The only thing to do was drink more scotch, which he wasted no time doing. He hoped the liquor would quash the percolation of blood that raced from his heart to below his belt and hardened his staff. It wasn’t often a man prayed his intromittent apparatus would grow limp, but under the circumstances, a limp dick would be a blessing.
Aunt Kitty had the uncanny ability to read him like a book. She must have sensed his dilemma, because she gave him the stink-eye. “I believe it’s almost time for our recital, isn’t it, Jack?”
“Quite right, dear Aunt Kitty.” His voice sounded strained to his ears, making his aunt give him another warning look.
“I don’t believe you’ve heard Jack play, Cynthia, my dear,” she said.
Cynthia twittered, “Father insisted on me having vocal and piano lessons. He believed a true lady must always be practiced in the refined arts.”
“And do you enjoy music?” Aunt Kitty asked.
“I must confess, I found the daily practice rather tedious and abandoned my lessons after a few weeks.”
“That is a shame,” Aunt Kitty said. “I find music truly uplifting, don’t you agree, Jack?”
“Yes, completely.” Jack downed his scotch.
“Shall we make our way to the drawing room?”
Jack needed to pull himself together. He picked up his water glass and gulped it down before setting the empty glass on the table with a thud.
“Stefano, will you escort Miss Maxwell and the baroness into the music room?” Aunt Kitty asked.
Jack noted the disapproving look the baroness shot at Aunt Kitty and the downward droop of Cynthia’s lips.
He strode toward Gaby, intending to escort her, giving him a chance to speak with her. But Lady Remington beat him to the punch and linked her arm through Gabriella’s. Before he could even think of protesting, Madame Doumaz took her other arm and smiled at Jack as if nothing was awry with three women breaking acceptable protocol. Emily and Jenee thought nothing of abandoning their husbands. Instead, assuming the role of a young virgin’s protectors, they escorted Gabriella to the music room.
“Do not worry, Lord Langsford—we will see Miss D’Angelo to the concert,” the marchioness said. “I’m sure you need to tune your instrument before the performance.”
Jack’s mouth gaped open at the innuendo. Was he imagining it, or had the proper English aristocrat just told him to get his cock under control and back off?
Remington and Doumaz gallantly escorted Constance and Blossom, leaving Jack to accompany his aunt.
“I hope you’re not foxed!” Aunt Kitty whispered as they followed behind the others.
“I’m not foxed, but I wish I was,” Jack muttered as he watched Gaby’s hips’ tantalizing sway as she walked just a few feet ahead.
*
Gaby was gratefulher friends had thwarted Jack’s attempt to get her alone. The last thing she wanted was to battle with him again, even if it was a whispered exchange. How could they have gone from passion to hostility?
She’d had no choice but to write that letter. She would be no man’s mistress. Even if he did have feelings for her, how in the world could she live with only part of him? How could she build a life on that? How could she have children with him, knowing they would be born outside of the sanctity of marriage? She wouldn’t think twice about doing that in her time, but not in this era. They would be labeled bastards, and that would scar them for life.
She may as well hop on the next portal out of here. Well, thelastportal, according to Em and Jen. She was happy for her friends. Happy that they’d found true love with good and honorable men who adored them. Happy that they were building their own families.
But Gaby had to face the cold, hard truth. Jack could never be hers. Not in the way she wanted. In the way that mattered most to her. Besides, she hadn’t even considered what it would mean to stay here. It would mean never seeing her family again. It would mean saying goodbye to her life, her career, not to mention all the modern conveniences and advances that she’d taken for granted.
And yet whenever she was near Jack, all she wanted to do was throw her arms around his neck and press her body against that prodigious bulge inside his trousers that reminded her of their night of passion. It stole her breath. If not for Emily and Jenee holding tight to her as they made their way to the drawing room, she might have swooned and slid to the floor, engulfed in a torrent of sensual recollection and dismayed denial.
Gaby might wish and dream of a repeat of last night, but she would never have the strength to walk away. Being in his presence was torture, and she wondered how she would get through tonight.I will disappear after the concert like Cinderella at midnight.But there would be no Prince Charming for her.
She took her seat between Stefano and Emily. Without appearing to eavesdrop, she couldn’t help but listen to what the baroness seated on the other side of Stefano was saying.
“Stefano, have you heard anything from your contacts about the Allegretto painting?”
“No…not yet, but I am hopeful that, given the substantial amount of money Constance Shipley has offered, we will be successful in locating it.”
Gaby could hear the hesitation in his voice, and she was sure the baroness had heard it too. Why was the baroness so keen on the painting? Was it just curiosity, or was there more to it?
