Page 2 of A Widow's Perfect Rogue
“Perhaps you might enjoy the swing better if I push you.” He stepped behind the swing and gave her a gentle push as she leaned back and stretched out her legs beneath her gown.
Thomas glanced around, relieved that the area was indeed well-lit, and they were in plain view. Her aunt and uncle could not find fault if they did happen to come out and see them. It wasn’t as though they were in a shadowy corner. Although that wasexactlywhat he wished for.My God, she’s beautiful,especially with the moonlight glinting off her hair.He couldn’t wait to make her his, but he didn’t ruin innocents. And not Frankie. She deserved the best he could offer. He was half in love with her already, and he had never imagined falling for anyone so deeply and so quickly.
After a few moments, she said wistfully, “Where do you think we’ll be in five years?”
“Oh, I expect we’ll be planning a party for our twins, Devon and Deborah. Their fourth birthday, by the way, as they play hide and seek with our enormous mastiff named Reginald, while dear Nanny Smythe does her best to keep two-year-old Daniel from trying to leap off the settee.
Frankie threw back her head and laughed, a lilting musical sound that made his heart do several somersaults.
“We’ve only just met, and you’ve already planned our lives, have you?” Her sky-blue eyes glowed in the lamplight.
“Absolutely. Haven’t I mentioned that I can see into the future? Wizards run in my family.”
He gazed at her sweet face as she looked up at him beneath long lashes while leaning back on the swing.
“I saw you enter with another man. Is your family here?”
“I came with my friend, Lord Robert Mercer. Bobby and I are business associates. My mother is home with my little sister.”
She regarded him with a curious expression on her lovely face. “I have never met anyone like you. The moment we met, it was as if we already knew each other.”
He wanted to hug her at that moment but couldn’t without attracting the attention of other couples around them. “I felt the same way, Frankie,” he whispered when the swing drew back to him. “I love your name, Frankie. Does it stand for anything in particular? Francine? Francesca?”
“Francesca, after my mother’s mother. But everyone calls me Frankie because of my little brother.” She gave him a mischievous smile. “James is five years younger than me, and when he was little, he couldn’t pronounce my name, so he started calling me Frankie, which also happened to be the name of Cook’s cat. James thought he was the best mouser ever.”
Thomas laughed. “I agree with James. Your name is as unique as you are. You’re the only Frankie I know.”
“I think I’m the only Frankieanyoneknows.” She rolled her eyes.
“Yoohoo, Lord Latham. Loud, rustling petticoats gave brief warning before a redheaded woman wearing a low-cut crimson gown that left little to the imagination emerged from the garden path. She regarded him with a coy smile and gave him a little wave with her red-gloved fingers.
Thomas recognized her at once. It was the widow, Lady Endora Deville.Oh God, she’s chasing me again.There was no way he was going to let Frankie know what the widow was up to. He didn’t want to upset her. He drew to his full height.
“Lord Latham, there you are.” She coughed delicately. “Ah, I see you’re entertaining the children. How kind of you to humor her by pushing her on a swing.”
Thomas clenched his jaw at the insult and glanced down at Frankie, who now sat stiffly, her back ramrod straight. “If byentertaining, you mean I am engaged in pleasant conversation, then, yes, I am. Allow me to introduce Miss Francesca Wickersham.”
“Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” Lady Deville inclined her head. “My darling Thomas, I have been looking all over the ballroom for you. You did promise me a waltz, did you not?”
“Lady Deville, I think I would remember if I had made such a promise. And I did not,” he replied, feeling his irritation rise.
“As you say,” shetskedand flicked her wrist dismissively. “My friend said she had seen you arrive. And Lord Mercer or was it Mr. Mercer…anyway, he mentioned you had come this way.” She tittered and tapped her gloved index finger against her cheek. “As usual, my timing is the worst. “Please forgive me. I had no idea that you’d planned a rendezvous with Miss…Witchy-sham,was it?
“Balderdash!” An older woman erupted from behind the widow as crisp, swirling petticoats turned the corner followed by the heavy thump of a cane. “Lady Deville, you asked if anyone had seen this young man, and when someone said he had escorted Miss Wickersham to the balcony, you followed them,” the Dowager Duchess of Clarence said, tapping her cane once more. “I wondered if you had spotted a fire so quickly did you move.”
The Widow Deville narrowed her eyes, throwing the old woman a look as sharp as a dagger.
Undaunted, the dowager cocked her head and returned a stare just as lethal with an added, ‘Don’t forget whom you are dealing with, Red.’
Thomas glanced at Frankie and noticed her lips twitch and her eyes dance with humor, as she watched the dowager put the widow in her place. Well, at least Frankie found amusement in this altercation; he, on the other hand, was frustrated because all he’d wanted was to have a private moment with a woman he found wholly engaging. The Dowager Duchess was known for her influence among theton, and her propensity for speaking her mind, which he ordinarily found admirable. However, the two women were beginning to draw a small crowd.How in the world can I extricate Frankie from this fencing match and return to the ballroom?
The widow countered with a sneer in the dowager’s direction. “And you followed me…why? To see if therewasa fire?” Her tone was laced with sarcasm.
The older woman gave a shrewd smile and looked around. “Of course, my dear. But as you can see, there is no fire here—only two young people hoping to share a moment’s respite from the crush of the dance floor.”
Undeterred, the widow gave her back to the dowager as a feline smile curved her scarlet-painted lips. “I do apologize for having interrupted your…er,breath of fresh air.”
Thomas’ face darkened at her tone. “Lady Deville, that isexactlywhat this is.”
