Thats what a fortune hunter would say.
Probably. But in my case its true. He paused. That wasnt all he said.
She shifted and spoke reluctantly. He said your family was
Shady?
Finally she turned. She didnt look annoyed or flustered. She looked curious. After Uncle Nevilles villainy, our family cant boast.
He was impressed that she broached the scandal. Harry had always sensed that Sophie Fairbrother was made of stronger stuff than society suspected. Which meant that something more important than a petty disappointment had made her sob her heart out in the Oldhavens garden.
Despite his determination to remain within the bounds of proprietyjusthe took her arm. She gasped in surprise without pulling away. Beneath his touch, her skin was smooth and cool. A bolt of heat sizzled through him, startling him with its power.
If I drag you into a private room, will you scream? he murmured.
He wasnt sure what reaction he expected. Certainly not a soft giggle. That depends on what you intend to do.
For a beat, shock held him silent. She wasnt afraid. Instead she looked interested and eager. Heaven help him. Clasping her slender arm and drowning in eyes as blue as a summer sky, he didnt feel like a gentleman. He felt like a starving man presented with a table groaning under lashings of food.
Not as much as I want to, he admitted.
He whisked her behind the nearest door. The latchs click sounded like thunder. His heart thudded with excitement and uneasiness. If they were discovered, there would be the devil to pay.
This is dangerous. His grip softened to a caress and instinct alone led his hand to her other arm. This room was as dark as a coalmine.
It is. My brother is a famous shot.
The warmth of her skin under his hands set him trembling. For a few minutes alone with you, Ill take any risk.
Will you think that when he puts a bullet into you? In the quiet gloom, the rasp of her breathing was audible. She was more nervous than she pretended. That hint of vulnerability contained Harrys rocketing desire as nothing else could.
Even then, its worth it.
Such a flatterer.
He knew he deserved the mockery, but he couldnt like it. How to explain that this time everything was different? Sophie wasnt one of his women. She was the woman.
Ill be missed if I stay too long.
He smiled. That sounds promising.
How so?
That you mean to stay at all.
She offered no coy protests. The more he saw of her, the more he liked her. Are you a fortune hunter?
He breathed unsteadily too. Not because of fear, but because her nearness set his heart galloping like a wild horse across the moors. Her scent tinged the air. Something fresh like running water. What do you think?
I think Ive spent far too long thinking about you.
Triumph flooded him. He exhaled and cupped her face, feeling her silky cheeks beneath his palms. I cant stop thinking about you either. Are you going to marry Desborough?
She started, but didnt move away. My brother wants me to.
Do you?
Its a good match, she said unenthusiastically.
He released her. So good it makes you hide away and cry.
That wasnt
That wasnt
Dont lie, Sophie. Not to me.
You cant call me Sophie.
He laughed softly. I cant address the woman who shares my cupboard by her title. Its a rule of society.
Her gurgle of amusement made his blood fizz with happiness. You dont strike me as a man who follows rules, Mr. Thorne.
The need to kiss her surged, but despite her unexpected if hesitant cooperation, he didnt want to frighten her away. Youve listened to too much gossip. And my name is Harry.
The pause that followed vibrated with significance.
Harry she breathed, turning his prosaic name into music.
His heart crashed against his ribs. Dear God, he was in trouble. Lovely, lovely Sophie, he whispered and despite the risk of taking everything too far too fast, he curled his arms around her.
Oh! She jerked from the brush of his lips.
He set her free and withdrew as far as the cupboard allowed. Forgive me.
To his astonishment, she caught his shirt. You took me by surprise.
I had no right
Youre a very chivalrous rake, Harry Thorne, she said drily.
Her tone piqued his curiosity. Ignoring common sense and self-preservation, not to mention the gentlemans code, he placed his hand over hers. Dont you want me to be chivalrous?
Not right now.
You deserve better than a furtive courtship, he said helplessly, even as his other hand snaked around her slender waist to arch her against him. But since the day we met, Ive dreamed of you.
Her sigh conveyed wonder. Really?
His voice deepened into urgency. Ive dreamed of kissing you.
And other things, but he couldnt sully her innocence with his wanton fantasies.
Id like to make your dreams come true. She leaned closer, her breasts grazing his chest. Will you kiss me, Harry?
Sophie Her scent filled his head like wine, overwhelmed thought. His hand tightened around her waist.
Dont you want to? she asked in a small voice.
Of course I bloody want to, he said roughly, then dragged in a breath. Im sorry. Im not acting the gentleman.
