Perhaps, given her beauty and the hold she’d always maintained over society, it wasn’t incredible that Sapphira rated her charms so high she expected the mere suggestion of being rewarded with her body would send him rushing off to do her bidding. It rankled, though, that she held so slight an opinion of his honor that she thought he could that easily be maneuvered into ruining an innocent.
After several moments, when he did not avail himself of her lips, she opened her eyes and looked at him, her expression puzzled.
That confusion turned to a surprise bordering shock when he thrust away the hand he’d seized and stood up.
“’Tis a very…interesting proposition, my lady. I shall ponder it with the gravity it merits.”
Unable to tolerate the sight of her another moment, he bowed and strode away.
Breathing hard, his thoughts still scrambled by unwanted lust and searing rage, Will stalked down the stairs to claim his coat and escape the treacherous confines of the Harrington town house. Reaching the other side of the street, he waved away a linkboy’s offer to find him a hackney and simply stood, exhaling in gusts that wreathed his head like smoke in the frigid night air.
Since he couldn’t act upon his first impulse—to land a neat uppercut across Sapphira Lynton’s devious lips—Will wasn’t sure what he should do. His gaze went back to the town house, windows ablaze with light as glittering and artificial as the smiles of the ton members dancing within it, still trying to force out of his head the lingering images of Miss Antinori in her night rail.
No matter how much he hungered to make that dream a reality, there was no question of falling in with Lady Lynton’s despicable plot. Miss Antinori’s virtue should be her gift to her bridegroom on their wedding night. Playing the groom in that scenario was a role Will was finding increasingly attractive.
But in the meantime, what to do about Lady Lynton’s proposal? Obviously accustomed to being granted her every wish, Sapphira Lynton was not a woman who would be easily discouraged. Once she realized Will did not intend to acquiesce to her bidding, would she recruit someone else?
Wofford’s handsome, sensual countenance swam into his vision and Will felt sick in the pit of his stomach. Setting aside his chagrin at being considered a man of the same stamp, he realized both Wofford and his friend Sir Harry would likely view Lady Lynton’s proposal as a novel and delightful challenge. The prospect of sampling not just Miss Antinori’s charms, but Lady Lynton’s as well, would give additional piquancy to the task.
And if those two refused her, there were any number of other possibilities. Will’s mind skittered back to the meeting in the park with Fitzhugh and Markham and the nausea in his gut intensified.
How could he protect Miss Antinori from Lady Lynton’s schemes? He might try to warn Lynton. However, if confronted by her stepson, Sapphira Lynton would certainly deny Will’s accusation. Given Lynton’s dislike of Will, the man would be more likely to believe his stepmother’s protestations of innocence than Will’s slur against her character.
The only one who knew Sapphira Lynton—and Will—well enough to believe her capable of such outrage was Allegra Antinori herself. When he called on Miss Antinori tomorrow, he must find some opportunity to warn her that she now stood in more danger from her “aunt” than even she would have thought credible.
CHAPTER TWELVE
WILL’S HOPE before retiring that, in the prosaic light of morning, Lady Lynton’s scheme would appear less threatening proved vain. After a fitful slumber, he rose early, his troubled mind continuing to recall yet more so-called “gentlemen” whom Sapphira Lynton would have no trouble enticing to carry out her plan.
Tempting as it was to pay a morning visit to Gentleman Jackson’s, where he might distract himself by going a few rounds with whomever he could induce to spar with him, Will knew the only way to rid himself of the anxiety needling him would be to deliver his warning to Miss Antinori.
Since the Lynton drawing room today would likely be filled with admirers come to praise Miss Antinori’s musical performance, Will also knew if he wished to find some way to obtain a few moments of private conversation with her, he would have to arrive in advance of usual calling hours. So as early as he thought he’d have some hope of being admitted, he set off for Upper Brook Street.
The startled footman who answered his knock dispelled one potential problem by confirming that Lady Lynton was certainly not receiving yet, as her ladyship never left her bedchamber until well past noon. Leaving him in an antechamber, the servant set off to discover if the other ladies of the house might be available.
