Part 25 (2/2)
De Gray came closer and touched her chin with his forefinger, nudging it upward until she met his gaze directly. ”However, there is a price to pay for my silence.”
”A price?” she repeated in confusion, withdrawing her hand.
”Another kiss...and this time no slap afterward.”
Lidian jerked back from him in outrage. ”You are the most shameless, petty, unprincipled-”
”Do you want these back?” he interrupted, dangling the gloves before her temptingly. ”Or shall I return them to you at a family supper some night and let you make the explanations?”
Lidian made a grab for them, but he held them high over her head and smiled maddeningly.
”What shall it be, Miss Acland?”
Her mind whirled. The thought of letting him kiss her, after all the nights of remembering...made her weak with anxiety. But perhaps it wouldn't be the same. She might feel nothing this time. Oh, how she would love to show him that he didn't affect her! She answered in a burst of frustration. ”Oh, do it! Do it quickly, and then leave me alone!” She closed her eyes and waited, her lips clamped shut, her nostrils flaring with her rapid breath.
Eric prolonged the moment, enjoying the sight of her upturned face, her fine black brows drawn together in a frown. He cupped her cheeks in his hands, his thumbs smoothing over the downy surface of her skin, his fingertips meeting the silky edge of her hairline. It was exquisite pleasure to hold her again. She flinched at his touch, as if the heat of his hands had startled her, and he felt the pulse in her throat against the heels of his hands.
Lowering his mouth to hers, he kissed her gently, warming her lips until they parted in hesitant welcome. He explored her mouth leisurely, teasing, tasting, until his heart thumped and his body ached with desire. He felt her reach for the lapels of his riding coat, her fingers clutching tightly to compensate for a sudden loss of balance. Breaking the kiss, he stared into her eyes, feeling as if he could drown in the soft darkness.
Somehow Lidian found the strength to pull away from him. ”I hope you enjoyed that,” she said, striving for a cool tone, as if the kiss hadn't affected her in the least...as if she weren't bewildered and shattered by the sensation of their breath and lips and heat mingling.
De Gray smiled and handed her the gloves. ”Chauncey Spencer is a lucky man.”
”How did you find out his name?” she asked unsteadily.
De Gray spoke in a cool, amused voice. ”Miss Acland, the torch you're carrying for Spencer is hardly a secret. A friend told me about it the night of the Torringtons' ball.”
For a moment Lidian's mind was blank with surprise. Then anger swept over her. How dare he imply that she was an object of amus.e.m.e.nt or pity! She twisted the gloves until they were a long rope in her hands. It didn't matter what De Gray and his fas.h.i.+onable friends gossiped about. Let them mock her for having loved Chance-she didn't care what anyone thought of her. She turned back to the account books on the desk. ”I have work to do,” she said shortly.
But De Gray wasn't ready to leave. ”As a matter of fact, Miss Acland, I saw Spencer last night.”
It took Lidian several moments to comprehend what he had said. She spun to face him, her mouth open in astonishment. ”What?”
”It seems the Honorable Chauncey Spencer has returned from the Continent. I happened to meet him at Craven's last evening. He was playing cards and relating the experiences of his 'grand tour'-”
”You're lying!”
His gaze locked on her face, taking in every nuance of her expression. There was a sudden hard gleam in his eyes, which could have been anger. ”No,” he said softly. ”Your true love is in London, and apparently he hasn't yet taken the time to seek you out.”
Lidian felt as if she had been hit in the stomach. ”I don't believe you.”
”He spends most of his evenings gambling at Craven's-”
”Don't you dare say a word against him,” Lidian hissed, ”or I'll hate you forever!”
He stared at her in the highly charged silence, his gaze piercing.
”Eric?” came a light feminine voice, and suddenly Dollie appeared in the doorway. ”I thought I heard voices in here. So you've finally come to visit! Well, I certainly hope you intend to stay for supper...” Her smile faded as she looked from Lidian's defensive posture to Eric's hard face.
Immediately De Gray's expression was wiped clean, and he gave his sister an easy smile. He walked over to her and brushed a kiss on her cheek. ”Little sister,” he murmured, ”I wouldn't dream of missing supper. I want to hear about your latest conquests.”
Dollie laughed and pushed at his arm. ”Save your charm for Mama and Lady Elizabeth. They're taking tea in the parlor.” She threw a hopeful glance at Lidian. ”Won't you come, too?”
Lidian shook her head and blindly made her way to the desk. ”I must see to these account books.”
