Page 49 of The Sea Siren of Broadwater Bottom
Elissa yanked the neckline of her shift back into place and hastily tied the ribbon. She made to slide off Edward’s lap, but his hands grasped her about the hips, holding her in place. “Your dressing gown,” he hissed, giving one last longing look at her whisper-thin chemise.
She was still straddling Edward, struggling to wrap the grey wool around her, when Archibald Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy came striding into the folly.
Considering the way he jerked to a halt and his mouth fell open, he was as surprised to see them as they were to see him. His eyes traveled from Elissa to Edward and back again. “Miss St. Cyr… Lord Fauconbridge, I—I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were, er—”
Having finally managed to secure her dressing gown, Elissa slid off Edward’s lap, blushing furiously. He whipped the flaps of his greatcoat closed to cover what was going on inside his trousers.
“What brings you here at this time of night?” Edward asked in a clipped voice.
“Something occurred to me regarding the de-carburization of pig iron.” Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy’s eyes took on a faraway look. “I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep.”
“And the de-carburization of pig iron could not wait until morning?” Edward asked. He said it lightly, but Elissa could tell he was annoyed.
“Look, Fauconbridge, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have walked in had I realized the folly was, er, occupied. I suppose I was in a bit of a trance. It just occurred to me that if we were to warm the puddled pig iron towelding heatand thenshingle it by hand—” He rubbed the back of his head. “But I don’t suppose you would care about that.”
“No,” Edward said, “no, we would not.”
They fell silent for a moment. Elissa’s mind was racing. It was embarrassing enough to be discovered in such an intimate moment. But the full risk of what she’d done now came crashing over her. If word got out, her reputation would be ruined, which mattered to her little, except that the contest was coming up. She couldn’t imagine they would let a “fallen” woman through the hallowed doors of Oxford…
Edward cleared his throat. “If you would excuse us.”
Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy gave him an aggravated look. “I didn’t mean to stumble upon you. But surely you can appreciate that, now that I have, I cannot leave Miss St. Cyr in this, er, circumstance.”
“It’s all right,” Elissa hastened to reassure him. “Truly, it is.”
“You may trust that no one will hear of this incident from me.” Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy’s eyes were sincere, and Elissa relaxed a fraction. Their acquaintance was short, but he seemed like such a good man. Elissa was inclined to believe him.
“But,” Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy continued, “if I stumbled upon you, the chance that someone else might do the same is too high.” He shook his head. “No, I insist you allow me to escort you back to the house. I could never live with myself if you found yourself in trouble and I could have prevented it.”
“There will be no trouble,” Edward said, taking her hand.
“You cannot be sure of that,” Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy insisted.
“There will be no trouble,” Edward continued, his eyes fixed not on Elissa, but on Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy, “because I will marry Miss St. Cyr.”
CHAPTER20
Edward had already decided that he wanted to marry Elissa. But as soon as he spoke the words out loud, he felt immeasurably better.
It feltrealnow that he had declared his intentions aloud, before the whole world.
Well, before Archibald Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy. But the world would follow soon enough.
Elissa was going to be hiswife. He would get to spend every day with her.
For the first time in years, he felt like everything was going to be all right.
He turned to look at Elissa, expecting to see her beaming at him, heart on her sleeve as always.
Instead, he found her staring down at her hands, her face a portrait of misery.
“Elissa?” he asked, shocked. “What’s wrong, darling?”
“I—” She stopped herself, cutting her eyes to Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy.
Edward rounded on the man. “Could you perhaps give us a moment of privacy?”
Mr. Nettlethorpe-Ogilvy’s gaze traveled back and forth between them. “No,” he said, sounding affronted.
