Third, she hadn’t planned to light her clothing on fire, nor had she expected his light touch to spark such heat within her. He had muddled her already confounded mind.
And he’d been so at ease. He didn’t seem the least flustered by her presence. Did he have lady guests often? His reputation suggested that he did. And despite being a thief and penniless, she saw his appeal. She’d felt it, deep inside.
What was more, he’d tested her, trying to play with her. His intelligence and cunning completely evident. So she’d learned something valuable too. She doubted very much he was an innocent victim in all of this. She’d found the right path to lead her to mother’s jewels.
Pushing herself off the wall, she made her way to her room. She didn’t ring for her maid, choosing to light the candles herself and then removed her ruined dress. She sighed as she held it up for inspection. She’d liked blue silk gown with a lace overlay. It had been one of her favorites.
Her maid would have questions about where the dress had gone but she’d have to dispose of it without her knowledge. A missing dress was far better than a burned one. Ann was a lovely girl, but prone to gossiping, especially in a house full of unknown servants. Her father knowing she’d caught fire would be bad enough.
She began to undo her corset when a knock sounded at her door.
“Rose,” her father called. “Are you all right?”
She took a steadying breath, feeling for a moment like a child about to be caught telling a lie. “Fine, Papa,” she replied.
“Are you burned?” The concern in his voice made her wince in guilt. She’d worried him with her antics. He would never approve if he knew she was trying to track down the jewels. An already protective father, he’s become more so after the loss of her mother last year to consumption. She put on her dressing gown, moved to the door, then opened it to allow her father in.
The moment it opened, his concerned eyes travelled up and down her. Though greying, her father was still a handsome man, tall and lean. She missed her mother dearly, and no one would ever replace her, but more and more often, she wished her father would find a woman to make him happy. Not only would it be good for him but Rose would marry soon, provided her reputation was not entirely destroyed while she searched for the diamonds, and she hated to think of him alone.
“No, I’m fine. The only damage was to my dress, I’m afraid.” She winced as she held up the garment again for inspection.
“Oh dear.” He assessed the burnt fabric. “It was fortunate that Lord Addington was there.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You may be the only person I have ever heard use the words fortunate and Lord Addington together in a sentence.”
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Before the Highwater scandal, when had you heard of Lord Addington darling?” He cleared his throat. “Be careful judging a man, or a woman, from ton rumors. They are rarely true.”
It was Rose’s turn to raise her eyebrows. She understood her father’s sentiment but she had to disagree. At least in this case. He was involved. She was sure of it. But she didn’t need to enlighten her father. “If you say so.” She began folding up the dress. “You will make my excuses downstairs? I hardly think I will return in a new ensemble. It’s late and there would be questions.”
“Of course” Her father gave her a thin smile. “My question is why you left dinner in the first place?”
Rose was careful to continue folding the dress with deliberate slowness. “I needed the powder room, Papa.”
Her father remained silent for so long she finished and, after crossing to put it on top of the chest at the foot of her bed, she was forced to turn and look at him.
He assessed her still as he spoke. “Why did Lord Addington think you were fetching me a pocket square?”
She gave a casual shrug, at least she hoped it was casual. “It was too embarrassing to admit what I was actually doing.”
Her father’s eyes lit with understanding and she willed her shoulders to remain straight and not slump in relief. “Of course, that makes sense.”
A lovely breeze blew in from the open door leading to her balcony. The smell of flowers drifted in from the courtyard. It would be nice to step out and clear her mind. She’d only left Addington’s room with more questions and few answers.
“I should retire, Papa, but I will see you in the morning?” She crossed over to her father and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Sleep well,” he returned the gesture then headed for the door. “I will see you in the morning at breakfast.”
As the knob clicked closed, she slipped the dressing gown off her shoulders and hung it on its hook. Then she reached her fingers behind her back to begin working the lacings of her own corset, eager to be free of the garment.
