“And how was your night?” Mal asked, deflecting any potential questions.
Liam laughed. “I think you know the answer.”
Mal held back his own smile. He did, but only because he had seen Violet return home about the same time he was leaving Olivia’s bed. It had been a merry game of switching places to escape the townhome undetected. Not that Violet would have judged Olivia’s night of passion, nor would Liam.
But it was satisfying to have a secret, something just for them that had nothing to do with their friends.
“I invited Violet to come here, to stay with me and continue this…” Liam hesitated, “…well, this affair, I suppose you would call it, for a while.”
Mal’s thoughts faded, replaced by a lurching realization. If Violet took Liam’s offer, that would mean Olivia would likely come here as well.
And even though they had made no promises to see each other again, the very idea gave him more than a little pleasure. They could continue what had started as a brief interlude. Only…would increased time together make it something more?
“Is that a good idea?” he murmured, more to himself than to Liam.
But Liam met his eyes in surprise. “I would think you would approve. You are the one always badgering me to move forward with my life.”
Mal shoved aside his thoughts of Olivia for the moment and returned to his normal state as Liam’s friend, his protector. It caused more regret than he had expected it to do.
“Is that what you’re doing?” he pressed.
He couldn’t help the worry. After all, Liam had been steeped in the past for so long…almost always to his detriment.
“I want her,” Liam said softly. “I’ve not wanted something in so long…”
He trailed off and Mal didn’t respond. He understood the desire he saw in Liam’s eyes, the unexpected effect of a woman who had seemed to appear from nowhere and now infected his every thought, feeling and physical need.
“Do you want me to look into her character, her past?” he asked, just as quiet.
Liam swallowed hard. “No. It’s only an affair, after all. It should be short-lived and easy to forget.”
But as his friend picked up his paper and returned his attention to the news, Mal couldn’t help but wonder if that was true. Either for his friend or himself.
Olivia had pretended she’d been asleep when Violet returned, rubbing her eyes and playing the role of lazy courtesan. Now she felt like a fraud as she stood beside her friend’s tub, listening to her talk about her night with Lord Windbury, while Olivia acted as lady’s maid and helped Violet undress.
“He wants me to stay with him,” Violet said.
Olivia’s fingers faltered on the last button of her friend’s gown, but she managed to slip it free as her mind raced. Go to Windbury’s estate? Where Mal lived?
“Really?” she asked, hoping to seem calm, and failing.
Violet shoved out of her gown and caught up the robe that was draped over the chair beside her fire. Before she could respond, her maid Rachel opened the chamber door and smiled.
“Good afternoon, miss. They’re bringing the water now.”
Olivia could hardly contain herself as servants filled the tub and Violet gave directions about laundering her gown. It seemed they would never be alone again, she would never hear more about Violet’s plans, or even if she would be included in Violet’s exodus to Windbury’s home.
Finally, Olivia touched Violet’s arm and met Rachel’s eyes. “I’ll help her.”
Rachel said a few more quiet things to Violet that Olivia ignored, then the servant slipped from the room.
The moment they were alone, Olivia turned on Violet. “You are trying to drive me mad! What did you say when Windbury asked you to stay with him?”
Violet didn’t respond, but removed her robe and stepped into the tub. It took all Olivia’s control not to throttle her dearest friend, for it seemed Violet was purposefully making her wait just to torture her.
“Violet!” Olivia repeated with a forced laugh as she dragged a chair up next to the tub.
“I told him I would consider the request,” Violet finally replied.
Olivia leaned back, eyes wide at the answer. It was as unexpected as it was disappointing that Violet hadn’t immediately acquiesced.
“Consider it? I thought that was your whole purpose in coming here.”
Violet grabbed the soap and scrubbed a thick lather onto her hands.
“It is,” she admitted. “But I need him to want me, to pursue me.”
Relief flooded Olivia’s mind and this time her laugh was much lighter. “Ah, I see. A merry chase, even if it is only pretended on your part. You are cold.”
She saw Violet flinch and immediately regretted the statement, even though there was some truth to it. After all, Violet was lying to Liam.
Just as Olivia was lying to Mal.
“Does he want to be your protector?” Olivia pressed, hoping Violet would forgive her accusation.
Violet shook her head. “No. It is as has always been rumored about him. He doesn’t want a woman to keep.”
“And yet he asks you to stay with him throughout the duration of your stay here.” Olivia arched a brow. “I have always heard a woman could only expect a night or two in his company.”
Violet shrugged. “I suppose, as you say, I have manipulated him into wanting more.”
Olivia bent her head. Was that what she had done with Mal? Their night together certainly hadn’t felt like a manipulation. Just a surrender of two people who rarely gave in to their own desires, thanks to their duties and professions.
Violet shifted and looked at her evenly. “I was going to tell him that I am in town with a friend and ask if you could join us at his estate.”
Olivia only just kept from jumping to her feet in joy. “Me?” she said, as if this suggestion were not something she had been hoping for since Violet’s revelation of the arrangement Liam wanted to make.
“You can keep his guard or friend, or whatever that man is, busy.” Violet waved Mal off like he wasn’t important except as an obstacle, and Olivia frowned.
