Page 75 of The Lady Needs a Rogue
“So, the mystery is solved,” Lady Fenwick said brightly. Dismissing the bodyguard, she expressed her intention to cross the boorish viscount from her guest list, invited Mrs. Johnstone to tea, and hurried off with a still-frowning Lady Drayton to mingle with her guests.
Waiting until the ladies were out of earshot, Mrs. Johnstone took charge of the introductions in typical fashion.
“Miss Mason, it is my pleasure to meet ye. I am Mrs. Elsie Johnstone. Logan MacLain is my nephew.”
“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance. Please, do call me Macie.”
“Macie, is it?” Mrs. Johnstone’s gaze seemed to settle on Macie’s tousled hair and slightly swollen mouth. The quirk of her brows told Finn the woman had already pieced together what they’d been up to during the time Macie had supposedly been observing the night sky.
“Since I was a girl,” Macie replied.
A thin smile played on Mrs. Johnston’s features. “I suppose Mary Catherine is a bit of a mouthful.”
“Quite so,” Macie said, then proceeded to introduce Nell.
“That was quick thinking, Mrs. Johnstone,” Finn said. “Well-timed, as always.”
“Indeed, it was,” Macie agreed. “You solved what might have been an exceedingly awkward situation.”
“There was no comet tonight, was there?” Nell said. “I suspect Harold... Lord Drayton, that is... would’ve mentioned it.”
“Ye’re correct, Miss Blake. I simply made it up.”
Nell flashed a brief grin. “The namedidsound highly scientific.”
“Did it now?” Mrs. Johnstone cocked a brow. “On the day I was born, the sun was in the constellation Sagittarius. It seemed a fitting name for a comet. Hardly a stroke of brilliance.”
“You were entirely convincing,” Macie said.
“She’s a clever one, she is,” Finn said. “And she knows it.”
Mrs. Johnstone reached up to adjust her crown atop her chestnut and silver hair. “One would have to be clever to tidy up the fixes Logan and ye have gotten into over the years.” She sent him a speaking glance. “Between the two of ye, I’ve become an expert.”
Finn smiled. “Ye’ll get no argument from me.”
“If that is not a rare event, I don’t know what is.” Mrs. Johnstone smiled. “Ye’ve never been one to back down from a fight. In the days ahead, I suspect that quality will serve ye well.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tonight is onlythe beginning.
The notes of Finn’s husky voice whispered in Macie’s thoughts, stirring her to restlessness. With a sigh, she fluffed her pillow, then stared aimlessly at the darkened ceiling. Finn’s kiss had ignited a spark in her, a simmering heat she did not want to extinguish. Even her sweet fantasies of Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester could not quench this yearning.
She pictured Finn alone in his room in the downstairs quarters. Alone... in his bed. With the image of his unclothed body, his bedcovers arranged just so to reveal his powerful chest to her gaze, a fresh current of need rippled through her body. Her cheeks heated at the thought.
Could he be thinking of her at that very moment? Did he long for her touch? For her kiss?
Just as she longed for him?
With a sigh, Macie lit the lamp on the chest and flopped back onto the mattress. Curled by her feet, Cleo lifted her sleepy head. Her green eyes glowed with the reflected light. Was the cat actually frowning at her? Well, the indulged feline would simply have to get over her little snit.
An idea Macie might have dismissed as near madness tempted her.No.She immediately swatted away the notion, banishing the tempting mental image of Finn not quite asleep in his room. Alone. In who knew what state of undress.
She simply could not consider joining him in his plain yet sturdy bed.
Could she?
No man before him had stirred this tender desire within her. She hungered for Finn’s touch. Longed to caress his skin. To learn what brought him pleasure. But above all, she thirsted for the connection of their hearts. Their minds. Their souls.
