“There is not.” She didn’t wish to talk of nonsense anymore. They’d been having a real conversation. She enjoyed those.
But the moment was disrupted first by light and then a small gasp.
Lore quickly set Brinley away.
Brinley’s blood ran cold and it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust and for her fear to allow her to think clearly.
Helen stood at the entrance of the office, a key in her hand. She looked between them and then settled her eyes on Brinley before she said, “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She smiled and then took Brinley’s hand. “Come, Lord Denhollow is telling the most hilarious story. You must hear it.”
“Lady Norton,” Lore began. “We must speak of what you’ve seen.”
“Later,” Helen promised. “At the moment, you should return to the drawing room sometime after us, so no one thinks you two disappeared on your own.”
Feeling numb, Brinley allowed her to drag her from the room.
“When you disappeared, I thought you ill, so I went to your room,” Helen told Brinley. “And then I checked the gardens and the kitchen and the drawing rooms.”
Brinley swallowed and was sure she would be ill. If Helen told anyone what she saw…
“It was fortunate that I was the one to find you,” Helen went on. “If anyone else had found you and Lore together, they’d have assumed he’d compromised you, but I know better than that.” She smiled at Brinley. “I know what Lore likes.”
The statement was more information that Brinley wished to have received.
She should have assumed Lore and Helen had known each other in the biblical term.
Brinley hated knowing it.
She also hated that it bothered her at all.
∫ ∫ ∫
1 9
“May I have the next dance?” Lore found himself asking Helen an hour later.
They were the last words he thought he’d ever say to her, but the night’s events had demanded otherwise. He needed to speak to her alone and the dancefloor was the safest place for them to conduct a conversation that would not be overheard.
Helen kept her gaze lowered, but he saw the hint of a smile on her lips.
She stood with a group of other lords and ladies. one of them Brinley, who he could find with his eyes closed. Tangled and buried in the abundant floral aromas Brinley’s scent brought to mind warm and pleasant memories he’d yet to create.
Not to raise suspicions, he kept his gaze from her, but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see her staring at him in wonder. He’d all but told her yesterday that he had no ambitions to be around Helen.
Yet there they were.
Denhollow cut in. “Actually, the next dance is mine and it is the waltz.”
“I’ve not danced as of yet,” one of the other ladies said to her friend, loud enough for Lore to hear.
“Neither have I,” replied her companion longingly.
Lore had no time for them.
“But we’ve already danced together,” Helen told Denhollow as she held out her hand, silencing the others. “I’m sure you don’t mind Lord Laurel having one.” Sweetly, she lifted a brow at the marquess.
Denhollow bowed to her. “Of course, not.” He gave Lore a hard look. “Just one wouldn’t hurt.”
Lore kept himself from rolling his eyes as he offered his arm to Helen.
He led Helen out onto the floor and tried his best to position their bodies with minimal touches.
“Doesn’t this dance bring to mind fond memories?” she asked.
Lore didn’t know which memories she spoke of. They’d danced this very dance before. Three years ago, his sister had brought it to the village and made everyone learn it.
Though he suspected Helen’s words implied a different sort of dance, one that happened between her sheets.
Neither were fond memories for him.
“How did you get into the office?” he asked. “I locked it from within.”
“I asked the housekeeper for the key once I saw you slip in.” A look that could have been associated with nervousness touched her face, but Lore thought it to be her attempt to suppress laughter. She was a brilliant actress.
“And how did you convince the housekeeper to give you her key?” Lore asked.
Helen looked away during a turn. “I told her I had a maid take my fan, but when I wanted it back, she was embarrassed to remember that she’d accidentally placed it in the office. I asked to retrieve it myself in order not to embarrass the poor maid further or pull the housekeeper from her duties.”
His laugh lacked warmth.
“It was a small lie compared to what you’re doing to Brinley. Do you not think you’re lying to that girl by showing her so much attention?”
His face went cold. “Brinley is none of your concern.”
She looked away as though he’d slapped her and then at him again with blinking eyes, like a woman trying to hold back tears. “You don’t actually like her, do you?”
“I like her more than you.”
The act immediately stopped. “I don’t think she’d like you well if I revealed to all what I saw.”
“Go right ahead,” Lore said. “Though I suspect doing so would get in the way of your own plans, which is the true reason you’ve said nothing.”
She remained silent after that, and he thanked God for it.
When the dance finally came to an end, he said, “I’m sure I can trust you to be discreet.”
“Of course,” she whispered. “You can always trust me, Lore.”
“Yes. I trust that you’ll always look out for you in the end.” He left her with the group he’d found her with and then stole Brinley away without asking.
“We’re going to stroll the room,” he told her as he escorted her away from the others.
“I was in the middle of a conversation,” Brinley said.
“But you’d rather be with me, would you not?” He looked at her and grinned.
* * *
At first, Brinley said nothing while she wondered just how loud he’d howl if she were to step on his toe.
Forcefully.