“Would you care for some help?” a deep voice called from the balcony door.
A chill ran down her spine as a little scream emitted from Rose and she whirled to face the opening. Standing amongst the undulating curtains was Lord Addington. How had he gotten up on the second story balcony and why? “What are you doing?” she hissed.
He didn’t move from the doorway but his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow arching. “You entered my room without invitation first.”
She stared at him opened mouthed. How dare he? That was entirely different. “A gentleman would never enter a lady’s room uninvited.”
A devilish smile quirked one side of his lips up. “I am no gentleman.” As if to prove his point, his eyes wandered down her length. It was only then that she realized she was in nothing but her corset and chemise.
She gasped again as she attempted to cover herself. Rose backed up three steps but only bumped into the bed. Then she skittered away, thinking it was even more dangerous place to be. “Get out,” she whispered.
He didn’t move as he continued to stare at her. “Relax, Rose. I am not here to hurt you. We simply need to finish our conversation without the risk of being discovered. And in your room, half dressed, you can not simply vanish again.”
The candlelight danced along the plains of his face. He looked even more handsome in this light than he did during the day, the dark depths of his eyes bottomless, his hair shining wherever the light touched it. “We should discuss this tomorrow, in a more respectable—”
“I don’t think so.” He gave his head a tiny jerk. “Why were you in my room? And do not tell me it was for a pocket square. I heard you speaking to your father.”
Her breath caught and she moved back to the bed, sinking down to sit on its feathered softness. She was normally quite adept at avoiding trouble but he backed her into a corner. “I…” The single word slipped out but she had no idea what else to say.
“What were you searching for?”
His voice was soft, soothing almost, in its deep baritone. It rumbled through her making her already weak knees jelly. She couldn’t have stood if she’d tried.
She rubbed her temples with her middle and index fingers. She had absolutely no explanation other than the truth. The room became so still, she could have heard a mouse upon the floor. “I wished to take a lover,” she barely whispered. “I thought your room was another man’s.”
* * *
Well bloody hell, she was full of surprises. And little lies. Will’s eyes narrowed. As a man who had been a spy, he understood the need to lie. The question was, were her reasons noble? Every instinct he had now told him she was not particularly skilled at falsehoods, it was not something she did often. Then why was she lying now? “A lover? Pray tell, who is the lucky man?”
She reached for one of the posts on her bed, and holding it with both hands, stood up, leaning her weight against it. She was truly lovely, not just because her corset accentuated her supple curves, and her thick blonde hair trailed about her shoulders. But because the spark of intelligence that lit her eyes along with her fortitude called to him. He adored a challenge.
She drew in a deep breath. “That is none of your concern.”
He walked closer, keeping his movements slow. Her eyes widened and her chest heaved her rather ample bosom. Not so large as to be out of proportion but nice and full. It was lovely, really. He forced his gaze from her delectable curves and his thoughts from how those curves might fill his hands. “Oh but it is. Because it was my room that you actually entered and because, if you are taking requests for lovers, I’d like to be considered for the position.” It was bordering on cruel. She had no intention of taking a lover, and he would not ruin an innocent lady but he had to force her into a spot where she began telling the truth.
Her answering gasp confirmed everything he needed. He’d nearly reached her now and her shallow breaths made her breasts heave. The sight nearly undid him. For a moment he wanted to forget all about pressing her for information and instead, he wanted to press her body against his. “You, my lord, are a terrible rake.”
He chuckled, the sound of her breathy voice doing little to bring him back to his senses. “I fear that is true.”
Her hands tightened on the post, her knuckles white in the soft light. “Are you also a gambler, a drunk, and a thief?” she asked.
He stopped moving and he brought his gaze back up to hers. “What?” He fixed his gaze to hers, his mind slowly digesting what she’d just said. He was normally far quicker, but she’d addled his brain. But her last word…thief was important. She’d been searching his room. She’d just accused him of stealing. She thought he had something of hers. Bloody hell.
