Page 10 of The Danger of Desire
The truth was, lately his life had become a monotony of smoky rooms and brandy-soaked nights spent in the arms of women he couldn’t even remember. He needed a challenge.
Unknotting the mystery of Miss Trevor would certainly be that. And since she claimed to have no romantic interest in him, he wouldn’t have to worry about her breaking out the leg shackles as soon as he so much as pressed her hand.
The object of his attentions reached the burly servant she seemed to be heading toward and then turned to look behind her. Quickly Warren pretended to be paying attention to another woman on the opposite end of the lawn. But as soon as Miss Trevor’s back was to him, he watched as she and the fellow in livery ducked down a thinly traveled path through the garden. Hmm. This grew more curious by the moment.
Twirling her feather in his hand, he followed them. Surely Miss Trevor wasn’t so foolish as to involve herself with a servant. She seemed too sensible for that, even if shewasmaking up that ridiculous Phineas Owen-whatever.
Which meant that the servant must be connected to her secret admirer or to whomever she was running off to meet.
He approached the pair, keeping to the trees so he could sneak up on them unaware. As he got close, he overheard Miss Trevor speaking in an angry tone.
“But itmustbe tonight!” she said. “I have precious few nights left that I can go. Aunt Agatha is already annoyed at having to remain in town throughout the summer. If not for the king being dead and everyone having to come back to London for the opening of Parliament next week, she would have had us packed off to Cheshire already until next year.”
Interesting. The chit didn’t sound particularly eager to return home and reunite with her paragon farmer.
He slid behind a tree to listen.
“But, miss, it’s too dangerous!” the servant said. “Only today your sister-in-law asked me who I was with last night. She saw me out the window during the wee hours of the morning accompanied by, as she put it, ‘a fellow she didn’t recognize,’ and thought it odd. If she goes to your aunt about it—”
“We’ll just have to be more careful. Leave by another entrance—one that doesn’t lie beneath her window.”
So Miss Trevorwasmeeting some fellow at night, apparently escorted by this servant. Her aunt’s servant? It must be.
“I don’t know, miss—” he began, showing that he wasn’t a complete idiot.
“You owe it to me. You owe it tohim,Owen.”
Owen?He stifled a laugh. Owenouse. Of course. But who was thehim? Probably her hapless suitor.
The man huffed out an exasperated breath. “To be sure, miss, I know my duty. But we have to be careful.”
“We will be, trust me. I have no more desire to be caught out than you. Too much is at stake.”
Damned reckless woman. She probably fancied herself in love with whatever scoundrel she was meeting.
Warren frowned. He considered himself a relatively good judge of character, and had truly thought her too intelligent to be taken in by some fortune hunter. What a disappointment to discover that even a clever woman could be stupid when it came to men.
She drew her shawl more tightly about her shoulders. “I’d better return to the breakfast before someone notices I’m gone. Don’t forget—we meet at one a.m.” Then, turning on her heel, she came back up the path.
That was his cue. He wasn’t leaving here without at least reminding her that she was playing with fire.
He slid out from behind the tree to approach them. “Ah, Miss Trevor, I found you.”
She practically jumped out of her skin. Excellent. Perhaps it would put the fear of God into her, since she clearly didn’t have the sense of a goat.
“Lord Knightford! I... um...”
“You dropped this when you left the dance.” He held out the feather. “I wished to return it.”
“How kind of you.” She took the feather. “But how do you know it’s mine?”
“I saw it fall as you walked away. I looked about for you, but you’d disappeared. I took this path in hopes that I might run into you, since it was the only one nearby.”
That seemed to make her suspicious, but he didn’t care. Hewantedher to be on her guard.
Not to be meeting a wretched fortune hunter in the dead of night. Clarissa’s experience was too fresh and painful for him to forget. It still disturbed him that his cousin had suffered so, even if it hadn’t been on his watch.
Miss Trevor took the feather from him. “Thank you. I appreciate your kindness.”