A few minutes later, the man returned to usher him up to the drawing room. Will found Mrs. Randall seated at a small writing desk near the hearth while Miss Antinori occupied the sofa, a book in her hand.
After an exchange of greetings, Will took the chair Mrs. Randall indicated. As he seated himself, without conscious volition his gaze veered back, like a compass needle seeking north, to Miss Antinori.
How lovely she was in the morning light, the sheen of her deep green dress echoing the highlights in her glossy dark curls. Though he had to regret that, not being evening wear, her gown concealed the delectable expanse of neck, shoulder and bosom he’d so admired last night.
Suddenly realizing the ladies were gazing at him expectantly, Will pulled himself out of his abstraction. “Thank you both for receiving me so unfashionably early,” he said. “But I didn’t wish to miss this opportunity to tell you how much I enjoyed your company last night. Your performance, Miss Antinori, was marvelous.”
“Not half as marvelous as yours, my lord,” Allegra replied. “I can’t thank you enough for…everything.” The warmth of the smile she gave him sparked a rush of delight that momentarily overwhelmed Will’s worry.
“’Twas a lovely evening, wasn’t it?” Mrs. Randall said. “I thought you both played beautifully. But you speak of missed opportunities, Lord Tavener. Do you have business that will take you from town later?”
“Possibly,” he evaded, dragging his mind back to the point of his visit. “Since the weather is so lovely this morning, before you are kept indoors by the others who will be coming to offer their compliments, might I invite you both to take a turn in the garden?”
If he could coax them outside, Will reasoned, he might be able to stroll Miss Antinori far enough ahead to be able to deliver his warning without Mrs. Randall overhearing.
“Is it not still rather chilly?” Mrs. Randall asked.
“Not excessively,” Will replied.
“A walk sounds most refreshing,” Allegra said. “Or—if you would rather not, Mrs. Randall, I’m sure Lizzie would accompany me. I know you have letters to finish and you probably will not have an opportunity to do so once other guests start arriving.”
Bravo, Miss Antinori, Will thought, as cheered by her intervention as he was by the perception that she seemed as eager as he to engage in a more intimate chat.
Mrs. Randall’s doubtful expression brightened. “Indeed, I would like to finish these. If Lizzie will walk with you, you may go.”
“Excellent. Give me but a moment and I will gladly accompany you, Lord Tavener.” Dipping Will a graceful curtsey, Miss Antinori walked from the room.
He was rewarded for his efforts in maintaining a flow of light conversation with her timid chaperone by her speedy return, the maid Lizzie following in her wake. Will’s appreciation for the servant increased when, as soon as they reached the graveled paths of the small back garden, the girl fell discreetly behind, keeping them in sight as they strolled down the allées of neatly clipped boxwood but remaining a sufficient distance away that they would be able to converse in private.
With Miss Antinori beside him, all Will’s senses heightened. The awareness that rioted through him the instant she placed her hand on his arm gradually calmed to a slow tingling that settled in his loins and radiated with the beat of his heart to every extremity. For a few moments, he simply reveled in her nearness before forcin
g his mind back to the matter that had compelled him to inveigle her away from Mrs. Randall.
Before he could order his thoughts, though, she said, “I must thank you again for so cleverly distracting the attention of the crowd last night. And your selection! ’Twas a sheer delight to have that particular work performed so beautifully.”
“The maestro wrote it for your mother, did he not?”
Her eyes widened. “You knew?”
“I read the notes on the score. I hoped it would please you.”
She took a deep breath, her eyes sheening as she looked up at him. “It did.”
Before Will could pledge to play any piece she wanted, whenever she wanted, if she would but gaze at him with the same tenderness now illumining her face, she tossed her head and laughed shakily.
“I must commend your behavior in the parlor just now,” she said, her light tone breaking the mood. “Quite the admiring but proper suitor! Though your gaze never left me, your eyes remained fixed on my face, without straying…where they should not. Perhaps my tutoring is having some effect after all.”