“Malcolm?” she said, stressing his name so that Violet would acknowledge he had one at all.
Violet examined her closely. “Malcolm. I didn’t see him last night or this morning, but I think if I stay there he might take an interest in my intentions. That could prove difficult for me.”
Olivia swallowed. So Violet hadn’t guessed the reason for Mal’s absence. She would leave it at that, at least for now, but she still had to let Violet know she was more than willing to “distract” Malcolm Graham.
Probably too willing.
“Malcolm,” she said on a sigh, her tone far lighter than her thoughts. “He was awfully handsome. And quite a good kisser. I wouldn’t mind distracting him.”
Violet smiled. “Then I shall write Lord Windbury this afternoon and tell him I will accept his offer, as long as you may accompany me. I’m certain he will say yes, since I will make it clear you won’t be any interference to our…connection.”
“Excellent,” Olivia said, rising to her feet to clap her hands. “Then I will have my maid begin packing right away. And so it begins!”
With a squeeze of her friend’s shoulder, Olivia scurried from the room and down the narrow hallway to her own. Once inside, she spun around the room, her arms around herself in a joyful hug.
She should not want this connection so much with a man who was all but a stranger, and yet she did want him. Somehow, in a very short time, everything had changed.
And she only hoped that her appearance at Windbury’s estate would be as pleasing for him as it was for her.
Olivia had always steered clear of the highest bred of men. She had lived in fear that they would see through her façade the easiest and reveal her for what she truly was. So as the carriage stopped in the wide circular drive at Lord Windbury’s Bath estate and she stepped down to look up and up at the magnificent ho
use, she let out her breath in a low whistle.
“Lor’,” she murmured and immediately tensed. Her Cockney accent was something she’d fought for years to suppress and, here it was, coming to the surface when she needed to tamp it down most.
“Yes,” Violet whispered with a laugh. Her friend had never fully understood how painful her accent and poor upbringing was to her. “And Liam behaves as if this is a snug little cottage.”
Olivia regained some semblance of composure and rolled her eyes. “Men with money are so often utterly ridiculous.”
Violet might have answered her, she might have sung “God Save the King”, for all Olivia knew. Her attention was suddenly dragged, almost physically, to the tall, broad-shouldered man who was coming around the house from the direction of the stables. Malcolm.
But he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring at Violet and his concern was something he couldn’t fully mask. Olivia hesitated. If he questioned Violet’s motives, he might doubt her own at some point.
And then she would have to lie to him outright, rather than by simple omission. The first felt so much worse than the second.
“Miss Milford,” he said as he reached them. “I apologize, I would have been here to greet you the moment you arrived, but I was called to deal with an estate issue.”
Violet smiled, all enviable confidence as usual when she took his hand and shook it.
“You were here not a moment after our arrival,” she said with a wave of dismissal for his apology. “You must be Mr. Graham.”
“I am.”
He nodded and released her hand. He was so businesslike, and still he hadn’t looked at Olivia at all. Would he be unhappy once he noticed her?
“Your items follow behind, do they?” he continued. “You had no trouble with the move?”
“No trouble at all,” Violet reassured him. “Thank you for arranging for the multiple vehicles to ferry both us and our items.”
His lips thinned ever so slightly. “I was following Windbury’s directives.”
Olivia saw the tiny twitch of Violet’s lips. She recognized Mal’s hesitation when it came to her as well. And she dealt with it by motioning over her shoulder and becoming the first to acknowledge Olivia’s presence.
“I believe you have met my friend, Olivia Cranfield?”
As Olivia held her breath, Mal swung his gaze to her. She could only pray he wouldn’t pretend he didn’t know her or look at her with disregard or disappointment. Everything seemed to slow, until his expression shifted to one of happiness and unmistakable desire.
“Mal,” Olivia whispered, nearly sagging with relief as she took a step toward him involuntarily.
Mal caught her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Miss Olivia Cranfield. It’s been too long.”
“It’s been less than a week,” Olivia laughed, shooting a look at Violet, who had no idea of their meeting in secret. She swatted him playfully. “But I do agree.”
As expected, Violet stepped away from them, leaving Olivia to what her friend thought was a duty, but was nothing more than an immense pleasure.
“Violet doesn’t know about us,” Olivia whispered.
He smiled. “Are you embarrassed by me, Miss Cranfield?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head swiftly. “I just like having you as mine.”
He drew back and she realized what she had said. Stuttering, she tried to correct her overstatement.
“M-my secret,” she said. “I like having you as my secret.”
“Hmm,” he said, his voice rippling low in her belly and making her thighs clench.
He might have elaborated, but suddenly Violet was coming toward them. At her side was a tall, handsome man with a scar that stretched across his face. Olivia started, for she hadn’t even realized they’d been joined by a fourth member of their party.
“Liam, may I present to you my dearest friend, Miss Olivia Cranfield,” Violet said, motioning to her. “Olivia, the Earl of Windbury.”
Olivia shook away all her stunned and desire-filled reactions and stepped forward, offering Liam a hand. “Good afternoon, my lord. I’m so pleased to meet you. Thank you so much for including me in your invitation to Violet. I would have been gutted had we not been able to spend our planned holiday together.”
