Page 30 of A Sense of Fate
‘Shame.’ Archie gave a regretful shrug, which earned him a jab in the ribs from Flora’s elbow.
‘You are impossible.’
‘So I have been told.’
She shook her head at him and wandered back outside. ‘It’s been a lovely day, Archie. Thank you. But time is getting on, I don’t like the look of those low clouds, so if I can drag my maid away from Mr Pawson I think we should be getting back.’
‘Let me know if you have any further problems with Conrad,’ Archie said as they walked back to the house.
‘And you must let me know if you find out anything interesting about his connection to my father.’
‘You can be sure that I shall.’
They returned to his library, where Archie rang the bell for Pawson and watched Flora as she bundled her tangled hair beneath the hat, which she put back on before sliding her arms into the tippet that he held out for her. Standing behind her, he impulsively brushed a stray strand of hair from her shoulder, took her upper arms in a firm hold and recklessly kissed the long column of her neck.
‘What am I to do with you?’ he asked no one in particular.
The pithy form of retort that he had come to expect from her was not forthcoming. Instead, she remained rooted to the spot and, glancing over her shoulder, he could see that her cheeks were flaming. Damn it, he’d forgotten himself and frightened her off! How could he have been such an idiot? All the patience he had put into keeping his feelings in check had been undone by one unguarded gesture.
He steeled himself to move away from her and formulate an apology that would probably sound half-hearted. He could never bring himself to regret something that felt so right. Surely he had earned a brief, treasured reward for his endurance. He hesitated and she seized the initiative, surprising him as she so easily could by turning to face him, standing on her toes and placing a gentle and all too brief kiss on his lips.
‘You are my guilty pleasure, Archie Felsham,’ she told him, looking surprised when the words slipped past her lips, almost as though she hadn’t intended to speak them out loud.
She returned to adjusting the tilt of her hat as though nothing had passed between them, leaving Archie to wonder if this had been a defining moment, a turning point in their friendship, or if he had dreamed the fleeting episode. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her, but he could hear Pawson’s footsteps approaching in response to his summons and the opportunity was lost to him.
Polly followed Pawson into the room, looking bright-eyed and flustered, causing Archie to wonder what his man had been getting up to with the chit. Not a great deal of imagination was required, although Pawson would never overstep the bounds with a young girl who had already been badly damaged by the demands of men. But that wouldn’t stop him from flirting outrageously, and Polly didn’t appear to be upset by the attention.
‘Ah, Polly. Are you ready to leave?’ Flora asked. ‘We ought to be going before the weather closes in and we inconvenience Lord Felsham’s driver and his team.’
‘Quite ready, miss. It’s been a lovely day.’
‘Indeed it has.’ She turned to smile at Archie in her customary friendly manner, and the intimate moment between them might never have occurred. ‘Thank you, Archie. Behave yourself—if you possibly can.’
‘You ask a lot.’
‘I know.’
He took her gloved hand, raised it to his lips and chastely kissed the back of it. Their gazes clashed for a prolonged moment and she was slow to look away again. He wondered if she was aware that her violet eyes were glistening with sensual disobedience at that precise moment. She was curious, he realised; curious about matters of which she had no real understanding, and he ached to be the one to educate her—but not, he was astounded to discover, in any capacity other than her husband.
Dear God, it seemed that even rakes reformed their ways eventually, given sufficient incentive.
‘I shall collect you next week, as agreed, and take you to Beranger Court.’
‘I don’t recall actually agreeing to anything,’ she replied airily, ‘but I suppose it makes sense for us to travel together.’
‘How very gracious you are, Miss Latimer.’
She laughed. ‘If it’s graciousness you require, Lord Felsham, then you should look elsewhere.’
‘Never,’ he said softly. ‘You’re stuck with me.’
‘How very reassuring.’ She glanced out the window. ‘Come along, Polly. We’re keeping the horses standing about.’
They walked to the entrance vestibule together. Draper opened the front door for her and she turned in the aperture to look at Archie for a protracted moment before descending the steps and accepting Pawson’s hand as he helped her into the waiting conveyance. Pawson closed the door behind Polly, jumped onto the box seat beside the driver and the carriage moved off.
Archie remained where it was and watched it until it disappeared from sight, oblivious to the cold, feeling the grey shroud of loneliness descending over him in the carriage’s wake.
Chapter Seven