Accepting with a rueful smile the distance she’d put back between them, he tucked her hand more firmly under his arm. Would that he might beguile her again rather than deliver the warning he felt compelled to give her. “I regret to disabuse you of that optimistic assessment, but the fact that I was so proper should have warned you that I’d been distracted by some dire event.”
Her expression immediately sobered. “Something is wrong, then? An illness or death in your family?”
He laughed shortly. “Nothing of that sort. Indeed, I hardly have any relations whose demise would cause me distress, save Lady Domcaster and her family, who were quite well as of yesterday. I’m worried about a danger to someone to whom I am not related. You.”
Eyebrows lifting in surprise, she tilted her head up. “Me, in some danger? What danger?”
Briefly Will related what Sapphira had proposed. Rather than the tears or wails of alarm he’d braced himself for, Miss Antinori stopped short and stared at him, a righteous indignation filling her eyes.
“She actually enticed you to ruin me? Why, that despicable vixen! Little as I like her, I’m astonished she is willing to go that far.”
But before he could reassure her he would do whatever was necessary to thwart Lady Lynton’s plan, she shook her head and laughed. “Though that does sound exactly like the sort of tawdry scheme she’d concoct. Thank heavens she’s never suspected my feelings for Rob. I shudder to think what she might have done to interfere.”
“I beg you to focus on this current threat,” Will replied, pushing out of mind the mention of her tendre for Lynton. “She wanted me, at the least, to…to dishonor you, at worst to have us discovered in flagrante delicto, after which I was to flee London and leave you to face humiliation and total ruin. As if I would stoop to such a thing! By heaven, if she were a man, I would have called her out for such an insult to my honor and yours.”
Miss Antinori sighed. “I told you she hated me. But thank you for your kindness and courage in bringing me a warning. I’m chagrined that you were forced to concern yourself with so distasteful a matter.”
They’d reached a bench at the end of the pathway next to the high wall that separated the garden from the street. Pulling Allegra aside, out of view of the dawdling maid, Will said urgently, “Lady Lynton’s implacable animosity is what most worries me. Of course I wouldn’t consider her despicable offer, but you are a very attractive lady. I’m afraid she may go on to involve men more unscrupulous than I—who would find her offer very tempting.”
She angled a glance at him, a slight smile on her lips. “And you are…not tempted?”
“Not tempted!” he echoed, frustration and the ever-present scourge of desire sharpening his tone. “Of course I’m bloody well tempted! How could you doubt that?”
“Well, I know you tease and beguile and play the part of being enthralled by me. But those are just the tools of a rake’s arsenal. I’m not sure I truly believe it.”
Afterward he couldn’t recall just what pushed him over the brink. Perhaps, aggravated by a deficiency of sleep and an excess of worry, his control slipped. Or maybe it was because she looked so delectable, her soft cheeks ruddy from the cold, her dark eyes sparkling a challenge. Or maybe he only followed the lead of the curving feather of her silly bonnet, which bobbed in the slight breeze to caress the cheek he yearned to touch. Whatever the spark that set him off, he found himself drawing her closer. “Believe it,” he murmured.
Just a short, sweet sampling, he promised himself. With fingers that trembled as if he’d been waiting weeks, a lifetime, he tilted up her chin and gently brushed his lips over hers.
She tasted of tea and apricots, innocence and sensual power. The softness of her lips made his chest ache while her lavender scent encircled him, pulling him closer. When she didn’t cry out or push him away, but instead uttered a little sigh that whispered from her lips to his, he lost completely the struggle to resist her.
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her hard against him, deepening the kiss, his eager tongue demanding, receiving entrance. The flame within him intensified as he plumbed the hot lush wetness of her mouth, then exploded into wildfire when her tongue, hesitant, tentative, sought out his.