Then she thought of something else and smiled. “Oh, yes, my lord. I can think of nothing better than to dance with you. Why, you’ve all but made my evening. As soon as I return to the castle, I shall make note of every moment so that I may have it always.”
His grin wavered, and his gaze narrowed. Every expression made his face that much more impressive. “What are you up to?”
What was she up to?
It was her last plan of how to deal with Lore.
Pretend she was in love with him.
He was the one who’d brought up all the other ladies who only wished to catch his eye yet hadn’t. Perhaps, if she pushed enough, she would make him run the other way or at least act decent around her.
The flirting would come to an end. It was all she could hope for.
“I’m not up to anything,” Brinley stated. “Though, I’m starting to understand you more, I believe.”
“Oh, are you?” He nodded at a gentleman who’d acknowledged him. “And what about me do you understand?”
“This is not about Jupiter,” Brinley said. “This is about me. You’re in love with me.”
Lore turned to her and his lips twitched. “Am I?”
“Deeply so, which is fortunate for you, because I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than spend my every waking moment at your side.”
“Good, because we’re stuck together until I get my horse.”
She moved in closer to him. “Oh, but I imagine we’ll be together much longer than that. I’ve already begun to name our children. I shall do it in the same fashion as your mother. We shall name our eldest son Tribute.”
He threw back his head and laughed and then he leaned toward her and said, “Our daughter shall be named Glory.”
“And Chastity,” she added.
“And little Homage.”
�
��Oh, that’s horrible,” she said with true distaste. “That’s a terrible name.”
He chuckled. “I can’t think of anything else appropriate, can you? Revere? Honor?”
“No, I can’t. We’ll simply have to stop at three children.”
“Oh, no.” He leaned closer. “I plan to keep you nice and full with my children.”
Brinley stopped walking and locked her knees to keep from falling. His words immediately made her think of the only way one could keep a woman with child and the activities it would take to do so. Thankfully, they’d found a corner where she could lean into the wall.
* * *
Lore grinned at Brinley. Trapped in the corner of the room, he had her right where he wished her to be. He knew what she’d been up to, trying to chase him away with the same sentiments that other women used.
It wouldn’t work, and not only because Lore knew her to be lying, but because she was the most entertaining lady he knew. He’d never had so much fun in a woman’s company. He’d not be scared off that easily. “I can play this game better than you can, Brinley. Remember that.”
Her shoulders fell for a moment, and she turned her brown eyes away from him.
She stared off at the group he’d dragged her from, but then suddenly her gaze returned. She brightened and then she smiled and boldly as ever pressed herself close to him, startling Lore.
She placed her hands on his chest and said, “Then compromise me.”
“What?” Had he broken her mind? Pushed her too far?
“Right here,” she said. “Kiss me where everyone can see.”
Lore moved, fearing she would actually kiss him in front of so many peers. “Brinley.”
She moved closer and, finally, he stepped back two more paces.
“Brinley, what are you doing?”
Her smile nearly split her face in two, and it was then he realized this to be her plan all along.
She was calling his bluff from the office. She knew he’d not compromise her so publicly. She clearly planned to keep him at bay with this new tactic.
He laughed and placed his hands on his hips. “All right, you’ve won this round.” It was clever. Too clever. He couldn’t see a way around it.
“Oh, I plan to win every round.” She straightened her shoulders and sighed most contently.
Lore tried to think of a way to get close to her but couldn’t now that she would do something that might have his honor called into question.
She was so very clever.
He laughed again, unable to help himself.
Lore took one step toward her—with his hands behind his back—and said, “You can’t keep this up forever. You’ll be back in my arms again soon.”
She lifted a dark brow. “Dream of me while I’m gone?”
He blinked and threw his head back again. Who was this new woman? He knew who she was, the one she would likely be if she didn’t have a mother who knocked her down at every turn. She’d suddenly become a very worthy competitor.
Looking into her eyes, he noticed a light he didn’t often see there.
“Be careful, Brinley,” he warned. “I just might decide I like you. Are there rules to this new game?”
“No rules,” she whispered in a blasé tone. “Except the ones set by society. You should be the one to use caution. Everyone knows about your Curbain honor. One inappropriate touch in front of the right circle and you’ll have a Lady Laurel on your hands.”
“Has an excellent ring to it, don’t you think?” Lore chuckled. “Brinley Curbain. Tell me. In that notebook where you keep all your fantasies about me, have you practiced scrolling this new name of yours?”
“You’re incorrigible!” She giggled enchantingly.
She had no idea. Flirting came naturally to him, but this was something else. He’d never felt so comfortable doing it before. With Brinley, he felt as though he could say anything, speak the first thing that came to his mind.
“It will be Lady Brinley Curbain if you keep it up,” she warned.
“I’m quaking in my boots,” he said. “Though, I’m sure you’ve noticed. You can’t seem to keep your eyes off me.”
“Or the rest of me.” She lifted her hands and moved her body closer, pretending that she would pounce on him.