She might have been laying it on a bit thick, but if Liam had any hesitations about her being here, she had to put them to rest.
“We are happy to have you join us,” Liam said, casting a quick glance at Malcolm, rather than at her. “Some of us more than others.”
Out of nervousness, Olivia laughed, but she didn’t like that Malcolm scowled at his friend’s observation.
Liam couldn’t have cared less. He already had his attention back on Violet, and there was no mistaking just how much the earl wanted her friend. What was shocking was that Violet couldn’t seem to hide how much she wanted the man in return.
“Mal, why don’t you have Miss Cranfield shown to her chamber?” Liam asked, his gaze on Violet.
“With great pleasure,” Mal said as he offered Olivia an arm. “Shall we?”
Olivia hesitated. The moment she took Mal’s arm, everything would change again. But she did it, and she could only hope that whatever happened next was something she could manage, because she presently felt decidedly out of her element.
Chapter Five
Mal led Olivia up a very wide, very fancy staircase to an equally beautiful hallway that led to no-doubt ridiculously well-appointed chambers. Her heart pounded nearly out of her chest as she tried to control herself, remember herself and not make any mistakes in front of Mal, especially since she wasn’t yet certain how he felt about her being here.
But as if he had read her mind, he smiled at her. “I’m so glad you came with Violet,” he said softly, “I have been thinking of you since we last met.”
“You have?”
He smiled as his answer and Olivia realized in that moment that he did truly like her. In her world, that wasn’t always true or even wanted. And yet, here it was, clear on his face. More to the point, she liked that he liked her.
She was less keen on the fact that he seemed so very loyal. She’d been witness to that fact outside when he met Violet. Obviously, in his mind, his duty was to protect his friend.
And if he ever found out Violet’s true reason for being here, if he ever uncovered that she was a spy, he would be angry.
But perhaps that would never come to be. Violet seemed truly attracted to Lord Windbury, beyond any duty she was sworn to uphold. If their affair was brief and purely physical then there could be no harm to come of that.
“You are very quiet,” he said, stopping in the hallway to look at her.
She shook her head. She didn’t often indulge in spiraling thoughts when in her role with a man. How it had happened in this moment was a mystery.
“I am simply thinking of how very pretty the earl’s home is,” she lied. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a finer estate.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll like your room.”
He opened the door closest to him and motioned for her to enter. She did so and caught her breath. It was a lovely chamber, done in tasteful, muted grays and bright whites. The furniture was dark cherry.
It was elegant enough to have welcomed a queen or a duchess.
Immediately, she stepped back into the hall. “Certainly I don’t need something so large,” she said, anxiety rising in her chest.
His brow wrinkled at her refusal of the room. “If you don’t like it—”
She cut him off by spinning on him. “Oh no, it isn’t that I’m ungrateful. It’s beautiful. But…” She hesitated and heat flooded her cheeks. “Malcolm, you understand I am a courtesan, don’t you?”
He nodded slowly. “Yes. Our first conversation made that clear.”
She held up her hands and motioned to the room. The reminder had to make him see.
“And?” he said when it was clear she wouldn’t speak.
She
huffed out her breath. So he would force her to speak her humiliation. “This room is for someone above my station, Mal. If I stay here…”
She trailed off and her blush grew even hotter.
Slowly Malcolm reached out, took her hand and guided her into the room. “If you stay here, nothing will happen except that you will have a good time.” His gaze stole to the bed. “A very, very good time, I hope. A room is a room, Olivia. It has no station.”
“Of course it does,” she whispered.
He tilted his head and leaned in closer, close enough that his breath stirred against her lips and suddenly the issue of the chamber felt far less important.
“This one doesn’t,” he said, then touched his lips to hers.
She was shocked by how gentle his touch was. She had certainly expected—and hoped—to be kissed, but she had assumed it would be like before: heated, claiming. This was…this was comfort. And no man had ever offered her that before.
She drew back in surprise and Mal stepped away. For a moment only silence hung between them, then he took her hand again and drew her closer.
“Stay in this room, Olivia. Because it’s pretty and the bed is comfortable. Stay because my chamber is just down the hall. Please.”
She found herself nodding. “Of course.”
He grinned, the expression lighting up his face and making him impossibly more handsome. She expected him to kiss her again, to tug her into that bed and show her how apparently comfortable it truly was.
But instead he slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and said, “Since your things have not yet arrived, may I show you the grounds?”
She blinked. The tension between them crackled and yet he was offering her something beyond passion.
“Very well,” she said, casting a quick glance at the bed.
He smiled. “Oh, don’t worry, Olivia. You and I will share that bed soon enough.”
And with that sinful promise hanging in the air between them, he led her down the hallway.
Although their walk around the grounds had been nothing but pleasant, Mal still felt the tension coursing through Olivia. It had never occurred to him that she wasn’t utterly comfortable in her place in this world. But now he could see that she was troubled by the fact she didn’t entirely “fit” in the world of earls and dukes and country estates.
Beautiful Distraction Page 4
