“Thank you. We were also appreciating this library, Your Grace,” Harriet replied smoothly, “and looking for the poetry section. It is something my mother and I shared a love for.”
The elderly woman, Margaret Winchester, owner of the famed Winchester Opera House, softened her expression. Her chin lowered, and she patted her husband's hand.
“Ah, the Countess of Oaksgrove. I was so sorry to hear of that terrible accident. One can never know what the good Lord has in store for us, nor understand his plan.”
“We can only have faith and rejoice that those who leave us are with him,” said Alfred Winchester, from whom the good Lord had seen fit to take three of his ships in storms. Those reversalshad almost bankrupted him, according to rumor, and prompted his wife to sell the only asset she retained from before their marriage. The property that Jeremy coveted and intended to use to eclipse the achievements of his family.
“I thank you for your kind words. Faith has helped both myself and my brother,” Harriet said in a heartfelt manner.
Jeremy could have kissed her all over again for playing the part to perfection! If the Winchesters thought him a womanizer, they would never consider him as a suitable owner for their precious opera house.
“Well, we were going to look at my private collection. You will appreciate this very much. A collection of Bibles, some of which date back five centuries,” Chelmsford said gruffly.
“How fascinating!” Harriet enthused.
“Yes… indeed,” Jeremy replied. “Would you mind if we tagged along?”
“Not a bit of it. The more the merrier!” the man boomed.
He led the way, followed by the Winchesters. As they passed the bookcase that the keys had slid beneath, Jeremy tried to get a look. He could glimpse the gleam of metal, but it was too far under for him to reach. As he tried to nudge his foot under the narrow gap between the unyielding iron of the bookcase and thestone floor, Lady Margaret turned, opening her mouth to speak to Harriet.
Jeremy straightened quickly, pulling Harriet close beside him to hide the shackles that had become visible momentarily.
Whatever Lady Margaret had been about to say, she swallowed. Instead, she smiled indulgently.
Jeremy smiled back, trying hard to look like a devoted fiancé and praying that Harriet continued to play along. Chelmsford led them to a door which opened into a small room in which a number of ancient-looking tomes were arranged on pedestals. Jeremy and Harriet made suitably awed noises as they walked around the collection of historic bibles, trying to keep their conjoined wrists out of sight as they moved about the small chamber.
When they were finally led back into the library, Lady Margaret looked from Jeremy to Harriet, smiling.
“You have done yourself some good this evening, Your Grace. Your…history, alongside your unmarried status, was a cause of grave concern to us in considering you as a purchaser of the Opera House.”
“In fact, we had decided not to sell to you at all because of it,” Lord Alfred croaked a chuckle, one that almost had Jeremy sneering.
“Knowing you have learned to appreciate the sanctimony of marriage, and selected a suitable bride, has changed…much,” Lady Margaret nodded soberly.
Jeremy experienced a momentary thrill at those words, followed by the cold chill of dismay as Chelmsford indicated they should precede him out of the library.
If we walk ahead of him, he will surely see the shackles. If we leave, we will not be able to recover the key. And if we are discovered, then all my plans will be ruined…
“Dear, I have dropped my brooch. Remember, I was telling you the clasp was faulty,” Harriet said suddenly, “it was my mother's, but I think I know where it must have fallen. If you will excuse us?”
“Yes, we will catch up momentarily,” Jeremy smiled triumphantly.
What quick thinking! A sharp mind and a beautiful body. This young woman will make some man a lucky husband.
Chelmsford and the Winchesters seemed to accept Harriet’s excuse at face value, departing the room but leaving the door open behind them. Acting on impulse and driven by sheer relief, Jeremy took hold of Harriet's face between his hands and kissed her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Harriet forgot the shackle. She forgot the house in which she stood and the hundred guests that filled it. She forgot her brother and the anger that would consume him if he knew what she was doing at that moment. Her senses began and ended with the contact between her lips and his.
Her fingers laced between his, where their hands were shackled together. She became aware of the cold touch of metal against her wrist, but the sensation was lost against the warmth of his lips. It felt as though he was beginning to pull away, and she found herself putting her arms around his waist, pulling his body against hers. She held on tightly and was rewarded by the feel of his hard muscle pressing against her soft femininity.
She rose onto her tip-toes to make the contact between them deeper. His lips parted, and hers did likewise. She felt a moment of shock as his tongue darted between her lips. Shock, replaced moments later with pleasure. She pushed her own tongue against his, savoring the masculine taste of him. A moan roseup in her as his hands wandered down her back to encompass her derrière, squeezing and lifting so that her hips were ground against his.
The insistent hardness of his body was undeniable, and Harriet was sufficiently educated to know what it meant. Her head spun in a delirium brought on by long-suppressed desire.
How many nights have I lain awake dreaming of being held in a man's arms; of his body in contact with mine. I did not imagine it could feel like this!