’Twas impossible to know what idiocy he might have attempted had not the sharp crack of a whip, the shrill whinny of horses and the squeal of braking carriages on the other side of the garden wall not shocked him out of his sensual thrall. With shaking hands he pushed her back, then had to brace her upright when she swayed, seeming about to fall if he completely withdrew his support.
For a few moments, Will heard only the sound of their gasping breaths and the shouts of men trading insults in the street beyond before, in a jingle of harness and clop of hoofs, the vehicles drove off.
Miss Antinori’s eyes were downcast and a rosy blush that owed nothing to the wind colored her cheeks. Clinging to his arm, she looked confused, aroused, adorable.
Allegra. The melody of her name singing in his head, he had to marshal every vestige of control to resist the overpowering compulsion to kiss her again.
Instead, he willed his heartbeat to slow, his voice to calm. And oh-so-regretfully released her the instant she tugged at his hand.
“Now,” he said when he could speak again, “I shall keep perfectly still so you may slap me.” He turned his face to offer her better access.
She laughed unsteadily. “That wouldn’t be very sporting, when I was almost as responsible for…what just occurred as you.”
“If Lynton had been able to see us from the window, I should be awaiting much more than a slap.”
She smiled. “As he left early this morning on a matter of business, you are safe.”
“Safe.” Will laughed wryly. “I think we’ve just established that with me, you are not safe at all. Which is despicable, when I came here today expressly to talk about safeguarding you.”
Just then Will heard a loud cough. He looked over to find that the maid had nearly reached the bench where he stood with Allegra—in the wake of that kiss, he would never be able to think of her more formally again. In unspoken agreement, she gave him her arm and they set off again, turning the corner to start down the parallel allée.
“I’m very touched by your concern for my welfare,” Allegra told him after they’d once again drawn ahead of her maid. “I just don’t find the threat as credible as you do. Sapphira believes I’m such a lightskirt that I’ll be helpless to resist the persuasion of the first handsome rogue who shows me any attention. I assure you—” she paused, her face coloring “—despite…what just occurred, neither my morals nor my intelligence are that deficient.”
“I know they are not,” Will reassured her. “Lady Lynton obviously assumes you possess no more character or honor than she does.”
“Perhaps. But since we’ve both agreed that I will not be led astray, I’m in no danger. Once Sapphira
discovers that I cannot be persuaded, she might try to entice some ‘gentleman’ to forcibly seduce me. But with Mrs. Randall or Lizzie or a servant always within calling distance whenever I stir from the house and a full staff nearby when I am within it, I cannot see how anyone could succeed in carrying me off. Sapphira may despise me enough to seek my ruin, but even I do not believe she would go so far as to hire some miscreant to attempt it.”
“Probably not,” Will allowed. “But a sufficiently motivated rogue might be able to overpower you before you could summon assistance.”
“If in future I am prudent enough never to walk more than a few paces ahead of my maid, I should suffer no further…indignities,” she said, softening the words by flashing him a swift, mischievous smile. “Besides, if it comes to that, I grew up around actresses. Though the world may doubt their honor, many are quite virtuous and have learned how to protect themselves, skills they passed on to me. I feel quite confident I could discourage any unwanted attentions.”
“Even against a taller, more powerful man?”
“A taller, more powerful man would not expect me to know how to resist him,” she pointed out. “Besides, since my friends among the staff here would not allow such a thing to happen under their very noses, nor have I any intention of driving with or strolling about with men I cannot trust, I doubt I shall have need of my skill. There, have I reassured you?”
“Somewhat. But do allow me to make you a list of men with whom you must never, ever ride or drive. I will not feel easy until I’ve done all I can to ensure your safety.”
Her expression softened. “I truly am touched by your concern.”
“You must know you are…special to me,” Will replied, substituting that word at the last instant for the “precious” he’d been about to utter. “I only wish I could do more. I’d warn Lynton, but his dislike for me is so intense, I doubt he would believe me. And regrettably, I cannot…restrain Lady Lynton in the manner I should prefer.”
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