kiss.
Out in the foyer, Cousin Felicity laughed. “Belton? Did you bar Lady Delander from the house?”
“No, Madame, I would never presume to question your or Lord Ashlin’s choice of guests.”
Belton’s sarcasm sounded as if it were aimed directly at her.
“I tell you I was barred from your house,” Lady Delander continued. “That door was shut in my face.” This was followed by a great huff and sigh, like the wheeze of bagpipes.
“Odious woman,” Mason muttered under his breath.
Riley heartily agreed. While she had yet to lay her eyes on the estimable lady, she could well envision her, having seen her kind in their private boxes, whispering and pointing their fans at the moral decay around them, and then delighting in sharing the latest on-dits and scandalous bits with anyone willing to listen.
“Oh, that door,” Cousin Felicity was saying. “I’m afraid it sticks. Whenever it rains. Terribly inconvenient. I’ve been after Lord Ashlin to fix it, but does he listen to me?”
“Sticks when it rains?” Lady Delander’s voice sounded incredulous. “Lady Felicity, it is not raining.”
“Oh, so it isn’t. Well, that’s why it must have opened.” In her own nonsensical way, Cousin Felicity was doing a good job of distracting their unwanted guest, but not for long.
Lady Delander, Riley quickly realized, was, if anything, persistent.
“Oh, never mind about the door,” she said to Cousin Felicity. “I distinctly saw an infidel entering your house earlier, and in the company of a woman whose dress was, shall we say, less than respectable.”
“Less than respectable?” Riley whispered. “Why, I’ll have that woman know this gown is the height of—”
Her protests were cut off again with another kiss, this one just as swift and shocking as the first—melting her very heart.
His hand pressed at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
Oh, how dare he, she wanted to cry out, if only her body wasn’t having the most disgraceful reaction. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and she pressed herself closer if only to feel all of him.
What the devil was she doing, throwing herself at himlike the worst type of Cyprian he already suspected her of being?
She broke away, their gazes meeting briefly in the meager light slipping in around the door.
There she saw a hunger that both frightened her and left her wanting to fill that deep void.
He put a single finger to her lips. “Shhh.” His touch burned her skin as much as his lips had moments earlier. “Don’t say a word.”
All she could do was nod. Do anything he asked rather than break the spell between them.
“I tell you, I saw the most heinous heathen entering this house!” Lady Delander said.
“A heathen in Ashlin Square?” Cousin Felicity’s words echoed with disbelief. She lowered her voice, though not enough so it wasn’t heard through the closed door of their closet. “Josephine, have you been putting sherry in your tea again?”
“I certainly have not!” the lady protested. “I know what I saw. And I saw an infidel entering this house with the most wicked-looking sword. ’Tis a wonder you haven’t had your throat slit. I told my son to summon the watch immediately.”
Mason groaned. “Not the watch.”
“Oh, dear! He didn’t, did he?” Cousin Felicity was asking.
“Summon the watch?” Lady Delander said. “No, he refused. Said it probably had to do with another of Lord Ashlin’s odd university studies and never to mind. But you know me, Felicity. I shan’t stay still while my friends are in danger. So I summoned all my courage and came over here to see to you myself.”
“A regular Lady Macbeth out there,” Riley whispered. “Can’t leave well enough alone.” She changed the inflection in her voice to mimic Lady Delander. “ Out, damned spot .”
Lord Ashlin’s eyes widened with amazement, and then his mouth twitched with uncharacteristic humor.
Riley would have sworn such a smile on this
Out in the foyer, Cousin Felicity laughed. “Belton? Did you bar Lady Delander from the house?”
“No, Madame, I would never presume to question your or Lord Ashlin’s choice of guests.”
Belton’s sarcasm sounded as if it were aimed directly at her.
“I tell you I was barred from your house,” Lady Delander continued. “That door was shut in my face.” This was followed by a great huff and sigh, like the wheeze of bagpipes.
“Odious woman,” Mason muttered under his breath.
Riley heartily agreed. While she had yet to lay her eyes on the estimable lady, she could well envision her, having seen her kind in their private boxes, whispering and pointing their fans at the moral decay around them, and then delighting in sharing the latest on-dits and scandalous bits with anyone willing to listen.
“Oh, that door,” Cousin Felicity was saying. “I’m afraid it sticks. Whenever it rains. Terribly inconvenient. I’ve been after Lord Ashlin to fix it, but does he listen to me?”
“Sticks when it rains?” Lady Delander’s voice sounded incredulous. “Lady Felicity, it is not raining.”
“Oh, so it isn’t. Well, that’s why it must have opened.” In her own nonsensical way, Cousin Felicity was doing a good job of distracting their unwanted guest, but not for long.
Lady Delander, Riley quickly realized, was, if anything, persistent.
“Oh, never mind about the door,” she said to Cousin Felicity. “I distinctly saw an infidel entering your house earlier, and in the company of a woman whose dress was, shall we say, less than respectable.”
“Less than respectable?” Riley whispered. “Why, I’ll have that woman know this gown is the height of—”
Her protests were cut off again with another kiss, this one just as swift and shocking as the first—melting her very heart.
His hand pressed at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.
Oh, how dare he, she wanted to cry out, if only her body wasn’t having the most disgraceful reaction. Her fingers gripped his shoulders and she pressed herself closer if only to feel all of him.
What the devil was she doing, throwing herself at himlike the worst type of Cyprian he already suspected her of being?
She broke away, their gazes meeting briefly in the meager light slipping in around the door.
There she saw a hunger that both frightened her and left her wanting to fill that deep void.
He put a single finger to her lips. “Shhh.” His touch burned her skin as much as his lips had moments earlier. “Don’t say a word.”
All she could do was nod. Do anything he asked rather than break the spell between them.
“I tell you, I saw the most heinous heathen entering this house!” Lady Delander said.
“A heathen in Ashlin Square?” Cousin Felicity’s words echoed with disbelief. She lowered her voice, though not enough so it wasn’t heard through the closed door of their closet. “Josephine, have you been putting sherry in your tea again?”
“I certainly have not!” the lady protested. “I know what I saw. And I saw an infidel entering this house with the most wicked-looking sword. ’Tis a wonder you haven’t had your throat slit. I told my son to summon the watch immediately.”
Mason groaned. “Not the watch.”
“Oh, dear! He didn’t, did he?” Cousin Felicity was asking.
“Summon the watch?” Lady Delander said. “No, he refused. Said it probably had to do with another of Lord Ashlin’s odd university studies and never to mind. But you know me, Felicity. I shan’t stay still while my friends are in danger. So I summoned all my courage and came over here to see to you myself.”
“A regular Lady Macbeth out there,” Riley whispered. “Can’t leave well enough alone.” She changed the inflection in her voice to mimic Lady Delander. “ Out, damned spot .”
Lord Ashlin’s eyes widened with amazement, and then his mouth twitched with uncharacteristic humor.
Riley would have sworn such a smile on this
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