Page 61 of Ghost in the Garden
She sensed his surprise as she turned and fled. “Constance—”
She flapped one dismissive hand and kept going.
Chapter Thirteen
Was there evera more maddening woman than Constance Silver?
Solomon moved after her along the lane, keeping to the shadows in case the footman came back. He watched as she entered the garden and listened with some difficulty to the sounds of her return to the house.
The footman following her had not been one of the regular patrols. Somebody was suspicious of her, which, to Solomon, made it more imperative than ever that she did not stay there. Even though they seemed to have allayed that suspicion for now, by giving her a sweetheart.
And he wasn’t. She had made that abundantly clear.
He lurked outside the gate, straining his ears for any sounds of anger within, while his mind and his body wrestled with what had just happened between him and Constance.
The embrace had been her idea, although the kiss had been his—that amazing, blinding, overwhelming kiss…
“I stopped pretending a long time ago.”It was true—with the first touch of his mouth on hers, in fact.
She hadn’t fought him off. She hadn’t even started. She had accepted the pretense. And he had made several startling discoveries, not least of which was the sheer bliss of kissing Constance Silver. Even though—and this was another discovery—the courtesan did not know how to kiss as lovers did.
That pained him, and yet filled him with wonder and hope. Kissing her was an exquisite pleasure that he could not bring himself to end. How could he when she began to kiss him back, to melt into his arms, accepting the urgency of his body and his lips? And he had known with terrifying clarity that this wasright.
This love that he had not wanted was right. Constance, his friend, his partner in all things…
What had Juliet said? “Shewouldleave it for you. To bewithyou.” To be with Constance was all he wanted, and the knowledge that she was his as he was hers overwhelmed him.
He had made an attempt to bring back sanity, to give them a moment to adjust, to talk of the case they were working on, though it was so much less important than what he really wanted to say…
Although she had tried to play along in her flippant way, she was shaken. He had even been foolishly pleased by that—after all, so was he—only she had bolted so quickly and so determinedly that he had the appalling fear he was wrong.
He had overstepped, insulted her with the kind of passion she had stepped away from years ago. How could he have been so blind to her true feelings? To have initiated this at such a time when there was no time or place to explain, to talk. He had just grabbed the moment.
And lost it.
Lost her?
He should have spoken of his feelings, asked about hers… Now the moment had gone, and he had upset them both.
He had never been good at romantic relationships. In truth, he had never tried much because he had never truly cared. A little affection, a little physical pleasure… Nothing had ever compared to this feeling for Constance.
Since he could hear nothing untoward coming from the house, he walked away. By the time he found a hackney, he knew he would not give up. Not just for his own sake but for hers.
*
He found Janeyin her hat and coat, about to leave the office.
“Mrs. Silver’s taken her stuff,” she greeted him. “A gentleman came to see you with a view to employing your services. I made an appointment for him tomorrow at ten. And there’s two letters of inquiry on your desk. G’night!”
Solomon blinked. “Hold on! Where has Mrs. Silver gone with her things?”
“Covent Garden. Above the shop your man showed her this afternoon. Said she’d drop in tomorrow.”
So she was safe, at least. He relaxed. “Thank you,” he said. “Goodnight.”
Grateful for the prospect of another client—and something else to focus his mind on—he walked into his office and read the letters of inquiry. Smiling, he sat down and wrote replies, suggesting appointments next week, by which time he hoped to be free of Angela Lambert, who, however, might not speak to them again once they went after her husband.
He looked forward to telling Constance about the prospective new clients. At last, things seemed to be moving forward for their business. At the very least, surely it would mean he still saw her every day.