She swallowed then her lips pressed together before she spoke. “There are a great many rumors that surround you, my lord.”
Will was tired of this game. Not of her. She was the most interesting person he’d met in quite some time. But he did not like her accusation. He’d heard it many times and it had never bothered him before. To the contrary, he’d intentionally developed a dreadful reputation to cover his tracks. But somehow, on her lips, it made his insides clench to know that was what she thought of him. Even knowing that she wasn’t actually taking a lover, and not really rejecting him, it bothered him that she did think he was thief and that she’d been searching his room. “Then I will refer you to your father’s earlier comment. Be careful believing in rumors, my lady.”
He should go. He’d learned what he’d come here to discover. At least why she was in his room. Of course, as was always true, one answer brought about more questions. What was she looking for? How did she decide to look to him to find it?
“You just confirmed you are what they say…” Rose let go of the post and took a step toward him. “A rake. If that is true, it stands to reason that the other rumors might be as well.”
Will assessed her again. In some corner of his mind, he had to honestly admit he was impressed. Though she’d given up her game without meaning to,—she was dealing with a trained spy after all—she had also set him back on his heels. Men far more adept at foul pursuits hadn’t been able to do what she had just accomplished. Of course, those men did not addle his brain with lush and heaving chests. But still, if they’d been playing chess, she’d have put him in check at the very least. It was time, however, to turn the tables back in his favor again. “I doubt the ton has any real information on my activities, my lady. It’s all hearsay and conjecture. For example, they will never know that I snuck into an innocent debutante’s room this evening and kissed her senseless.”
“I beg your par—” she started but he didn’t allow her to finish.
Instead, he wrapped his arm about her waist and pulled her up against him. Cupping her cheek with his other hand, he firmly, deliberately pressed his lips to hers. He felt her gasp, as she sucked his breath into her mouth.
She brought her hands to his chest as he guided her lips closed again and then opened them, deepening the kiss. He’d reckon she was about to push him away and so he touched his tongue to hers. Then her hands gathered up his shirt while she clung to him.
She tasted of clover, soft and sweet, as he kissed her over and over, exploring the delicate hollows of her mouth. Her body gathered to his and for a moment, he considered unlacing the rest of her corset, pulling off her chemise and kissing every inch of her to see if the rest of her body was equally delicious.
But he wasn’t here to make love to an innocent. His goal was simply to unsettle her, never mind that she was wreaking havoc on him with her innocent enthusiasm.
Her soft moan nearly undid the last of his resolve. She tasted better than any woman he had ever known. His entire body was as tense as a bowstring with the desire that filled him. But he ended the kiss and slowly stepped away. With a small salute, he backed out the French doors. He’d get more answers from his innocent little lying temptress tomorrow.
Chapter Three
Rose watched him leave wondering what had just happened. For a brief shining moment, she’d had the upper hand. Then that blasted man had turned the tables on her…again.
She brought her fingers to her lips and touched the swollen flesh. The kiss had been everything she’d dreamed her first kiss would be. And Lord Addington looked as though he had stepped directly out of one of her daydreams, the sort every young lady had. Except, of course, instead of being a dashing hero, he was a thieving rake. Try as she might to explain to her racing pulse that he wasn’t at all appropriate, it didn’t appear to want to listen.
Crossing the room, she closed the doors to the patio and then clicked the lock into place. She might be hot tonight, but she couldn’t risk another surprise visit from a devilishly handsome man. Then she unlaced her corset, and flopped onto her bed.
She should change into a nightrail, undo the pins from her hair. Instead, she lay staring at the canopy above her on the large bed, reliving every moment of that kiss along with many of the exchanges that had happened before it.
