Page 11 of Eliza and the Duke
Was he in that park right now watching her? A thrill of excitement zipped through her. Trying to behave as if she hadn’t seen the light, she hurried inside. She didn’t want to tip him off that she was coming to find him.
Eliza called out a quick good night after handing off her cloak to the waiting footman and then walked as normally as she could upstairs to her bedroom. A maid had drawn the curtains for her and lit the small bedside lamp. Eliza hurriedacross the room and peeked out the curtains. The window was cracked to let in the cool breeze. The orange glow was still there, and this time she could make out a dark form next to a tree. There was no way to know for sure, but something told her it was him.
“Good evening, Miss Eliza.” The lady’s maid she shared with her mother and sister strolled into the room.
Damn. There was no good reason to send her away without raising suspicion. Releasing the curtain, she allowed the woman to help her out of her gown, but only down to her chemise and then she shooed her out. She drew her thin dressing gown around her and hurried back to the window. The orange light had disappeared, and the shadowy form along with it.
Eliza paced her room for the next half hour as she waited for her mother and sister to go to bed. It wouldn’t do for them to see her sneaking around. She didn’t want to explain that she had a mild obsession with the man tasked with keeping them safe. It would be embarrassing. She even tried to talk herself out of it. Her good angel tactfully put forth all the reasons she should go to bed, while her bad angel obliterated those arguments with the only one that mattered: he can give you the adventure you want.
Put that way, she had no choice.
Once she was certain everyone had retired, she slipped into a cloak and ankle boots and opened her bedroom door. A single sconce flickered in the hallway, casting a yellow light over the brown and dated wallpaper. Nothing else stirred.
As quiet as a mouse, she pulled her door closed behind her and made her way to the stairs. There were two squeaks in the floorboards, but nothing to rouse curiosity. Still, her heart was beating in her ears by the time she made it to the turn that led to the stairs. The light didn’t quite reach here, and anyonecould be waiting to find her out. She’d have a devil of a time explaining the strange ensemble she wore.
A figure separated itself from the darkness. She would have run right into him had he not reached out a firm hand and grabbed her waist. The other covered her mouth, stifling her surprised screech. The blue of his eyes had been turned a dark gray by the shadows, but Simon stared down at her, imploring her to keep quiet. She nodded and he lowered his hand fractionally. He gestured toward her room.
She shook her head no.
He rolled his eyes and lifted her by the waist, taking her there whether she wanted to go or not. If a servant caught them in her room together, her reputation would be shredded. On the other hand, there was no room in the house where their having a midnight discussion would be considered proper. At least her bedroom afforded them privacy.
Once inside, he gently set her down and turned the key in the lock behind them. This probably should have startled her, and it might have with anyone else, but it didn’t. Not with him. But she reevaluated her stance and took a step backward when he turned toward her, because his eyes were flames.
“Where were you going?” His voice was low and so deep that he was almost growling the words.
“To find you.”
He nodded once. “You haven’t told anyone about me.”
“I wanted to give you a chance to make a deal with me first.”
“A chance to make a deal?” The corner of his mouth ticked in annoyance. “Need I remind you thatyouran away fromme?”
“Well, you cornered me in the pantry against the wall. What did you expect?”
“You weren’t afraid of me.”
It was true, but she didn’t know how he knew that. She’d left him because she’d been overwhelmed by how he’d made her feel. Alive and free and wanted.
“That hardly matters. We need to finish our discussion and quickly before someone catches you in here.” She needlessly pulled the edges of her cloak tight across her torso to make sure it was properly closed. Having him here was making her absurdly aware of her lack of a corset.
“I’m listening.” His lips formed a hard line and his eyes narrowed on her. He didn’t seem inclined to negotiate with her.
“I gather that you don’t want anyone to know of your other identity.” She still had no idea who the Duke was. “I won’t say anything, but only if you do something for me.”
He gave her a once-over, from her breasts all the way down to her flat boots and up again, and his eyes grew wary. “What do you want?”
She’d have been insulted if she—no, shewasinsulted. She wasn’t offering him anything remotely related to her body, but it wouldn’t have killed him to pretend an interest. Straightening her shoulders, she said, “As you surmised, I am getting married at the end of the summer. Lord Mainwaring. I believe you’re acquainted with him.”
His eyes widened, and she saw the final piece of that night at Montague Club click into place for him. “Mainwaring.” He gave a soundless laugh and there was a brief flash of pity in his eyes before he added, “The blackboard. I remember now.”
She didn’t appreciate his pity. “I want to have an adventure, and I think I deserve one.” The rest of it was difficult to say, because she fully expected him to laugh at her. “I want a night…with you.”
He didn’t laugh. He didn’t move. He stared at her until it became awkward. Just when she was about to decide he hadn’theard her, he asked, “That’s what you want? A night with a brawler?”
She read about prizefights sometimes in the backs of the seedier newspapers. She had even picked up a penny dreadful about a gang of brawlers. They fought for money and were brutal in their violence. The fights were almost always illegal. He wasn’t an illustrated character who traveled in a gang, but he was part of that world that she knew very little about. She wanted to see those areas of the city that he saw. That world that he sometimes inhabited.
She was thinking of the best way to explain this when he said, “Kiss me, then.”
