Page 7 of With Good Grace
‘It is me you are talking to, Olivia,’ Jake replied with a soft laugh. ‘I happen to know that you deliberately play upon your so-called notoriety, using it as an excuse to avoid invitations you would prefer not to accept, and that you generally enjoy causing tongues to wag.’
‘I do no such thing!’ Olivia sliced into her roast pork, aware that her protest lacked conviction. ‘However, we were discussing Eva’s departure. I am very happy for her and Isaac and shall visit them once they have adjusted to married life.’
‘We could drive down together.’
Olivia nodded, thinking his willingness to be seen with her was progress. ‘Tell me what you have been doing with yourself these past two months,’ she said.
‘Running about at Thorndike’s behest,’ Jake replied with a weary sigh. ‘Much good it did me. Simon Warbeck and I have been chasing our tails in Scotland, failing to tie up the loose ends on a case we handled for Thorndike last year. Alas, it was a massive waste of time. The miscreants are still at large.’
‘I know how much you dislike failure, Jake,’ Olivia replied softly, mesmerised by the manner in which the flickering candlelight played across his rugged features, making him appear mysterious, fascinating and oh so unattainable.
He twisted the stem of his wine glass between his long, capable fingers. ‘I am as fallible as the next man.’
‘Perhaps, but you have more than repaid Thorndike for helping you after your brother’s death.’ Olivia was one of the few people who knew that as a young man Jake had fought with his debauched older brother and inadvertently caused his death. Thorndike had saved the day, making it appear like the accident it had in fact been, but without Jake’s involvement. It infuriated Olivia that he had been trading on his intervention ever since, playing upon Jake’s conscience to have him carry out dangerous and covert assignments for an ungrateful government. ‘You can walk away from his service with a clear conscience, even though you will never convince me that you do not enjoy behaving recklessly.’
His lips curved into a sensual suggestion. ‘That I cannot deny,’ he said, his voice a concerto of meaning that caused her to blush.
Green cleared the plates and placed citrus ice sorbets in front of them both.
‘Even so, facts must be faced,’ Jake added. ‘I am getting too old and slow to enjoy the chase, even if I am not yet ready for the roses you hold in such high regard.’ He leaned back in his chair, flexed his shoulders and sighed. ‘Chasing England’s enemies is a younger man’s game.’
Olivia flashed a mischievous smile. ‘Yes, I can quite see that an old fossil such as yourself would feel disadvantaged.’
‘Witch!’ Jake saidsotto voce,while Green’s back was temporarily turned to them.
‘You should know better than to knock at my door if it is compliment you seek, Jake. I feel persuaded that all the Scottish ladies you encountered these past weeks were more than ready to flatter you.’
Jake raised one brow. ‘Jealous, Mrs Grantley?’
She met his challenging gaze and held it. ‘Pragmatic, Lord Torbay.’
He fixed her with a provocative look that made her want to either throw herself into his arms or beat him with her clenched fists for assuming he knew what she was thinking; which it seem that he did, the infuriating man! ‘Ah, that would explain it,’ he said, chuckling.
Olivia shook her head. She ought to know better than to bandy words with a master manipulator. Seeing that Jake had finished eating, she put her napkin aside and stood.
‘My compliments to Mrs Fenton,’ he said to Green, standing also.
‘I shall tell her that you enjoyed the meal, my lord. She will be gratified.’
Olivia wondered if she too was destined to enjoy gratification that evening.
‘We shall take coffee in the drawing room, Green,’ she said, ‘and I dare say Lord Torbay would appreciate a brandy. Not that he deserves one,’ she added in an undertone.
They removed to the drawing room and spoke of inconsequential matters until the coffee and Jake’s brandy had been served and Green had withdrawn, closing the doors behind him. The moment she had been so anxiously anticipating since Jake’s return to London was now upon them. Expectancy hung in the air between them like the prelude to pleasure, creating havoc with Olivia’s equilibrium. She glanced across at Jake to find that he was already watching her with quiet intensity. Their gazes made sizzling contact as he swirled the brandy around in his glass and his lips curved into a sinfully tempting smile.
They were alone and would not be disturbed, but Margaret’s visit had caused Marcus’s death to come between them like an intrusive and unwelcome guest, spoiling Olivia’s anticipation and making her forget about all the things she had wanted to ask Jake. Instead, she would have to talk about her late husband and all the painful particulars she had never told him—had never told anyone—about her marriage.
Damn Margaret!
‘Tell me more about Hubert’s disappearance and why Margaret imagined you would know anything about it,’ he said into the silence. ‘I have never asked you about your marriage to Grantley, why it came about or why you were arguing so violently on the evening that he was killed.’ He fixed her with compelling look. ‘I have always wondered, since I knew you could have done so much better for yourself. The right time to ask you would have been when you were released from prison, but I sensed that talking about the past was the last thing you wanted to do. God alone knows, I could understand that. But now, if something has happened…’
‘Something has. Hubert has been disobliging enough to disappear.’ Olivia pursed her lips, trying to stop them from trembling. ‘He always did enjoy making trouble but he’s surpassed himself on this occasion.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Jake said, leaning across the space that separated them and making gentle contact with her ungloved hand.
‘It is hardly your fault.’ Olivia reclaimed her hand. If she had to talk about this, she needed to remain calm and not allow Jake’s touch to affect her. ‘Anyway, Margaret heard about my friendship with you. Well, I suppose she was bound to know of it since you made no secret of the fact that you uncovered the true villains when the police had stopped looking, thinking they already had their woman.’ Olivia tossed her head, trying to disguise the fear that still visited her when she looked back on that dreadful time. ‘Every young lady in the land was swooning at the thought of having such a suave gentleman riding to her rescue, if even half of what I heard subsequently is true.’
‘Never listen to gossip, Olivia,’ Jake replied, waving the compliment aside. ‘You of all people ought to be aware that it has little basis in fact.’