He jumped back and then groaned. Though she was in the corner, it seemed Lore was the one trapped under layers of propriety.
She smiled.
And try as he might, he couldn’t help but return it, proud of her.
And aroused, if he were being honest.
“Shall I escort you back to the others?” he found himself saying, even though giving her up was the last thing he wished to do.
She held out her hand. “What a proper gentleman you are, my lord.”
As he walked her back, he thought of all the ways he’d like to change her opinion on that front.
∫ ∫ ∫
2 0
“Have you ever been in love, Lady Wycliff?” Helen asked Everly over a game of Whist.
“Love?” Everly grunted and placed down a card. “No, I can’t say the emotion has ever plagued me.”
“Love is a wonderful thing when it is genuine,” Helen said.
“Genuine?” Everly asked. “Is there such a thing as ingenuine love?”
Helen nodded in affirmation. “The love for something new, but in the end, one always returns to their true love.”
Everly lifted a brow. “I suppose.”
Brinley tried her best to ignore the conversation and focus on her hand, but it was no use. Helen’s words had her thinking, which was likely what the woman had intended all along.
Brinley was partnered with her sister Arabella, while Helen and Everly were paired. Other tables with other games had been set throughout the room. Men and women mingled.
Lore had come around but was otherwise keeping his distance just as he had been doing for the past two nights. He stood at the door speaking with Denhollow, Sillian, and a group of young women who were doing their best to seem blasé and interested at the same time.
Brinley kept her eyes on her cards, but when she looked straight ahead, she caught her sister’s eyes. It was the same gaze of wonder that Arabella had been giving Brinley all day.
Earlier in the afternoon, Arabella had cornered her and asked her what she’d done to lose Lore’s interest. Brinley avoided giving an answer since she had no intention of letting her sister in on her and Lore’s little game.
Yesterday, he’d tried to corner her during a game of charades but instead of one person acting it out for the remainder of the team, they’d done it in reverse. One person from the team had sat and tried to guess what the rest of the team was trying to convey. Lore had been on her team. It was great fun, even with Brinley having to dance around his advances.
She smiled at the memory.
He’d kept his face expressionless so that no one else was aware of his intentions, but Brinley had known and had been forced to keep herself from laughing as they circled one another while still acting out whatever had to be shown.
The only other person who seemed to be aware of their game was Helen, who watched Brinley far too closely for her liking. Did the girl actually think that Brinley stood a chance where Lore was concerned? It was but a game of wills.
At first, she’d pictured Lore as a small child who was used to getting his way, but one touch of his hand or the press of his hard body announced him to be far from a child. Instead, he was a pirate, set on the course of taking whatever he wished.
And, at the moment, Brinley thought the prize to be her sanity.
Or her body.
The last thought made her flesh ache in the most embarrassing way. Surely, Lore didn’t actually like her, did he?
Helen’s last statement made it clear that the woman thought Lore to be trying ‘something new’ with Brinley.
Arabella had thought it genuine attraction… until today.
Lore had been keeping his distance since this
morning, which was the reason Arabella was giving her looks.
Brinley had no idea what his game was. She was sure he’d not given up on their dare so easily, had he? If he had, Brinley would be pleased. It was time she stopped thinking about Lore and focused her attention on other things.
“But I believe it good to try something new every once in a while,” Everly said, clearly unaware of what the conversation was about. “For instance, I always preferred chocolate in the morning, but then I had coffee, and now I can’t think of what I’d do without it.”
Brinley bit her lip and, unable to help herself, looked over at Lore.
He was watching her as well.
And then, suddenly, he was moving in her direction.
“But chocolate is so much better for you,” Helen said. “Often, we find that our first loves are always better for us.”
“Perhaps,” Everly said. “But how very dull would life be if we only did what was good for us? A woman’s life is so very limited. I will not take any chance or new experience for granted.”
Brinley smiled at Everly’s words. She became quite passionate when it came to her freedom.
Helen, who’d looked ready to disagree, looked up wide-eyed as Lore approached.
Arabella gasped and stood. “Benedict must be looking for me. Lord Laurel, would you be so kind as to take over my hand?”
Lore bowed. “It would be my honor.”
Helen grinned as Lore took the seat next to her.
Lore completely ignored her as Everly began to speak.
“We were just talking about trying new things,” Everly said. “What do you think, my lord? Shall we continue in the way it has always been or is there room for improvement?”
“Room for improvement also leaves room for ruin and regret,” Helen cautioned.
“Well,” Lore said, grinning at Helen. “I’m sure everyone knows plenty of both the former and the latter.”
Helen looked away.
Lore looked at his cards and asked, “What suit is trump?”
“The clubs,” Brinley said.
Everly put down a strong card, starting the first trip. Brinley had a card she knew could beat Everly’s, though she didn’t know if she should use it as of yet.
The Perfect Gentleman (Valiant Love) (A Regency Romance Book) Page 10