Dollie's face registered her disappointment. ”Oh, dear. I do hope you'll finish soon, Lidian.” Slipping her arm through her brother's, she left the room with Eric, who didn't spare Lidian a backward glance. ”She has an astonis.h.i.+ng head for numbers,” Dollie's voice came floating back. ”She's as intelligent as she is pretty, Eric...”
”Really.” De Gray's voice was dry.
After they were gone, Lidian sat down at the desk and stared at nothing in particular. Her mind was swimming with questions. Chance was here, in London. She remembered the way he had told her good-bye, promising that he would return soon, that he would miss her and think of her every day...How could he seem so sincere and then ignore her upon his return? There must be some misunderstanding, either on her part or his. She had to see him and find out what had happened.
Craven's...De Gray had said that Chance gambled there every night. Perhaps he would be there this evening. Some of her anxiety faded, replaced by determination. If Chance was at Craven's tonight, she would find him, and she wouldn't rest until she had gotten an explanation from him.
During supper, Lidian sat quietly at the De Grays' long linen-covered dining table and studiously avoided glancing at Eric. She didn't speak to him except when politeness required. He responded with the same indifference, focusing his attention on his family. Lidian could see that her mother was surprised by her unusual reticence, not to mention the De Grays, who clearly adored Eric. The group laughed and talked animatedly as they discussed the latest social and political events in London. Lidian felt isolated from all of them, unable to think about anything except the fact that Chance was somewhere in the city at this very moment...and she would see him soon.
After supper she expressed a desire to retire early to her room, pleading a headache in order to avoid socializing with the De Grays. Dollie followed her, wearing a pucker of concern on her forehead. Together they paused in the central hallway. ”Lidian...are you all right?”
”I'll be fine after a long night's rest.”
”You don't like my brother very much, do you?” Dollie asked sadly.
Lidian hesitated. ”I really have no feelings for him one way or the other.” She smiled warmly at Dollie. ”However, I adore you and your parents.”
”We feel the same way about you. Perhaps you would regard Eric in a different light if you spent more time with him.”
”Perhaps,” Lidian said doubtfully, and hugged her briefly. ”Good night, Dollie.”
The girl smiled at her and went back to join the others while Lidian ascended the great curving staircase.
Late that night, when De Gray's carriage was gone and the household was asleep, Lidian donned a hooded cloak made of heavy gray wool and slipped out of her room. Her heart pounded as she crept carefully to the servants' stairs and made her way to the first floor. Crossing through the kitchen and the servants' hall, she left through the entrance at the back of the house.
The February air was cold and biting, but the sky was unusually clear with only a few streamers of cloud winding through the star-dotted sky. Lidian s.h.i.+vered and pulled the hood of the cloak over her face as she hurried through the courtyard of De Gray House and out to the street. After a few minutes of walking, she saw the dark outline of a hackney cab rattling toward her. She hurried toward the vehicle, waving her arm. ”Here,” she called, ”over here!”
The hackney came to a stop, and she caught a glimpse of the driver, a wizened little old man wearing a dark knitted cap. ”Take me to St. James Street,” she said. ”To Craven's.”
”Aye, milady.” He waited until she had climbed into the carriage, and clicked to the horse.
As the hackney traveled toward the south of London, Lidian smoothed her hands over the velvet pouch of her reticule, feeling the shape of coins and rustling bank notes. She had sc.r.a.ped the money together s.h.i.+lling by s.h.i.+lling for emergencies such as this. Glancing at the scenery they pa.s.sed, she saw dark shapes scuttling in and out of the shadows, pickpockets and prost.i.tutes emerging to mingle with the gentlemen who would devote themselves to an evening's revelry.
”'T'isn't safe for a pretty young girl to be alone out at night,” the driver remarked, turning onto St. James and pa.s.sing the endless line of carriages stopped in front of the gambling club. The hackney came to a halt.
”I'll be all right,” Lidian said, handing him some coins and descending from the vehicle. ”Good evening, sir.”
”Sir,” he repeated with a croak of a laugh, as if no one had ever called him that, and he waited until she crossed the street before the carriage rattled away.
She was intimidated by the palatial white building, the light pouring from the windows, the thoroughly masculine atmosphere. Patrons entered the club in a steady stream, under the watchful eye of a butler at the door. Clutching her reticule, Lidian made her way up the steps. Many curious stares were directed at the sight of an unaccompanied woman approaching the doorway.
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