Rolling onto her stomach, she sighed. If she were going to lay awake, she should make plans on how to find her mother’s jewelry instead of daydreaming about a man who didn’t exist. Well, technically, Lord Addington existed, but her mind was creating a fiction around him where he was actually gallant and noble. Perhaps he wasn’t a thief but an agent of good, trying to catch wrong doers and the like. She sighed at her own silliness.
Pushing off the bed, she crossed the room and sat at her dressing table to begin removing the pins from her hair. As she pulled the pins, the locks tumbled down her back. She gathered them into a thick braid and tied a ribbon at the end. She was certain she’d lost her chance to search Lord Addington’s room. Even if she could get in again when he was gone, she’d lost the element of surprise. He now knew she’d be looking and could hide anything of value.
Nibbling at her lip, she propped her elbows on the surface of the table and rested her chin on her closed fists. Since she could no longer search his room, she’d have to follow him instead to find proof he was a thief. She ignored the tiny thrill that raced down her spine at the thought of watching him. It was a matter of finding the truth, not of observing his broad shoulders and narrow torso. She wouldn’t be distracted but his full lips on hers or his arms around her…she stopped herself.
“Ugh,” she said aloud and then closed her eyes. Tomorrow would be a busy day. She’d need her strength.
Sleep took a long time to come and she woke the next morning with puffy eyes and a dull pain in her temples. Lack of rest and the fact that she still had learned nothing tangible made her rather grumpy as she made her way to breakfast.
Walking into the morning room, very few were about and she assumed that most of the assembled guests had been up late into the evening. But at one end of the table, sat Lord Addington along with her host, Lord Perrault. To Perrault’s right sat the widow, Lady Crawley. Rose stopped, dread filling her as she assessed the situation.
Addington spotted her and gave her a slow smile. Goodness gracious but he had a handsome smile in the most infuriating way possible.
She’d decided as she’d lain awake that she couldn’t verbally spar with him again. He always seemed to h
ave the upper hand. Her plan, if she could ignore his lazy smiles, was to pretend she didn’t give a whit about him so that she could follow him without suspicion. She knew she was grasping at straws, but she had to try something. Her body responded to his and her mind wasn’t prepared for his blasted intelligence. It was part of the reason she’d come down to breakfast so early. She’d wanted to avoid his company. Didn’t drunken degenerates like Lord Addington sleep late?
“Good morning, Lady Rose.” Lord Addington stood in greeting as he spoke.
Rose stopped, cursing to herself. Then she remembered her manners and began moving again, glancing at the other people about the table.
Lord Perrault stood as well and the widow, Lady Crawley gave her a nod.
“Good morning,” she replied as blandly as she could to a man who had kissed her just hours ago.
Lady Crawley sniffed. “What is good about it?”
Lord Perrault gave a little chuckle. “Why rise at all, Lady Crawley, if you don’t enjoy the morning?”
Rose made her way around the table to be seated next to the widow when she saw Lady Crawley give Lord Addington a long look. “I heard morning air would be good for my skin,” the woman replied. “Lord Addington, I know you enjoy the mornings.” Her pause made it clear exactly why she’d woken. She hoped to catch the attention of Lord Addington. “Perhaps you wouldn’t mind taking me for a walk in the fresh air after we’ve broken our fast?”
Rose digested this information. He was a known early riser? How was that possible given his reputation?
Lord Addington gave a slight bow. “My apologies, but I’ve a previous engagement.”
“At this hour?” Lady Crawley huffed.
Rose glanced at the other woman. She was lovely in the way that was in fashion among the ton. Pale blonde hair and ivory skin, the woman was tall and slender making her stand out in a crowd. The lady didn’t ever have a hair out of place. By contrast, Rose had a far more honey colored hair that refused to be stay where it should, much browner skin and a fuller figure. Though her waist was tiny, her curves were rather…full. She smoothed her skirts in an effort to tame her hips as she reached the chair next to Lady Crawley. Wishing, she were taller at the very least, or thinner, or just as well put together as the other woman.
Dashing Dukes and Romantic Rogues Page 71