style="font-size:15px;"> ‘You do?’ His swift, frowning look unsettled her, but it was gone in a moment. ‘Of course. You did not believe me, then, when I said I need protection?’
‘Having met your sisters, I think we may both need protection if they discover they have been deceived.’
He pulled her hand onto his arm. ‘Then let me escort you upstairs to add credence to our story.’
She walked with him across the hall and up the grand staircase, but when they reached the Long Gallery she deemed it time to protest.
‘Apart from a few servants in the hall, no one has seen us, my lord.’
‘Ralph,’ he reminded her. ‘And someone may come upon us at any time. We need practice, to make sure we always look at ease together.’
She gave a little tut.
‘I mean, Ralph, that everyone is in their room. We have no audience, sir.’
She freed her arm, but he caught her hand and held on to it as they entered the inner corridor leading to her bedchamber. With no windows on this passage the light was dim, and Lucy felt her pulse quickening. She stopped.
‘I do not think we need to continue this any further, my lord.’
‘No?’
His softly spoken response made her heart flutter alarmingly, and she stepped away, only to find her back against the wall. She was dismayed to hear how unsteady her voice was when she replied to him.
‘There is no one here to impress with our charade.’
‘But as I said, we need to practise. It is really quite logical.’
His free hand cupped her cheek, quite gently, but the shock of it held her motionless. She was unable to drag her gaze away from his face. Even in the dim light she noted how his eyes had darkened. He was lowering his head, he was going to kiss her and instead of making any effort to escape she ran her tongue over her lips, as if in preparation.
Then his mouth was on hers. A gentle touch, nothing like the tumultuous kiss they had shared in the rain. She closed her eyes and a tremor ran through her, like a sigh for something long desired. Her lips parted under his gentle insistence, she felt his tongue invading, exploring, and a slow burn of excitement began deep inside, heating her blood. When he raised his head she almost groaned with disappointment. Her eyes flickered open and stared up at him, too dazed to move.
His face was immobile, dark as stone in the deep shadow. He looked at her for a long, long moment. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to speak.
‘Ralph—’
His hand was still cupping her face, and now he caressed her bottom lip with his thumb. Without thinking, she caught it between her teeth. Something flared in his eyes, something primeval, triumphant. She released him immediately, and he laughed softly as he drew away from her.
‘I was wrong. You need no practice.’
As he turned away she forced out a few more words.
‘I—I don’t understand.’
He stopped and looked back.
‘No, you wouldn’t.’ He spoke almost sadly, before adding in his usual brusque tone, ‘Tell Ariadne she is not to let you out of her sight!’
* * *
‘Damn, damn, damn!’
Ralph kicked the door closed behind him as he entered his room. He had made great efforts to keep away from Lucy Halbrook and allow her to forget that kiss in the garden. Not that he could forget it, for that encounter had shaken him badly. She unsettled him, which was why he had ripped up at her and then, knowing that his remark about her father had hurt her, he had wanted to make amends, only to find himself making a bad situation worse by taking her in his arms. Since then he had done his best to act with perfect decorum—apart from that midnight madness when he had taken her up onto the roof. His mind was diverted by the thought. She had been so delightful with the starlight shining in her eyes, and it had been a struggle not to succumb to temptation and kiss her, but he had behaved perfectly rationally.
Ralph told himself he wanted her at Adversane because he needed her to play her part in the forthcoming house party, but the truth was he wanted her to stay for her own sake, because he found her company stimulating. The more he saw of Lucy the more he wanted her. He tried to fight it. During the day he busied himself with his work and he had made sure they only met when Ariadne was present in the evenings, but today he had again broken his own rule and allowed himself to be alone with her.
And look at the result. His body was still tense with desire, and when he closed his eyes all he could see was her face upturned to his, those lustrous green eyes dark and inviting, the tip of her tongue flickering over those full, red lips.
By heaven, how he wanted her!
He absolved Lucy of all intent to seduce him. She was too innocent, completely unaware of her power over him. But for all that he found her presence intoxicating. A ragged laugh escaped him. If his sisters could see him behaving in this idiotic way they would have no difficulty believing the engagement was real.
Ralph frowned. He was growing fond of Lucy and did not want to hurt her by raising hopes he had no intention of fulfilling. He had already decided he could not marry again. He would never risk making another woman as unhappy as Helene had been.
‘You are being foolishly conceited if you think she would even consider you as a husband,’ he muttered to his reflection as he struggled with the knot of his neck cloth. ‘She has already told you she does not even like you!’
And the way she responded to your kiss? The demon in his head would not be silenced. How do you explain that?
‘Pure animal instinct. She had no idea of what she was doing. Hell and confound it, where is Kibble?’ He tugged savagely at the bell-pull to summon his valet.
The restless mood would not leave him, and he strode to the window, leaning an arm on the frame and dropping his head against it. One thing was certain: when Lucy Halbrook did eventually find a suitor who pleased her, he would be a very, very lucky man.
* * *
Lucy kept one hand on the wall as she made her way back to her bedchamber. Her knees felt far too weak to support her, and her body still pulsed with an energy she did not understand. Ruthie bustled in from the dressing room, too excited with her own news to notice her mistress’s pallor.
‘Ooh, miss, I’m to sit with the ladies’ maids at dinner tonight. Imagine! Mrs Green says when the other guests arrive tomorrow, us ladies’ maids will have to have a table to ourselves. Was there ever anything like it?’
‘No, never.’ Lucy tried to be glad for her maid. ‘Help me out of this gown, Ruthie, then I think I shall lie down for a little while before I change for dinner.’
‘Yes, miss. Oh, and Mr Kibble passed on a message from his lordship. He says you are to wear the blue silk tonight, miss, with the silver stars.’
‘Yes, yes.’ Lucy stepped out of her robe and waved her maid away. ‘Hang that up, Ruthie,
