Page 29 of His Scandalous Lessons
When she looked over his shoulder, she saw Richard coming around a garden hedge. He stopped when he saw her with Granby, something flashing in his eyes that she didn’t recognize. When his gaze met hers, she nodded once to confirm.
He nodded, offered her a small smile, and turned back the way he’d come.
* * *
Later,Anne found Richard alone in the library.
The rest of the house party were enjoying tea and luncheon in the garden. Though Granby had invited Anne, she found she couldn’t maintain her performance any longer. Not when her heart ached as if a hole had been carved into it, damaged beyond repair.
Richard didn’t turn when she shut the door behind her. He was standing at the window, gazing out to the path that went into the forest. That had been the first walk they had gone on; he’d held her hand and told her about where he’d grown up in Hampshire, and about his brother and sister. Anne and Richard explored the castle ruins just over the hill, and Anne fell a little in love with him that day.
Only a little. But it was enough.
“Richard.” The other words wouldn’t come. What could she say? An apology? A thanks? Nothing seemed fitting.
“I suppose I ought to offer you congratulations.”
“No,” she said softly. “You shouldn’t.”
His laugh was dry. “Why not? You came and accomplished what you set out to do. You received an offer from a Marquess. That has to count for something. Granby will make you a good husband.”
“Will he?” She asked it so quietly that she was surprised he’d heard it at all.
“Yes,” Richard said. “He’s everything you wanted. Kind. Safe.”
He didn’t have to say the rest, but she’d heard that unspoken sentiment as clear as a bell and it angered her.Boring.
Anne made a noise of frustration. “Damn you, Richard Grey.” That made him look over in surprise. “You’re clever, aren’t you?” she told him, moving closer. “You can tell when a politician lies. You can use that weakness for manipulation, but when it comes to me, you still haven’t been able to see what’s in front of your own eyes.”
“What’s that?” he whispered as her hand found his cheek.
“I would choose you,” she whispered. “If I could, it would be you.”
Somehow, his lips found hers and they were kissing hard, desperately. She couldn’t stop this anymore than she could stop the oxygen from filling her lungs. It was just need, survival, his lips on hers, his body against hers. She would never have this again. Once they left this house, they would act as strangers — him, a shadow figure on the fringes of Parliament who manipulated lawmakers.
And her, the same.
She pushed him away, breathing ragged. “I have to go. Granby will be wondering where I am.”
She left before he could say another word.
Chapter 16
Richard sat next to Anne at dinner, and she sat next to Granby.
He made a valiant effort to engage the lady on his right in conversation, but his answers were but a script he had memorized from growing up a gentleman. A regurgitation of polite noises and questions that feigned engagement while Anne occupied his every thought.
Granby stared at her in blatant admiration, seemingly oblivious to Anne’s wan expression. She was going off the same script as Richard, all forced smiles and ladylike laughs.
Beneath the table, her hand settled in Richard’s and she squeezed gently. He expelled a breath and squeezed back. How could he not touch her? He craved contact, her skin against his, the heat of it, the texture. Everything.
“—Parliament’s in session,” Montgomery was saying, “the debate on the ballot act is bound to get ugly. Some men would prefer commoners not be enfranchised at all, let alone on a secret ballot.”
“Surely we can have a more polite topic,” the debutante seated beside Montgomery interjected. She laughed. “Why should we concern ourselves with commoners when there is a Season to consider?”
“Perhaps,” Miss Cecile said quietly, “it is because those men have a say in this country’s future, and they should have the right to make it free of influence.”
The other woman wrinkled her nose. “I almost asked how you know about such things, Miss Cecile, but I suppose you ought to have something to keep you occupied whilst standing along the perimeter of the ballroom.”
