“Is that so? And what of your husband—does he treat you ‘well’?”
Aside from the opera, where she could concede she had behaved just as poorly, the answer could hardly be a negative. Of course, she hadn’t cared for his good treatment, and if she could have chosen, she might almost have wished he’d treat her badly, so she had more reason to hate him. As it was, all she could find to say was, “Yes, of course.”
“Hardly a surprise. I saw first-hand how very ardent he was.”
Cecily glanced around them, wishing she could loosen her dress to breathe more easily, though her stays were not tight. “We do not have to talk about him.”
“Indeed not. Now we have the pleasantries out of the way, shall we talk about you? You are looking ravishingly lovely today.”
“You seem to have come back a greater flatterer, sir,” she said, hiding a smile.
He doffed his hat at a passing young lady. “Do you think? Well, I’m glad. It’s my greatest pleasure to flatter young ladies—particularly when everything I say is God’s honest truth. You are one of the most beautiful ladies I’ve ever had the pleasure of conversing with.”
“Now Iknowyou’re lying.”
“No, how could you say such a thing? You have always had such power over me. You could strike me down with a single look.”
She laughed. “I very much doubt that. So much time has passed.”
“Has it? It feels like a day, an hour. Barely a minute has passed since I was last in your company.” He gave her another wickedly slow smile. “No, but I must be honest with you. I am more than a little grateful we met in this way. I’d hoped to encounter you again upon returning to London, and finding you in such rare beauty is an additional blessing.”
“Had you anticipated seeing me ugly?”
“I’d convinced myself nothing could compare to the image of you I have in my mind. Utterly divine. Spectacularly lovely. And yet it transpires my imagination could not do you justice.”
She tilted her head, even as her heart gave another flip. Not the same flutter as it might have done four years ago, but a taste of former joy. She’d once lived for compliments like these, far more outrageous than the ones Percy had ever given her. No, he hadalways spoken about her as though her feet rested firmly on the ground. William spoke about her as though she were an angel.
“You are a shocking flirt,” she said, attempting severity.
“Why, am I? Surely it’s only because the temptation is so great. I defy any gentleman to spend time with you andnotdo so.”
“You’ve only just seen me again after four years apart.”
“Four painful years, I assure you. If you think I have forgotten, let me assure you I have not. I think about you every night.” This time, the smile he offered her appeared distinctly lascivious. “I think about all that might have happened if we were not discovered.”
“Yes,” she said, and sighed. That kisshadbeen lovely. “To think, if we had not been discovered and if Percy had not led you away, you might have had a chance to propose.”
A hesitation, more like a heartbeat, passed between the end of her words and the beginning of his next. “Never mind what might have been—we can still consider what can still be. I have a proposition for you, petal. There’s a masquerade at the Pantheon next week. Let me escort you.”
A brief surge of the reckless, heady feeling she’d once experienced with him suffused her, and she smiled, curling the hand with her ring into a fist. “Very well,” she said. “I look forward to it.”
Chapter Three
Cecily returned home with her nerves fluttering. After meeting William, she had gone shopping with Arabella, who wanted desperately to know what Cecily intended to do about her old beau, but Cecily hadn’t been able to answer her.
The problem was, she hardly knew herself. Yes, he was terribly, dashingly handsome, just the same as always. And she had always assumed that he would be the only man she ever loved. Seeing him again had been like a fresh of fresh air. The situation with Percy being as it was, she might be well be able to have a lover, if she wanted him—and if he would consent to being hers.
The thought almost disturbed her. Certainly, she had flirted often, and with great enjoyment, but she had never considered breaking her marriage vows in that direction.
Then again, she had never been adequately persuaded. And William, she fancied, could be extremely persuasive if he put his mind to it. Just thinking about the way he had treated her upon seeing her again proved that; he was just as much of a flirt asever, and evidently hoped that he might find himself in favour with her once more. Perhaps he had never fallen out of love with her, and he hoped for . . .
What, was the question. There was no chance of him marrying her now. Would he be satisfied with being her lover?
Would she?
The sight of Percy in the hallway jolted her from her thoughts, and she started. At the sight of her, and her surprise, his lips thinned. “Cecily,” he said, his tone reserved. “Fear not—I was on my way out.”
“Where?”
