Fiona gestured with her parasol down the street where her maid was still flirting madly.“It seems that Glynna is far more taken by the sights in London than I.But that is not what propelled you from the haberdashers to my side.What do you want, my lord?”
Nothing was ever easy with her.Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to mind.“Nothing more than to see you.I couldn’t help myself when I saw you here.”
Halting in the middle of the walk, she swung the parasol before catching it in her gloved hand.Gloves of ivory leather with a corded and scalloped edge.Aylesbury studied them curiously until she spoke.
“That’s a fine piece of flummery if I’ve ever heard one.Couldn’t help yourself?Ha!You needn’t worry, Lord Aylesbury.I meant what I said.”
“You’ve said quite a lot recently.Would you care to clarify?”
“That you needn’t fear that seeing you again will evoke any of the besotted antics I besieged you with before,” Fiona said, searching for her maid once again, though the girl had managed to disappear.“In fact, seeing you again has been rather therapeutic, really.I’m all but purged of your charms,” she lied blithely.
“While my experience is quite to the contrary,” he admitted.“Seeing you again has been a kick in the gut.”
“Nauseating and uncomfortable?How complimentary,” Fiona replied sardonically.“I can see now why you’ve been hanging about.The appeal of such a thrill must be undeniable.”
The laughter that bubbled within him could not be denied, and Aylesbury laughed aloud at her dry humor.That satirical wit had been one of the first things he adored about her.Tucking her free hand into the crook of his arm, he propelled Fiona into a more intimate stroll down the cobbled walk.
“Let me amend that.Seeing you again has been a disconcerting reminder of what I left behind these past few years.My life halted when I left Edinburgh.”
“I doubt I had anything to do with it.”
“Not solely, but more than you might think.For too long, I’ve had nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for,” he admitted.“I want to move on and live again, Fiona.And I want to do that wi–”
His head turned, Aylesbury’s gaze riveted not on Fiona any longer but farther beyond, over her shoulder.As his face grew taut, she turned curiously to follow his gaze but could see only others shopping the bustling Regent Street shops.
“I must go.”
Just like that, he was gone, running—yes,running—with unlordly haste across the busy street, dodging one carriage after another and nearly becoming trampled beneath the hooves of a spirited high-stepper before reaching the other side.
He disappeared briefly, then appeared again, catching the arm of a modestly dressed woman.His handsome features lit up with an expression of high anticipation.
One wouldn’t have thought a man might apologize for something only to repeat the same offense at their next meeting.Feelings stung, Fiona turned away and looked about for Glynna without success.With a sigh, she headed west, hoping to spot her maid or carriage along the way.The sunshine was gone from her day, taking with it the antagonism that had served as her defense to the charm Aylesbury still managed to wield so compellingly.
He looked handsome today in a well-tailored grey morning suit that accentuated his broad shoulders.The jeweled chain of his watch fob draped across the front of his blue and grey pencil-striped waistcoat, highlighting his flat stomach, which, on so many, would exaggerate even the slightest paunch.The blue brought out the color of his eyes, making them shine even on such a bleak day.
And that smile!So hard to brace herself against the power it held over her.Almost as much as his kiss.Fiona nearly stumbled at the invasion of the memory she had tried so hard to put aside.What a failure that effort had been, for she could hardly stop replaying it in her mind!Every brush of his lips, each caress of his fingertips, a painful salute to years past.
She was more a fool than she had thought.
“Damn.”
