Page 33 of The Danger of Desire
She snorted. She didn’t know whether to be flattered that he would relish having her beneath him, insulted that he nonetheless had no desire to marry her, or disappointed that he’d turned down her proposal for an illicit encounter.
Disappointed? She wasn’t disappointed. Truly, she wasn’t. “And he certainly doesn’t like me.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Brilliana said. “He seemed to like you quite a bit at luncheon.”
Delia strolled into the drawing room. “Don’t be fooled by him.” Clearly, her sister-in-law had some notion that Warren was a normal man who behaved in normal ways. Best to disabuse her of that idea. “He likes to bedevil me, that’s all.”
Brilliana squared her shoulders. “He seemed very insistent upon your attending Lady Blakeborough’s house party.”
Only so he could keep me from gambling.“Because his cousin put him up to twisting my arm. Clarissa has been throwing me at eligible gentlemen since we first arrived, and no doubt she has invited a score of them to her affair.”
“And would that be so awful?”
Delia caught her breath. She kept forgetting that Brilliana assumed that Delia was genuinely looking for a husband. “Awful? No. But I prefer to choose my own gentlemen, thank you very much. Not to be trapped at an estate with those of Clarissa’s choosing.”
“Or with Lord Knightford.”
The words caught Delia by surprise. She’d been so focused on why he was trying to get her out of town that she’d forgotten how intimate a house party could be. How many times they’d be thrown into each other’s company. How many chances there might be for kisses and caresses...
“You’re blushing,” Brilliana said.
Delia fought the urge to cover her cheeks with her hands. “I am not.”
“Admit it. You wouldn’t mind having Lord Knightford as a suitor.”
“I told you, he has no interest in me that way. He’s a marquess, for heaven’s sake. He’s not going to marry a mere miss.”
Brilliana’s eyes narrowed on her. “I saw how he looked at you. If he doesn’t wish to marry you, then he certainly wishes something more wicked. But either way, he definitely has an interest in you.”
Delia was tempted to tell her sister-in-law everything about her plans to hunt down Reynold’s nemesis and make him pay back what he’d cheated them out of, but she kept silent. Brilliana could be rather stuffy about things like propriety, especially where Delia was concerned. At the very least, she would disapprove of Delia’s masquerading as a boy and going to gaming hells.
And Brilliana would almost certainly disapprove of Warren’s kissing and caressing her.
“You’re wrong about Lord Knightford,” Delia said. “He has plenty of other places he can go to satisfy his ‘wicked’ desires. And he’s a gentleman, besides. He would never mistreat a respectable lady.”
Oh, Lord, she was echoing his protests earlier. But if she were honest, he’d had good reason to be insulted when she’d implied that he might accept her virtue in exchange for his silence. Because despite all the gossip about his cavorting in the stews and in the beds of a few notoriously loose wives and widows, there’d never been a whiff of scandal about him misusing any woman—eligible or otherwise.
Though clearly he had no qualms about pinningheragainst a wall and kissing her senseless.
That was different. She’d wanted him to.
“For your sake, I hope you’re right,” Brilliana said. “I don’t wish to see you end up with a broken heart. I know how that feels.”
Delia shot Brilliana a sharp glance, fairly certain that the woman had never lost her heart to Reynold. So who had broken it? “Trust me, my heart is in no danger of being damaged.”
Not by the likes ofWarren,anyway. Only a fool would fall for his brand of charm. Or a woman who was woefully inexperienced at playing sensual games. But eager to try. Like her.
Delia groaned.
Brilliana observed her closely. “I’m merely saying you should be careful.”
“And I will be.” Oh yes, she would.
Though tonight, she intended to go to Dickson’s. To the devil with Warren. Unless he planned to ruin her, he could not act.
But before then, she had to attend a musicale with her aunt and Brilliana. She had little chance of finding her tattooed gentleman there, but she couldn’t get out of it. Aunt Agatha was determined to offer her to gentlemen across London and wouldn’t be talked out of the musicale.
At least it wouldn’t interfere with her other activities.
