Page 56 of One Dangerous Desire
“The designer used a special paint for the first coat on the walls. It contains flecks of mica that catch the light.”
“It’s magnificent.”
“Eventually, he’ll add layers of blue, green, and gold to achieve the final color.”
“Just like your eyes.”
Rex had never been bashful. Sheepishness didn’t serve in the orphanage, so he’d pushed past fear and forced himself to be strong. But May spoke of the color of his eyes with the same tone of admiration she’d used for a great work of art. It chipped at his defenses. If there was a bit of humility left in him, this woman would find it.
“I actually thought the blue would matchyoureyes.” That seemed to thrill her, and he liked being the reason for her smile and the wash of pink in her cheeks.
“I want to meet your designer.” She met his gaze boldly, as if challenging him. “If you don’t mind.”
“Why would I? The Pinnacle will be ours. Your input, especially considering your skill in art, will be invaluable.”
“And if you loathe my ideas?”
He wouldn’t. Not only did he want to indulge her, but he also trusted her instincts.
“Then I’ll look forward to you convincing me.”
May stepped toward him, all confident, seductive woman. In that moment, he could see that she was right. She had changed. Not in the essential ways. The lady still lit up a room like no one he’d ever met, and her ability to look at the world around her with a sense of wonder hadn’t waned, but she exuded self-assurance now, a mettle he’d suspected she possessed but now saw on full display. May had only offered to defy her father years before. Now she was determined to act. To marry him—an orphan turned businessman—rather than a duke or an earl.
“Will you require a great deal of convincing, Mr. Leighton?”
She approached until her chest snugged against his, warming him from head to toe. Her floral scent sweetened his every breath.
“I just might, Miss Sedgwick.”
Rex was in the very pleasant process of bowing his head to take her lips when men’s voices echoed in the ballroom.
“We’ll put the scaffolding over here. Ah, excuse us, Mr. Leighton.”
May laughed but didn’t pull away.
“We’ll leave you to it, gentlemen.” Rex took May’s hand, unable to stop touching her despite the amused glances of his workmen. He’d shown her the ballroom. Now it was time to face her father.
“Wait.” May pulled him to a stop. “Would you show me the dynamos that will power the hotel?”
“They’re in a yard behind the building.” Rex wasn’t certain May would be interested in trudging out to the crowded lot, and he glanced down at her questioningly. But she was already tugging him down the stairs.
“I want to see them.” She clasped her hands as if he was about to show her a precious medieval triptych or an enormous diamond. Which reminded him that he needed to buy her a ring. A large one, as grand as anything an earl or duke could have given her.
They proceeded down the stairs and out a rear door of the building. London had turned gray. Sunlight hid behind the clouds, and the piles of bricks, tiles, slabs of granite, and sacks of plaster made for quite a dingy mess. Among the clutter of building materials, two dynamo machines towered up like hunchbacked monsters under wide tarps. He lifted the covering on one.
May gasped. “It’s so intricate—and gigantic. Where will you put them?”
“They’ll go in a sub-basement of the hotel and be maintained by a team of engineers.” He approached to expose more of the machine for her inspection. “Two more are on the way. We don’t need four to electrify the hotel, but I decided secondary generators should be on hand in case they’re required. They’ll generate enough electricity to sell to other businesses in Mayfair.”
May cast him an approving look. Generating income from a new enterprise was a skill she would have learned to appreciate from her father. Business, and their concern for May’s happiness, might be the only things on which Rex and Sedgwick would ever agree.
“And it’s safe?” she asked, echoing a question Rex had heard half a dozen times before.
“Completely, especially in the hands of skilled engineers. I plan to hire several of them.”
May approached and took his arm. She looked up at the building, her eyes aglow. “I can see it. Even now I can envision the finished hotel, full of life, every room filled and light pouring through the windows.”
As Rex smiled at May’s awestruck expression, movement just beyond the fence surrounding the yard caught his eye. Through a half-open gate, he spied a man. Fine clothes, but dirty, threadbare, and poorly mended, as George Cross’s suit had been. The man threw his cigarette to the ground the moment he noticed Rex watching him. Then he stepped forward, facing Rex fully, and planted his feet wide. Pulling his coat lapel aside, the stranger revealed the unmistakable grip of a revolver, its metal trigger glinting in a ray of sunlight escaped from the clouds.
