apart, gates to the heaven that could be his as his manhood thrust into her warm, wet cocoon, flooding her with his seed ... Christ! We’re talking about farm modernization here , he chastised himself, shifting his position in the chair and lowering his teacup and saucer to better cover the evidence of his erection.
    Devonville was watching him with a good deal of interest. “You’ll have to excuse Lady Hannah’s ignorance of modern farm techniques. Her other best friend recently married Viscount Bostwick. His farmlands in Sussex are undergoing the same modernization.” He turned his attention to his daughter. “I don’t suppose Lady Bostwick talks of such things when she visits, though,” he added, a hint of derision in his voice.
    Her face displaying a sudden wash of pink, Hannah regarded her father with a mix of surprise and embarrassment. “Certainly not today,” she agreed with a shake of her head, not adding that Elizabeth Bennett-Jones wouldn’t be the least bit interested in anything having to do with farming techniques. Her primary interests of late seemed to revolve around activities that could be performed in a bedchamber. Or in other rooms of a house when servants were not present.
    Alarmed at the marquess’ comment, Henry felt a twinge of embarrassment on behalf of Lady Hannah. Did the man realize how critical he sounded of her wish to understand the topic at hand? Henry remembered Hannah’s response to her father’s query about Lady Bostwick. So, she was the woman who had left just before his arrival.
    Hannah sighed and gave a wan smile. She set her teacup on the table. How could Father say such a thing in front of a guest? she wondered, her joy at having so easily followed the earl’s explanation suddenly gone. Her father had never done such a thing to her during dinner parties.
    Was he chastising her