it’s just as well Arthur is neither of those things.”
“Ahem, speaking of debauchery,” Frances replied, “how do you intend to get Mr. Eggleston to kiss you?”
Annie gave her friend a sly smile. “I’m going to ask him. And there’s nothing debauched about it. I intend to be happily married to Arthur in the very near future and one kiss is nothing compared to that.”
“One kiss is nothing after you’re married,” Frances corrected. “Before you’re married it is quite a bit of something.”
Annie waved her hand in the air, dismissing the subject and trying not to remember the kiss she’d shared with Lord Debauchery himself last night.
“Where exactly do you intend to have this kiss? I thought you said you promised Lord Ashbourne you wouldn’t take off alone with Mr. Eggleston?”
The innocent look again. “I promised Lord Ashbourne I wouldn’t take off into the gardens with Arthur and I have no intention of doing so. Besides, the Roths’ gardens aren’t much to visit, to be honest.” She shook her head.
Frances gave her a warning look. “Anne, are you quite certain you want to defy Lord Ashbourne?”
Annie fought the urge to grind her slipper into the marble floor. “I’m not defying him. I just explained it all to you. But even if I were defying him, who is he to tell me what to do? He’s neither my guardian, my relative, nor my husband.”
“Oh, how I wish he were my husband.” Frances sighed.
Annie shook her head. “Look, I must be quick. Arthur will be returning soon. When he asks where I’ve gone, tell him you’re not sure.”
She turned to leave, but Frances’s hand on her sleeve stopped her. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“Why, to the library, of course.” Annie winked at Frances and left in a flash, skittering out the door to ensure her exit before she encountered Arthur.
She made her way down the shadowy corridors of the Roths’ town house until she came to the door she remembered as the entrance to the library. She’d been to the house several times before, once for an impromptu musicale that was held in this cozy room. In fact, if she remembered correctly, there was a large green velvet sofa that would be just perfect for a first kiss. Well, a second kiss … No, that other kiss hadn’t counted. It had been a mistake, one she was about to rectify.
She spent a few minutes nervously waiting in the hallway before a footman happened by.
“May I bother you for a quill and some parchment?” she asked the young man who smiled from ear to ear and hurriedly ushered her into the room, sat her down at the desk, and waited while she penned a note to Arthur asking him to meet her in the library posthaste. When she finished, she folded the sheet, wrote Arthur’s name on the outside, and delivered it into the footman’s hands.
“For Mr. Eggleston,” she said, watching as the servant pulled a silver tray from a nearby divan and deposited her note atop it.
“Right away, miss,” he replied, hurrying from the room.
Annie watched him go and sucked in her breath. Her elbow braced on the desktop, she rested her chin in her hand and drummed the fingers of her opposite hand along a leather-bound tome sitting in front of her. Next, she stood and paced across the plush carpets. She found a looking glass on the wall and glanced at her reflection. She’d always looked her best with her hair in a chignon. She pulled one wide curl down to hang against her temple. She pinched her cheeks to pinken them, then puckered her lips at the mirror. Oh, she was hardly as beautiful as Jordan Holloway’s seductive mistress no doubt was, but it would just have to do.
“Kiss me, Arthur. Kiss me,” she whispered. Then she laughed at her own silliness. She turned back to face the room and hurried over to the green sofa. She had remembered it correctly, and it was even more soft and inviting than she recalled. She settled herself into a corner of the furniture, her back to the door, and
“Ahem, speaking of debauchery,” Frances replied, “how do you intend to get Mr. Eggleston to kiss you?”
Annie gave her friend a sly smile. “I’m going to ask him. And there’s nothing debauched about it. I intend to be happily married to Arthur in the very near future and one kiss is nothing compared to that.”
“One kiss is nothing after you’re married,” Frances corrected. “Before you’re married it is quite a bit of something.”
Annie waved her hand in the air, dismissing the subject and trying not to remember the kiss she’d shared with Lord Debauchery himself last night.
“Where exactly do you intend to have this kiss? I thought you said you promised Lord Ashbourne you wouldn’t take off alone with Mr. Eggleston?”
The innocent look again. “I promised Lord Ashbourne I wouldn’t take off into the gardens with Arthur and I have no intention of doing so. Besides, the Roths’ gardens aren’t much to visit, to be honest.” She shook her head.
Frances gave her a warning look. “Anne, are you quite certain you want to defy Lord Ashbourne?”
Annie fought the urge to grind her slipper into the marble floor. “I’m not defying him. I just explained it all to you. But even if I were defying him, who is he to tell me what to do? He’s neither my guardian, my relative, nor my husband.”
“Oh, how I wish he were my husband.” Frances sighed.
Annie shook her head. “Look, I must be quick. Arthur will be returning soon. When he asks where I’ve gone, tell him you’re not sure.”
She turned to leave, but Frances’s hand on her sleeve stopped her. “Wait. Where are you going?”
“Why, to the library, of course.” Annie winked at Frances and left in a flash, skittering out the door to ensure her exit before she encountered Arthur.
She made her way down the shadowy corridors of the Roths’ town house until she came to the door she remembered as the entrance to the library. She’d been to the house several times before, once for an impromptu musicale that was held in this cozy room. In fact, if she remembered correctly, there was a large green velvet sofa that would be just perfect for a first kiss. Well, a second kiss … No, that other kiss hadn’t counted. It had been a mistake, one she was about to rectify.
She spent a few minutes nervously waiting in the hallway before a footman happened by.
“May I bother you for a quill and some parchment?” she asked the young man who smiled from ear to ear and hurriedly ushered her into the room, sat her down at the desk, and waited while she penned a note to Arthur asking him to meet her in the library posthaste. When she finished, she folded the sheet, wrote Arthur’s name on the outside, and delivered it into the footman’s hands.
“For Mr. Eggleston,” she said, watching as the servant pulled a silver tray from a nearby divan and deposited her note atop it.
“Right away, miss,” he replied, hurrying from the room.
Annie watched him go and sucked in her breath. Her elbow braced on the desktop, she rested her chin in her hand and drummed the fingers of her opposite hand along a leather-bound tome sitting in front of her. Next, she stood and paced across the plush carpets. She found a looking glass on the wall and glanced at her reflection. She’d always looked her best with her hair in a chignon. She pulled one wide curl down to hang against her temple. She pinched her cheeks to pinken them, then puckered her lips at the mirror. Oh, she was hardly as beautiful as Jordan Holloway’s seductive mistress no doubt was, but it would just have to do.
“Kiss me, Arthur. Kiss me,” she whispered. Then she laughed at her own silliness. She turned back to face the room and hurried over to the green sofa. She had remembered it correctly, and it was even more soft and inviting than she recalled. She settled herself into a corner of the furniture, her back to the door, and
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