This time her sigh was disgruntled. Youre acting too much the gentleman.
Sweetheart
She interrupted before he pointed out that he cared for her reputation. After all, how convincing could any avowal sound when he embraced her in a cupboard in the middle of a ball?
I dont want to hear it. Her voice softened. Unless its Kiss me, Sophie.
Oh, hell. How could he resist? Kiss me, Sophie.
Harry lashed her to him and pressed his mouth to hers. Her lips trembled beneath his. Her fluttering uncertainty hinted that this was her first kiss. Tenderness stabbed at his heart.
Automatically he gentled, nipping and licking at her, until her breath hitched and she leaned closer. His tongue slid into her mouth, tasting her fully. Her flavor blazed through him like lightning.
The world beyond Sophies clumsy but ardent responses vanished. All Harry knew was her warmth and the way her tongue danced around his. Her broken moans. Her soft, quivering body pressed into his.
It took him longer than it should to realize that shed stopped participating. He raised his head and struggled to see her through the darkness. What
Shh! Her hands formed claws in his shirt. Now she trembled not with passion, but with terror.
There were voices outside. Damn. His arms tightened and he drew Sophie against him. Anyone within a miles radius must hear his heart. He wasnt frightened for himself but for her. Only a bloody fool would risk this encounter.
He strained to hear if the people outside mentioned the Marquess of Leaths sister. They discussed supper arrangements. If Harry hadnt been thickheaded with delight, hed have recognized his hostesss voice immediately. She seemed to be talking to her butler.
Fleetingly, he relaxed. Until he wondered if the butler needed supplies from this tiny storeroom.
In vibrating silence, Harry and Sophie clung together until the voices faded. Eventually he whispered in her ear. I need to get you out of here.
With a trust he didnt deserve, she laid her cheek upon his chest. I thought Id die when I heard them.
I shouldnt have brought you in here. But Ive been desperate to see you, and your brothers like a collie with a ewe lamb.
Hes terrified of fortune hunters spoiling his plans.
To be fair, thats his duty.
But youre not a fortune hunter.
Im not. He paused. Im not?
A fortune hunter wouldnt hesitate to ruin me to force a marriage.
Marriage? The word clanged through him like a great bell.
The malaise dogging his heels disappeared in Sophies company. The sight of her turned his day to brilliance. That left the choice of taking himself off and leaving her to the man her brother chose. Or ruining her. An idea which made every cell in his body revolt.
Or marriage.
Harry? she asked on a thread of sound. Whats wrong?
It was too early to mention lifelong commitment. Already shed surrendered more than hed hoped. His heart kicked as he remembered those wondrous kisses.
He eased his grip. Weve been here too long.
Yes. Regret weighted her voice. Will I will I see you again?
Despite the last fraught moments, he couldnt contain a laugh. What do you think?
I dont know. Im not experienced with flirtation.
Another pang of painful tenderness. He wasnt experienced with love. In this glorious new world, they were both innocents. When can I meet you?
The park. She sounded relieved. I ride tomorrow morning.
With your brother?
Hes away this week.
Ill find you.
I hope so. He caught a quiver of uncertainty.
I swear it, he said.
I dont want to leave you.
How he basked in hearing that, however difficult it made this parting. I dont want to let you go. But I must.
He kissed her quickly. He meant the contact to be sweet and brief, but he found himself drowning again.
Luckily for failing willpower, she broke away and opened the door a crack. Tomorrow, she whispered, slipping outside.
Tomorrow, he confirmed, then waited in the dark while she shut the door with a soft snick. Right now he wasnt fit for civilized company. He hoped Sophie was. He had a horrible feeling that shed look mussed and thoroughly kissed.
Chapter Seven
Fontana dei Monte, Italian Alps, February 1828
It was snowing again. As this purgatorial week proceeded, Pen began to think that the world contained only snow and ice and wind. And flea-ridden inns. And rude servants.
And men who tried to push her around.
Or more accurately, one man who pushed her around. His overbearing Grace, the Duke of Sedgemoor.
Pen and Cam traveled as Lord and Lady Pembridge, using the Sedgemoor heirs courtesy title. She supposed that now they left the mountains behind, the inns would become busier. She and Cam would need to be more discreet than ever in case they met someone who knew them.
Their coach bumped its way into the tiny hillside village where they would spend the nightor rather where the man who had assigned himself lord and master had decreed theyd stay. Idly Pen wondered when shed finally break. Would this be the day when she pushed Cam headfirst into one of the towering snow drifts lining what was optimistically termed a road?