Page 32 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
As soon as Gina had skipped from the room, Tillie called for her maid. How different her life would be now if she’d had someone on hand to point out Downie’s flaws. She glanced over at the plum. It wouldn’t do. If temptation was the goal, she needed to go with the red.
Rexton didn’t much like the disappointment that hit him when he walked into Landsdowne Court to discover Gina and her maid waiting for him rather than the countess. She’d rebuffed his overture. He should have been relieved, as he needed to focus his attentions on getting the eligible Miss Hammersley aligned with a suitable gentleman.
He liked even less the relief that hit him when the lady he was supposed to be courting apologized for her sister’s delay and offered to keep him company in the parlor with her maid serving as chaperone while they awaited the tardy one’s arrival. He didn’t like being drawn to Lady Landsdowne, he didn’t like that she haunted his nights, that he thought of her more than was practical or that those thoughts usually involved naughty and lascivious activities occurring on satin sheets within midnight shadows.
Although Gina had invited him to sit, he was wound up in a way he’d never been before. He needed to pace or ride or box. Instead he took up a post beside the fireplace as though the hearth were in need of defending, might spontaneously ignite at any moment if he weren’t standing guard. It was the deception making him antsy because the young woman peered up at him as though he were the answer to every dream she’d ever possessed. He was a fine catch. He knew that. Titled, wealthy, influential. He was the sort American heiresses flocked to England in search of. He’d lost some friends to their charms. As for himself, he preferred the English rose and when the time came that he was actually on the hunt for a wife, he would go with a woman who understood proper behavior and avoided scandal.
Even as he had the thought, he knew he was judging Gina unfairly, painting her with a brush that rightly belonged to her sister. Gina had done nothing to deserve his censure. He couldn’t fault her for wanting an English lord when so many were idolized because of their impeccable manners and good breeding. He knew a few American men, and while he enjoyed their company, he couldn’t deny they were a rough lot. Her uncle was a prime example. He worked hard, drank hard, played hard. Ironically, when it came to his nieces, however, he wanted things easy. Let another gent take the necessary actions to see the girl wed. For the price of a stud, Rexton had been willing. Was still willing. He just wished the girl didn’t always look so pleased to see him.
“Might I offer you something to drink, my lord?” she asked sweetly, and he knew her sister would have already had the whisky poured and in his hand. Would have joined him, her gaze never leaving his as she sipped, challenging him to find fault with her actions.
“No, thank you.”
“I’m certain Tillie won’t be much longer.”
“We have no schedule.”
“That’s what I told her when she was concerned about you having to wait.”
“She was concerned?” Of course, she would be. She wasn’t concerned about him in particular, simply the bad manners of not being ready on time.
“She doesn’t like to be a bother.”
Then she shouldn’t have had a quite public affair with a manservant. Although he did have to wonder: if she’d been married to him, would she have strayed? Did he possess the wherewithal to keep a woman such as she happy, content, and at his side? It was strange to realize he’d have embraced the challenge of it.
“I think she rather feared her tardiness would taint your opinion of me,” Gina said.
“I’m not in the habit of judging people based upon their familial relations.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and he imagined her sister’s blush would be a darker, richer hue. He suddenly wanted to see Lady Landsdowne blushing, wondered if the flush would travel over every inch of her skin. Did she even have it within her to blush?
“That’s obvious, my lord. Otherwise you’d have never shown me any attention. Most men aren’t as open-minded. They viewed me as unsuitable before I even attended my first ball.”
Telling her the truth, that he’d given her attention because of a damn stallion’s seed, was likely to bruise whatever self-esteem she had remaining. He cursed himself, cursed her uncle. He was going to find himself married to the girl if he didn’t give up his obsession with being in the company of Lady Landsdowne and begin searching for a replacement suitor in all earnestness. He’d been lax in his endeavors because Gina gave him access to Lady Landsdowne. Would the countess be open to his attentions if he wasn’t courting her sister? “I believe gents are coming around. You had a bit more attention at the ball last night.”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Did it make you jealous?”
Not one iota but he couldn’t confess that. Before he could respond with some flirtatious harmless comment that neither confirmed nor denied any jealousy on his part, Lady Landsdowne swept into the parlor in a sea of red silk taffeta and satin that stole his breath, his reason, his attention. His vision narrowed until no one else occupied the room. It was only the two of them. He’d thought her beautiful before. At that moment, he realized a new word needed to come into being to describe her because every descriptive word in his vocabulary was insufficient. She was beyond striking, beyond gorgeous.
“Forgive my tardiness,” she stated matter-of-factly as though completely unaware of how easily she could mute a man.
He would forgive her tardiness, forgive her anything. He would wait until the end of time for her.
Bloody damned hell! What was wrong with him? She was dressed to seduce. She was a woman who had brought an earl to his knees and then a blasted footman. Who knew how many men had followed? She comprehended what she was about. She was testing him, testing his devotion to her sister. If he wanted the stallion, he was going to have to ignore Lady Landsdowne, imagine her dressed in unflattering widow’s weeds. At least for tonight, at least until he turned the girl over to someone else. “Not to worry. The one who holds my interest was here. That’s all that matters to me.”
The words came out so smoothly that perhaps he should consider the stage. He forced his legs to go in the direction of Gina, smiled at her, and offered his arm. “Shall we be off?”
For a moment, she seemed confused by his attention; then she smiled brightly. “Yes, absolutely. I’m quite looking forward to dinner.”
“Dinner is only the beginning,” he assured her.
“Oh?”
“It shall be a night for enjoying vices.” As he walked past Lady Landsdowne, her lavender and orchid fragrance wrapped around him, and he was keenly aware he wouldn’t be indulging in all vices. He already knew insisting she join them was a mistake, and yet he couldn’t seem to regret it.
Opulence didn’t begin to describe the dining room of the Twin Dragons. They’d used a door that allowed them to enter without passing through the gaming floor. When Gina had expressed disappointment at not seeing the more interesting aspects of the club, Rexton had simply laughed and promised her, “In due time.”
Tillie didn’t like the way his satisfied laughter caused pleasure to ripple through her, as though the sound was for her and her alone when in truth he’d directed it only at her sister. A liveried footman escorted them to a white cloth-covered table in the center of the dining room. That surprised her. She’d expected something a bit more intimate and shadowed where more secretive flirtations could occur, but then with her in tow, he wasn’t going to be able to get away with much so perhaps he simply wanted people to see the lovely lady who decorated his arm.
