Love's Justice (Entangled Scandalous) by Joan Avery Page B

beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
    He didn’t say a word. He merely took her hand gently and led her into the maze of beautiful flowers.
    He rushed as if what was ahead might escape him. He looked back at her, and his eyes were bright with anticipation and his smile warmer than any she could have imagined. It was contagious. She smiled back and laughed slightly.
    “Where are you taking me?” she asked as he drew her on still deeper into the conservatory.
    “To a magical place. A place where everything is good and sweet and no harm can befall anyone.”
    Tonight she could use such a place. This man, whom she was just beginning to understand, seemed different here. He seemed a child again, joyous and free from worry. The foliage had become dense on either side of them. As they moved deeper into the conservatory, the gaslights offered less and less illumination.
    “Close your eyes,” he demanded.
    She was about to object but somehow she couldn’t. Couldn’t say anything to bring this man back from the pleasure he was experiencing. He had slowed and when she closed her eyes, he led her forward about ten feet before he stopped.
    “Put your head back and then you can open your eyes.” His voice was a warm whisper.
    She did as he asked. When she opened her eyes, she gasped with pleasure. Above her, the night sky was alive with thousands of stars. They were in a clearing. Around them, bamboo and other foliage reached up toward the canopy. It seemed as if there was no glass or metal, no structure above them. It was as if they were the only ones on earth, and the sky was their canopy.
    “It’s beautiful.” She looked to him. He was studying her.
    “It’s beyond beautiful. It’s magical.” He smiled again.
    He took her at arm’s length and began to slowly twirl her around, both their eyes skyward. “When I was a boy, this was my sanctuary, my special place. My mother and the duchess were close. When my mother would visit, I would beg to come with her. Here, in this place, my father didn’t exist. Here, in this place, everything was good and peaceful and safe. No one could hurt me here.”
    He seemed lost in another world, in another time, much younger than his age, vulnerable and human. So different from what she had thought that first day in the courtroom. Everything she had learned about him since then countered what she had once believed.
    She stopped him then and they stood only inches away. He was so different than any man she had ever known. It would be so easy to…
    But that was impossible now.
    …
    He saw the change come over her, the delight drain from her eyes and reality harden them. Did she still think he was going to take advantage of his position? Use her and then abandon her?
    Until the trial was over, he couldn’t convince her otherwise. He was more than aware of the impropriety of their developing relationship. The lawsuit stood between them, forbidding them any contact other than a general social one.
    He released her hands. This had been foolish. Foolish, because all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and kiss her. Hold her in his arms and take her away from the world and all the pain it caused her. Once more, he was forced to be prudent and patient. And once more, he faced the threat of losing a woman who offered a life without pain and regret. A life full of promise. He wouldn’t make the same mistake again. This time he might not survive.
    “Do you want to return to the ballroom, or to your room?”
    He, too, had become a realist. The emotions, so recent and so lovely, drained away. The moment was lost, perhaps never to be refound.

Chapter Nineteen
    “Good night, then.” Hugh had returned her to her room as she had asked.
    “Thank you.” Neither had spoken on the way back from the arboretum. He was as lost in thought as she, and obviously burdened by self-restraint. It was awkward and yet it wasn’t. They had come to some agreement without ever speaking of it. Each flailing