broke the rules when you could. Society didn't want you to be free or different. Society didn't want you to acknowledge anyone outside the inner circle.
" You don't care what happens if you're caught tonight?'' he asked.
"I won't be."
"Won't someone at Miss Gray's recognize you as Lord Searle's daughter?"
"I'll be plain Miss Brinsby there, a school friend of Hetty's. No one will notice."
A short syllable of derision was his answer. "In that dress?"
Ophelia fell silent.
A stiff breeze blew, scattering the last of the clouds, exposing the cold, bright stars. The chill air washed over Ophelia, and she couldn't help pressing closer to Alexander. He made a low noise in his throat. His body tensed, then yielded a hollow for her to nestle in.
After a while his voice broke their silence. "I'm surprised your parents sent you to school."
"My mother didn't want the inconvenience of a governess and dancing master underfoot." Ophelia had no idea how to explain her mother's lack of interest in her children. One by one Sebastian, Jasper, and Ophelia had gained her notice as they'd entered society. Even then, Ophelia was most interesting to her mother as an object to dress. Acquirin g sufficient bosom for décolle tage had been the best thing Ophelia had ever done, in her mother's eyes, and could she manage to grow another two or three inches, she would please her mother even more.
"At school your parents couldn't keep you from the humble Miss Grays of the world." Alexander sounded perplexed.
"They didn't know about Hetty until Solomon published our book."
"You wrote a book?" His amazement was hardly complimentary.
"Hetty and I did." It had been a long time since she'd thought about their book and the dreams that had gone with it. "Is that so difficult to believe?"
He laughed. "When did you sit still to write it?"
"I can sit quite still when my mind's engaged."
He shifted in the saddle, and she realized that her left hip was wedged against his loins. To squirm or wiggle or attempt to defy force of gravity would probably only call attention to their intimate situation. Ophelia held still.
"What was the book about?" he asked.
She waited. It was important that he not laugh. She didn't tell these things to Ayres or Haddington or Dent. "The ideal state of man."
"What did you say that was?"
She tried to see him in the dark. He didn't sound mocking, only interested. "Free and equal, like horses."
"Not a view your parents could accept."
"Oh, they never read the book. They merely disliked the notoriety of a young woman of rank putting her name to any work that circulated generally among the public."
He was silent a moment. They were beyond Mayfair now, beyond the dark expanse of the park. Raj's hooves clopped steadily on the paving stones. Carriages rattled by in the opposite direction.
"How old were you then?"
"Sixteen. They took me out of school, issued ultimatums."
" Forbidding you to see Miss Gray?"
"Forever. So you see why I break the rules."
"She must be a good friend."
Ophelia caught herself. In this whole exchange she had been more open than she was with anyone except Hetty. She shrugged, twisting her hands in Raj's mane, seeking her own hold on the horse. "Hetty laughs at my humor," she said lightly.
The lantern in the Gray stable seemed bright after the darkness outside. Alexander swung down and led Raj to a stall A pair of stableboys looked up from their dicing, but paid no more attention. Alexander lifted Ophelia down.
Her feet touched the ground, but his hands clung to her waist. His eyes seemed to ask something of her, but that was likely a deception wrought by going from the dark to light.
"I should be back by midnight," she said. He still held her waist. "Thank you," she added. "I'll slip in through the garden."
"You can't go alone." He held her with his gaze. "I'll walk you to the door." His hands dropped away from her waist.
T he Grays' Tuesday suppers had started by accident after a
" You don't care what happens if you're caught tonight?'' he asked.
"I won't be."
"Won't someone at Miss Gray's recognize you as Lord Searle's daughter?"
"I'll be plain Miss Brinsby there, a school friend of Hetty's. No one will notice."
A short syllable of derision was his answer. "In that dress?"
Ophelia fell silent.
A stiff breeze blew, scattering the last of the clouds, exposing the cold, bright stars. The chill air washed over Ophelia, and she couldn't help pressing closer to Alexander. He made a low noise in his throat. His body tensed, then yielded a hollow for her to nestle in.
After a while his voice broke their silence. "I'm surprised your parents sent you to school."
"My mother didn't want the inconvenience of a governess and dancing master underfoot." Ophelia had no idea how to explain her mother's lack of interest in her children. One by one Sebastian, Jasper, and Ophelia had gained her notice as they'd entered society. Even then, Ophelia was most interesting to her mother as an object to dress. Acquirin g sufficient bosom for décolle tage had been the best thing Ophelia had ever done, in her mother's eyes, and could she manage to grow another two or three inches, she would please her mother even more.
"At school your parents couldn't keep you from the humble Miss Grays of the world." Alexander sounded perplexed.
"They didn't know about Hetty until Solomon published our book."
"You wrote a book?" His amazement was hardly complimentary.
"Hetty and I did." It had been a long time since she'd thought about their book and the dreams that had gone with it. "Is that so difficult to believe?"
He laughed. "When did you sit still to write it?"
"I can sit quite still when my mind's engaged."
He shifted in the saddle, and she realized that her left hip was wedged against his loins. To squirm or wiggle or attempt to defy force of gravity would probably only call attention to their intimate situation. Ophelia held still.
"What was the book about?" he asked.
She waited. It was important that he not laugh. She didn't tell these things to Ayres or Haddington or Dent. "The ideal state of man."
"What did you say that was?"
She tried to see him in the dark. He didn't sound mocking, only interested. "Free and equal, like horses."
"Not a view your parents could accept."
"Oh, they never read the book. They merely disliked the notoriety of a young woman of rank putting her name to any work that circulated generally among the public."
He was silent a moment. They were beyond Mayfair now, beyond the dark expanse of the park. Raj's hooves clopped steadily on the paving stones. Carriages rattled by in the opposite direction.
"How old were you then?"
"Sixteen. They took me out of school, issued ultimatums."
" Forbidding you to see Miss Gray?"
"Forever. So you see why I break the rules."
"She must be a good friend."
Ophelia caught herself. In this whole exchange she had been more open than she was with anyone except Hetty. She shrugged, twisting her hands in Raj's mane, seeking her own hold on the horse. "Hetty laughs at my humor," she said lightly.
The lantern in the Gray stable seemed bright after the darkness outside. Alexander swung down and led Raj to a stall A pair of stableboys looked up from their dicing, but paid no more attention. Alexander lifted Ophelia down.
Her feet touched the ground, but his hands clung to her waist. His eyes seemed to ask something of her, but that was likely a deception wrought by going from the dark to light.
"I should be back by midnight," she said. He still held her waist. "Thank you," she added. "I'll slip in through the garden."
"You can't go alone." He held her with his gaze. "I'll walk you to the door." His hands dropped away from her waist.
T he Grays' Tuesday suppers had started by accident after a
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