brow creased. “I hope I didn’t offend you in any way.”
Shifting his jaw, he strode back toward her, his coat billowing menacingly around his solid movements as if he were about to take flight and land on top of her.
Though she wanted to throw up her hands and dash up the stairs to find Henry, she knew that would only make her look the ninny that she was.
He paused half an arm away, blocking her view of the foyer. That crisp scent of leather, wood and coal drifted toward her again. He lowered his gaze to hers. “You didn’t offend.”
Everything about him was a bit too exciting. She almost couldn’t think. “I didn’t?”
“No.” He held her gaze. “My mind simply isn’t where it should be and I’m not one to take advantage of a clearly virginal woman.”
Her eyes widened. “What do you mean by that?”
“Oh, now, you can’t be that naive. What do you think goes on between men and women when no one is looking? They don’t sit and play cards.”
She fisted her trembling hands, which had gone from damp cold to damp hot, realizing exactly what he meant. She knew about kissing. She also knew that when bedchamber doors closed at night, something happened that resulted in children. So did he mean to say he wanted both? “Are you offering on my hand?”
His mouth quirked. “Not in the way you think.” He edged in tauntingly. “This is probably where you should turn and run, tea cake. Before all this pent-up self-restraint you see…flies. Because I’m not known for restraint when it comes to women.”
She swallowed. He was teasing her. “If you doubted your self-restraint, you wouldn’t have told me.”
He eyed her. “I’m not always this nice to women.”
“If I felt in any way threatened by you or this situation,” she confided, “I would have screamed by now. I can scream, you know. I try not to, given Dr. Filbert insists I never strain my throat, but I can. I’m not as frail as everyone thinks I am.”
He hesitated. “Doctor? Is something wrong with you?”
She shrugged. “I have fainting spells and issues with my throat. There was an incident when I was younger. I could barely swallow without being in pain and lost almost a quarter of my body weight when I was seven.”
He stared, his features darkening. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
She shrugged. “I was rather fortunate. I could have died. Everyone was surprised I didn’t.”
He said nothing.
“My name is Imogene, by the by. Lady Imogene. But you can call me Gene.”
He stared at her in a way that resembled a panther gazing upon its prey. Then, suddenly, he edged back. “I really have to go.”
She tried not to panic. What if he didn’t take the offer? What if she had scared him away with all her stupid talk of doctors and death? “We should take tea sometime. Here at the house. Next week in the afternoon? Yes?”
He kept staring. “I’m not looking to be domesticated.”
“Oh. I… Well…tea is very informal. As long as I have a chaperone it would be very respectable. You and I can get to know each other and be friends.”
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