“Yes. Really.” She set her plate aside with a sigh. “So I shall repeat myself. Why are you doing this?”
“Because it gives me pleasure?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m sure there are many things that give you pleasure. But you had ample chance to explore this particular behavior before now, and you didn’t. So no, I won’t accept that reason.”
He shrugged. “You have found me out, Miss Ridlington.” He too set his plate on the small table behind them. “I have something of import to discuss with you.”
“Better,” she nodded.
He narrowed his eyes. “That is the truth, you know. It is important. And I’m not sure how to begin the conversation.”
“Well, when you decide, do let me know?” She sighed. “I can’t say I’m averse to missing the second part of the evening’s entertainment. Señor Bonatello must be having an off night.”
Max wanted to seize her, turn her over his knee and spank the daylights out of her. In fact, his fingers itched to do just that. But his control asserted itself and he merely shifted a little in his chair. “Impertinent, but apt, I suppose,” he drawled. “However, I realize this is neither the time nor the place for the conversation we need to have.”
“Then what do you suggest?” She gazed at him, her expression of mild interest getting even further under his skin.
“Drive with me tomorrow morning.”
“Oh my.” Her gaze grew assessing and she raised an eyebrow. “How easily misconstrued that would be.”
“Do you care?” He watched the interest replace the indifference in her eyes.
“As a matter of fact, no. I can’t say I care.” A quick smile lit up her face. “It’s time I did something quite awful, isn’t it?”
“Would driving with me bethatbad?”
She thought for a moment. “If you left your footman behind, it might be. Especially if we were seenreturningto the Park. As if from a longer drive…”
“From my home, for example…” He led her on, feeding the demon he sensed lay within her. He had his own demons; he felt qualified to judge hers.
“Quite, quite scandalous.”
“And that would be to your liking?”
She straightened. “I’m rather tired of the mundane, Mr. Seton-Mowbray. I have no expectations, and I’m much older than an Almacks debutante. I am not husband-hunting, since I intend never to marry. My family is settling into new lives, my brother has his own coterie of acquaintances, and my sister…well, Hecate is unique. I am…ornamental, I suppose. That’s all. So yes, I’m ready to be a little bit more thanthe delightful Miss Ridlington. I believe it might be entertaining were I to be known asthe scandalous Miss Ridlington.”
“Then I hope you’ll allow me to assist you in achieving that goal, Ma’am.”
“Thank you, Mr. Seton-Mowbray.” Her smile was one he hadn’t seen before; a blend of enthusiasm and wickedness, lighting up her features into something remarkable. His body responded with a sharp bold of lust, rattling him from toes to eyebrows.
He swallowed. “Call me Max.”
