He rested his hips against a worktable and looked at her.
The lantern seemed far away suddenly. More moonlight veiled
him than the illumination from that one distant candle.
โYou speak as though that teacher is no longer here. Nor is
Lady Hawkeswell nor Lady Sebastian. I believe that Mrs.
Albrighton also once lived here.โ
โI am surprised that you absorbed such small details about
lives so removed from your own.โ
โI remember everything when I choose to.โ He cocked his
head and regarded her. โHow many have come and gone while
you remained?โ
โA few more, before the ones you know about.โ The question
induced nostalgia and, deep inside her, a tiny, cringing,
recurrent fear that the day would come when there were no
longer any transient sisters seeking sanctuary in her home,
and she would be all alone.
โYou must envy them at times,โ he said. โEnvy their return
to the world and the families they are building.โ
His words pierced her heart, and she could not deny their
truth. Then, for the second time today, her temper spiked
abruptly.
How dare he be so rude. Fending off a seduction would be
preferable to these intrusive queries.
โI am happy for them.โ She heard her voice sound crisp with
her annoyance. โThey are my friends still, and as close to
my heart as sisters.โ
โI did not say you were not happy for them. I merely
observed thatโโ
โI know what you said. And what you implied. I am not some
sad little woman pining on a shelf, dreaming about parties
and morning calls, Lord Castleford. As for marriage, I am
mature enough to know that there are so few men worthy of
the effort that I am relieved such a future is out of the
question.โ
He just looked at her for a long moment. Then she saw those
mischievous lights appear in the dark of his eyes. โI fear
that I have distressed you again.โ
โNot at all.โ
โYou appear in high color once more.โ
โOh, tosh. You canโt even see my color in this vague
light.โ
โI can hear it, however.โ Suddenly he pushed away from the
table and was standing right in front of her. To her shock
he placed his palm against her cheek. โAnd I can feel it.โ
He astonished her, stunned her not only with his boldness
but also with the sensation of that hand against her face.
Its skin felt as perfect as it had looked. Like warm
velvet.
He moved closer, until his face hovered right above
hers. โPerhaps it is not distress at all but only more
extreme surprise. You are dazzling when in this state.
Strong emotion becomes you.โ
It did not become her. It confused her. It weakened her. It
left her gaping at a handsome man taking inexcusable
liberties, when she should better remain calm enough to put
him in his place.
She groped for her self-possession, but it kept sliding out
of grasp. He was deliberately mesmerizing her. Absorbing
her.
A series of furious denials and insults filled her head but
refused to find her voice. You are no gentleman, sir.โI am
not one of your bawdy doves.โUnhand me, you scoundrel. She
could actually feel the heat of his body with him standing
this closely. His hand on her cheek lured scandalous
reactions out of her. Tingles and shivers and delicious,
sly excitements. You are too bold.โ How dare you be so
familiar.โThis insult is not to be borne. The man was a
devil, and she needed to collect herself andโ
โHow long has it been, Mrs. Joyes? Since a man kissed you
anywhere, even on the mouth?โ
Anywhere?
His breath flowed softly over her lips, making her head
spin and her blood race. โA good number of years, I think.
What a sinful waste.โ His presence wrapped her, then his
arms did too.
A kiss, careful but confident. She resisted the impulse to
close her eyes and float away on the intimacy, but she was
tempted far more than she ever expected to be. Within her
shock she struggled to hold back the dreamy tide of
pleasure that threatened to inundate her and drown her very
sense of herself.
But, oh, it was too sweet, and so poignant that she wanted
to weep. The warmth wrenched her heart. A part of her long
denied, long buried and ignored, ached to break free and
sing. She was a girl again within that embrace, and
painfully alive.
You are nothing but a plaything to him. You of all women
know that is true. The thought finally found its voice in
her mind, after trying too long. She saw what was happening
as if looking in through the nearby glass panes of the
greenhouse wall.
She had responded to that kiss, and it had become two
kisses, then many, each more dominating and hot. She was
now pliant and accepting in his embrace, and he held her
tighter against his body. His hands moved, tempting her
with scandalous caresses that smoothed firmly over her hips
and side, her back, and now, dear heavens, her thighs.
She heard her own sighs and gasps as tantalizing sensations
cascaded through her, each more powerful. She noted how his
caresses rose higher now, close to her breasts, and how her
nipples tingled, waiting for the touch that would
obliterate the last of her reserve.
She saw herself falling fast, like the pathetic, lonely
widow he thought her to be.
You must end this at once, or he will ignore your attempts
to do so later. The warning screamed in her head, an ugly
truth and an unwelcome reminder of all the devastating
vulnerabilities a woman faced in the world.
Stopping it was hard. As hard as he probably knew it would
be once she allowed the first liberty. Harder than she
believed possible, considering she hardly knew him and did
not need the costs of such passion explained.
Somehow, she found the strength and forced her body to
stiffen, then her mouth to as well.
He noticed at once. He stopped the kiss. She knew not all
men would under the circumstances. She refused to meet his
eyes in the long, searching gaze he gave her. Then his arms
fell away. He stepped back.
In the taut silence that followed, she pieced together some
composure. She could hardly upbraid him for insulting her.
Considering how she had behaved, that would be comical. She
would not give him the satisfaction of watching her run
away like a frightened mouse, though.
She turned away and pointed airily to the far wall of the
greenhouse. โAllow me to show you the grapevine we grow
here, Lord Castleford. It always amazes visitors to find
one flourishing inside. We are very proud of it.โ
She spoke nonstop as they strolled toward the passage that
connected the greenhouse to the back sitting room. She
explained the grapevine and encouraged him to admire a huge
pot of camellias. He paced silently, a tall, dark presence
exuding sensual danger.
She trusted he would take his leave gracefully, and they
would pretend the kisses had never happened. He did not.
Instead he subjected her to a gaze that ignored all social
niceties. It was the gaze of a man debating his options and
the strength of her will.
Heaven help her, he managed to revive some of those
sensations in her while he looked too deeply into her eyes.
โI may have to devote the next year to seeing you in high
color again, Mrs. Joyes.โ
What an outrageous thing to threaten. Vexed, she curtsied
and turned to make good her escape. โSince drunkards are
beyond my interest, I expect that my composure is safe for
a year of Tuesdays, Your Grace.โ
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