Page 65 of A Scandalous Proposition
‘Adam!’ Florentina rolled her eyes. ‘I was a spy, working in occupied territories for weeks at a time. Don’t try and protect me. I can look after myself.’
‘What if Dawson were to see you? You said yourself that he suspects you of being the cause of his problems. And he must know it for a certainty now that Reynolds has seen you.’
‘I will wear men’s clothing. I’ve done it often enough.’
Adam lifted a brow and a long lock of her hair simultaneously.
‘I could cut it off,’ she said with an impish smile.
‘So you could.’ He sighed as he pulled her back onto his knee, knowing he was beaten. ‘But I think I would prefer to risk capture rather than commit such a travesty.’
‘Does this mean you agree to let me come?’
Chapter Fifteen
Adam could sense the brittle atmosphere at the Court the following morning. The servants crept about their duties, doing their best to make themselves invisible. He assumed Philippa’s mood must account for it. She could be a tartar when roused and tended to take her disappointments out on them. He sighed, accepting that she wouldn’t have taken kindly to his abrupt disappearance the previous night. He considered going off somewhere and giving her temper the opportunity to cool, but quickly dismissed the notion. The fragile truce between them couldn’t be maintained indefinitely. It would be better to clear the air between them once and for all.
He wasn’t surprised when she sought him out in the library halfway through the morning. She entered the room without knocking, her features set in a rigid line of determination that could only spell trouble. She closed the door firmly behind her and leaned against it.
‘Where did you go last night?’
‘I beg your pardon.’ He put his quill aside and took his time rising to his feet.
‘I believe you heard my question.’
‘I heard it but am having trouble understanding what makes you suppose you have any right to ask it.’
‘You left my dinner without offering any explanation. That was unpardonably rude and gives me every right to ask you for an explanation.’
‘I made my apologies to your husband. Unexpected business called me away.’
Annoyance flashed across her face. ‘He told me you’d received a note from a woman and that whatever it contained necessitated your immediate attention.’
‘Well, there you have it then.’ Adam resumed his seat with a nonchalant shrug and returned his attention to the papers on the desk. ‘Now, if you will excuse me, I have business to attend to.’
‘So do we.’ She walked towards him and leaned both hands on the desk so that her face was mere inches from his. He chose not to extend her the courtesy of standing for a second time, even though she was now looming over him, her features twisted into a bitter expression. ‘You went to Lord King’s masquerade and rescued Mrs Grantley, even though she was there of her own free will with a contingent from Chamberleigh.’ She lifted her shoulders. ‘That being the case, I can’t imagine why you thought she required rescuing. I dare say she missed the opportunity to make a good deal of money thanks to you.’
‘If you know where I went,’ Adam said, with an air of unruffled calm, ‘I’m surprised you troubled yourself to ask.’
‘You don’t deny it then?’
‘Certainly I don’t deny it.’
‘I don’t understand you, Adam.’ She removed her hands from the desk and drew herself up to her full height. ‘I warned you that woman’s not to be trusted and yet you appear to be fascinated by her. You run after her like a tame dog and don’t judge her for what she really is. And yet I am an innocent victim of your brother’s lust, and you give the impression that I am beneath your notice.’
‘You are many things, Philippa, but innocent is most decidedly not one of them.’
‘Whatever do you mean?’
She couldn’t completely disguise her fear and Adam was compelled to quell a grim smile of satisfaction. So King hadn’t thought to enlighten her about everything that had occurred at his masquerade. ‘Precisely what I say. Far from being a victim, you jumped upon James’s bereavement as a means of extricating yourself from a difficult situation that would otherwise have resulted in your social disgrace.’
‘That’s a slanderous lie! Withdraw it at once.’
Adam finally rose to his feet. ‘I stand by every word I’ve said. You flew up into the boughs when you couldn’t persuade me to remain here instead of joining my regiment.’
‘You have a very high opinion of yourself.’
‘And so you sought to overcome your fit of pique by running wild with your brother’s friends. You and King recognised kindred spirits in one another, which eventually culminated in your attending one of his masquerades. The type of affair that you have just condemned Mrs Grantley for attending.’
