Page 49 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
Her gaze flickered over him, assessing. “Perhaps. But even the ocean has depths, and one can drown rather easily, as you know.”
“I recall you to be a good swimmer.”
She didn’t answer, merely stared at him. A sudden burst of fireworks momentarily bathed her in a soft light, stealing his breath. Then, she drained her glass in a single gulp, setting the crystal down with a soft clink on the balustrade.
She smiled at her friends. “Excuse me for a moment; I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
“Do you need company?” Lady Madeline asked.
She shook her head and quickly stepped through the doors.
Adam’s brows furrowed. For a moment, he stood frozen, watching her retreating figure. He couldn’t bring himself to move. It was as though his body refused to obey him, too confused and baffled to act.
He cursed.
“Please, excuse me, too.” Without another glance at the group, Adam turned and followed her.
*
The deafening crackof fireworks rattled the windows, slicing through the muffled shouts of delight from the ballroom. Charlene winced and tightened her shawl around her. She had hoped that slipping away would give her a measure of peace to calm down her heart, but her thoughts swirled restlessly.
Her pulse still continued to race—how could it? He had returned. And his eyes, oh, those eyes, once they had fallen on her, they hadn’t left. Ashley and Maddie may not as well have existed!
Her friends’ earlier words rang in her ears. About competing. The duke competing for her attention? Adam?
No.
Surely not.
He only wanted to… rekindle a broken friendship.
He had, after all, not even called on her in two weeks. Not even a note.
She slipped down the hall and found an open door. A small study with some ledgers on a big desk beckoned, and the window overlooked St. James’ Park. If not for the spectacle of fireworks, the room would be shrouded in darkness. She probably should not tarry too long. The thud of footsteps made her pause.
She turned abruptly to face the door.
Adam stood there, filling the space as if daring it to contain him. His silhouette was sharp against the glow of firework flares—brilliant reds, greens, and golds flickering over his face. His eyes gleamed, catching the light like chips of amber, and something about the way he stared at her made her breath seize.
“Spectacular view this evening,” he said.
“Oh, the fireworks, yes.” Charlene didn’t dare meet his eyes.
“No, you.”
Her stomach did something and her palms grew clammy.
“Silly to think that gunpowder is part of a celebration, considering it was the problem to begin with,” he said with that maddening calm, his voice carrying easily over the next crack.
“Ironic, isn’t it? Almost an homage to Guy Fawkes rather than a criticism of his shortcomings.”
Adam stepped farther into the room, closing the door softly behind him. “So you don’t think we’re celebrating the escape? We’re admiring the attempt, are we? How interesting.”
“Only you would find much of my thoughts interesting,” she said archly, though the corners of her mouth twitched upward despite her heart-pulsing state.
He’d followed her.
You had hoped he would, her inner voice whispered.
