He did not like the sadness in her voice. It did not suit her. Happiness and laughter and smiles suited a woman like Miss Eugie Winter. But he could not say anything now. Not when he had been silent for so long, lingering and overhearing her private dialogue with her sister.
“A plan?” Grace rubbed her hands together, the sound unmistakable. “Do tell. I adore plans, as you well know.”
“Yes.” Eugie hesitated before continuing. “I am working my way through all the eligible gentlemen in attendance and kissing them. I began with Lord Hertford, if you must know.”
A low sound of denial left him before he could contain it. Surely she had not kissed him as part of some ludicrous plan to protect her sisters, had she? Surely the kiss had been real. The things he had felt, the spark between them, the way her lips had moved in response, the way her tongue had writhed against his, had not been all part of some bloodless, passionless plan.
Had it?
“Did you hear that?” Grace queried below, her voice curious.
“Hear what?” Eugie asked.
“That noise,” elaborated her sister. “It sounded like a wounded animal.”
Good Christ.He leaned his head against the wall of books behind him and closed his eyes, sure his ignominy could not grow any worse.
“Probably the wind outside,” Eugie dismissed. “It has been howling since this morning. I nearly lost my bonnet.”
He recalled, all too well, retrieving her bonnet for her, their heads bumping, fingers brushing, their stares melding. The kisses that had come afterward. Part of herplan, it would appear. It required every speck of control he possessed to remain where he was instead of stomping down the spiral staircase and making his presence known.
No good could come of this, he was sure.
“You never did remember to tie your ribbons,” her sister was saying below. “But tell me about this plan of yours. Kissing all the eligible gentlemen, you say?”
“Yes,” Eugie agreed. “I will happily spare you the misery of a marriage predicated upon nothing more than your fortunes. A man cannot woo one sister and then move on to another, after all, and if he does, woe to him, for he has not yet met the Winter sisters.”
“A sound plan,” Miss Grace Winter offered grudgingly. “Except it sounds rather taxing. Only think of how many gentlemen are in attendance. Do you truly mean to kiss them all?”
“If I must. I would do anything to save you from the suffering I have endured at the hands of the baron,” Eugie said.
“A dreadful little toad of a man he is,” agreed Grace. “But forget that rotter. I am chiefly concerned with you. How do you propose to go about kissing so many gentlemen? Your lips will grow chapped and withered.”
The thought of Miss Eugie Winter kissing all the gentlemen in attendance made him want to do violence. The notion of her soft, supple lips going dry with the effort had him clenching his fists. He told himself he ought not to be affected by her. After all, she had just admitted to her sister that kissing him had been a part of her scheme to save her sisters from heartache.
Noble, he supposed.
But foolish, also.
And he could not deny the blow his pride received upon the revelation.
He thought she had kissed him because she wanted to, because she had been moved by the same odd connection between them he had felt. Altogether unwanted, and yet equally undeniable.
He could still feel her kiss upon his lips. Her taste was yet upon his tongue. Tentative and deliciously sweet, like a ripe berry plucked in the heart of summer. She had kissed him as if she would never kiss another again. As if kissing him was all she required, more than her next breath.
And the way her fingers had settled into his hair, grabbing tufts and pulling with such exquisite, painful pleasure…
“Do you not think the idea a sound one?” Eugie asked her sister below, cutting into his wild thoughts.
Tell her, he urged Miss Grace Winter in his mind.Make certain she abandons this ludicrous plan altogether.
“It is brilliant, I agree,” Grace said, shattering his hopes she would have enough common sense to overrule her sister and make her see the error of her ways. “I wish I had thought of it myself, in fact. But to be perfectly candid, I would far prefer a false engagement with a scoundrel like Lord Aylesford than having to kiss my way through all these spoiled lords.”
“I do not blame you,” Eugie told her sister. “Finding what you need in a feigned engagement ought to suit your purpose perfectly. Because I am the only one among us with a tarnished reputation I am the one who must do it.”
“You began with the Earl of Hertford, you say,” Grace ventured, her tone curious now. “How was it? The kiss, I mean. Aylesford did not make an effort to try just yet. For a supposed rake, he has an appalling lack of motivation.”
“Oh, it…” Eugie paused, and Cam held his breath as she sought words.
