Page 37 of The Miracle of Love
“Do I strike you as the sort to flatter a woman if I do not mean it?”
“Yes.”
He gave a laughing groan. “The correct answer is no.”
“Oh, are you sure? Because what do I know about men? You could be deceiving me and yet appear so convincing, I would believe every word. Wooton must deploy you in this fashion. You are too handsome not to be used to flatter and seduce.”
“On occasion, but I am under no such orders with you.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter. I could do with a good dose of adoration at the moment. It is nice to pretend that I fascinate you, a welcome change from the sneers and derision heaped on me by my society friends.”
He took her hand to lead her back to their bedchamber.
Of course, she refused to think of it astheirs.
He could think of nothing else.
He liked that her belongings were in with his.
He did not mind sharing the wardrobe and bureau drawers with her.
It was also possible he would not mind sharing a lifetime with her.
Lord, what was happening to him?
Was it all to blame on that blasted book?
Chapter Six
“Iam gettingyou out of here tonight, Grace.” Deklan shut the door to their shared bedchamber, hoping to keep his cousins out while he formulated their escape. But Rivers was now going to report the attack to Donal or Lorcan, and it would only be a matter of minutes before they were at his door, asking questions.
“Before or after Lady Miranda’s dinner party?”
“I don’t know. This is what we are going to work out now. However, our escape must be tonight.”
She seemed intrigued rather than scared, for her eyes were big and sparkling. “All right, do you have a plan in mind? I was thinking of taking supper in my room so I am not in the way of your family reunion.”
“You are not in the way at all. Why would you think so?” He frowned. “You just wish to hide, is this not so?”
She sighed. “Is it not for the best? I am not a part of your family.”
“You are family in Miranda’s eyes and that is good enough for all of us. I have already told you I find you charming. If you have ensorcelled me,” he said, ignoring her snort of laughter at the remark, “then I can assure you, the rest of my family adores you. I am thick as a brick and often the hardest to convince.”
She shook her head and laughed as she held up her hands in mock surrender. “You have made your point. No moping or wallowing for me this evening. All right?”
“Good,” he said with a nod. “Besides, you need to remain close to me throughout the evening for this plan to work. As I said, supper tonight when the wildebeests will be present.”
She looked up at him again. “Who are the wildebeests?”
“This is what Aunt Miranda used to call the boys in the family. We were all close in age, big men now, but utter beasts when growing up. We played hard, usually three or four of us winding up with bloody noses or assorted minor injuries on any given day, and we needed to be fed constantly. Miranda would toss slabs of meat at us and shut the door as we scrambled for our share of the kill.”
Grace clapped her hands and cast him a smile that reached into her lovely eyes. “I knew you were an animal. The others may be wildebeests but you are a leopard.”
He chuckled. “That again. All right. I shall be your leopard. However, to get back to the plan…tonight’s supper is to be a welcome party for Caleb, Faith, and my family since none of them have been to London in a while.”
“Nor have you.”
He shrugged. “I’m here more often than they realize, but usually on assignment and do not make my presence known. This celebration dinner is not to be mistaken for the Christmas supper to be held in a week’s time, also to be held at Aunt Miranda’s and certain to be a crush since friends as well as family will be in attendance.”
