Page 31 of His Spirited Lady
“I wish you’d changed your mind about this earlier,” she whispered. “We could have prepared better.”
“You’re welcome.”
The quirk in his eyebrow, his crooked smile, was contagious. Whatever his reason, she was glad he’d changed his mind. “That was quite a performance. You could have a career on the stage. Or in lords.”
“Commons.” Both eyebrows went up this time. “You’re betrothed to a tradesman, remember.”
She was learning. One eyebrow was a joke. Two were a question. “I’m betrothed to a successful lumber baron who is now dabbling in wine.” She put a hand on his arm. His wool jacket was comforting, but not nearly as much as when his hand had been on her shoulder. “And I’m proud of that.” This felt far too real. Amelia dropped her hand and stepped backward, searching for familiar ground. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”
“We may need to amend our contract,” Richard said.
He’d said he didn’t want payment, but that had been when he wouldn’t even consider her plan. His agreement changed things. If they were really to be married, he’d be getting her dowry. She couldn’t afford that much, but she would take up a lot of his time. He deserved some sort of compensation.
Amelia looked up. One eyebrow. “You’re joking.”
“But it was fun watching you calculate terms in your head.” He sat on the sofa and pulled her with him. “You’re going to have to relax a bit if people are going to believe us. Less thin skin, more devil-may-care. You’re marrying down and don’t give a damn about it.”
“If I have to do that, then you have to be less class conscious,” she replied. “According to Oliver, you’re wealthy enough to buy your way into thetonwith or without me. Act like it.”
His smile widened as he nodded. “I was planning to just ride over for the events. Does this change things? Will I need to stay?”
She shook her head and then giggled at his obvious relief. “If this were real, I would be offended.”
“If this were real, your father would insist I…” Richard cleared his throat. “Never mind. It’s just that I’m enjoying my time with the children.”
“Well, youarehere to visit your family,” Amelia said. “I appreciate you surrendering some of that time for me.”
He rested his elbows on his knees and steepled his fingers, alternately erecting and collapsing them. “It isn’t as altruistic as you might believe. Miss Allen and I…I may have kissed her one or two times.”
“I expected as much.” She pulled her attention from his long, fine fingers with their blunt trimmed nails. “You looked like I’d walloped you with the mallet I use to pound bungs into barrels.”
The look in his eyes, the shape of his parted lips, made her aware of all the places her clothing touched her. Everything was too tight and too heavy at the same time.
He stood with awhooshand walked to the hearth. “I just thought you should know.”
When he faced her again, his affable expression had returned. He was no less handsome, but somehow, Amelia felt cheated. It was a ridiculous thought. She was getting everything she wanted from their arrangement.
“Thank you for telling me.” She joined him in front of the fire. Looking up into his face, its features more angled because of his stern hairstyle, she had the mad impulse to make a mess of him. “But I’m familiar enough with kissing to believe a gentleman would know if he kissed a lady. So I’m assuming youdidkiss Miss Allen.” As he nodded, his gaze fell to her lips, and that too-tight feeling returned. It was too enjoyable to be proper, but Amelia didn’t care. “And I’m assuming you don’t wish to do it again.”
He shook his head, and the denial filled her with a heady, wild sensation.
“Though I’m not sure how you managed to kiss her. She never stops talking.”
Richard’s laughter began in his eyes before it sputtered from his lips and shook into his shoulders. He rested both hands on her shoulders and pulled her toward him. “You are—”
A sharp rap at the door cut him short. It also ended the contact that had warmed Amelia to a dangerous level, like when her still began to bubble and hiss. “Oliver really meant five minutes, didn’t he?”
“Because he knows what can happen in ten,” Richard muttered.
That made no sense. People spent hours together in London and nothing happened between them.
Richard kissed her hand, his lips warm through her lace glove, his breath lingering longer than the touch. His eyes twinkled. “And I hope you never find out.”
*
“Good morning, Mr.Ferrand,” Simms said as he ushered Richard into Oakdale Manor’s hall.
Richard checked his hair in the hallway mirror, making sure his ride over hadn’t left him a mess. He hated preening, but this crowd was focused on style and he didn’t want to give them another reason to mock Amelia. He met the butler’s gaze in the mirror. The man was smiling ear-to-ear. “Are you always this happy about visitors, Simms?”
