“He’s going to be out this evening.” Martha’s excitement dimmed somewhat as she looked upon Derrick in a more serious light. “Please say you’ll stay,” she begged.
Derrick’s resolve wavered against the power of Martha’s plea.
“Very well, dinner,” he agreed with a sigh.
“Wonderful! Come in, come in.” Martha seemed to finally notice the state of Arianna’s clothes. “Good gracious, what have you been up to? Frolicking in the icy mud? Go change at once.”
With a muttered oath, Arianna stalked up the steps to the townhouse. She heard that devilish chuckle as Derrick followed her inside.
Dinner with Derrick Seabright. Lord help her...
Two
Derrick followed Martha Asgil and her daughter up the steps and held back a laugh. Arianna’s backside was drenched and muddy, and Lady Grant had missed more than a few leaves on the back of Arianna’s russet hair. But just as quickly as it had come, his amusement fled as he recalled the state in which he had found her less than an hour ago in Scandal Lane.
He had been riding hard through the park, with no intention of socializing with anyone he passed. That was why he had turned down Scandal Lane. At this time of day, it was unlikely to be occupied. Trysts there tended to occur much later in the evening. So he was naturally surprised to see a couple there already upon the ground. But when he’d recognized Arianna, it had filled him with jealousy, only to have that jealousy replaced by rage as he realized she wasnotconsenting to what was occurring. If there was one thing he hated, it was a man who forced himself upon a woman.
It was a damned lucky thing he had controlled his temper, or else he would’ve killed Solomon Cumberland. He hadn’t known him personally before, but now he was going to be watching the bastard’s every step. If he so much as looked at Arianna again, the man would find himself with a broken jaw, or worse. No one touched his best friend’s little sister.
His heart twinged at the thought.Damnation.He and Lucas were no longer friends, not after Augusta had turned them against each other for her own selfish amusement. Even united in their anger at the woman who had broken their hearts, the damage to their friendship was too great to overcome. He would give anything to see Lucas again and feel that brotherly bond of friendship rather than pain. All they could achieve now when they inadvertently crossed paths was cold politeness before one or both of them managed to extricate himself from the situation that had brought them together.
“Now go and change, Arianna, then join us in the drawing room,” Martha ordered her daughter before turning a smile upon Derrick.
Martha was a stunning beauty who had aged only to become more lovely, and she had a charming personality to match. She was a vivacious creature, blessed with wit and cleverness, who thrived in every social situation. She would outgun Wellington himself if her conversations ever came up against his cannons.
Derrick followed her into the drawing room and took a seat on the settee while she rang for tea.
“It’s been an age,” Martha said, her tone gently chastising. “You needn’t have stayed away so long.”
“Well, Lucas...”
“Hush. Lucas doesn’t stay here that often. He has his own bachelor quarters. No, you didn’t visitus. Barret and I, not to mention Arianna, have missed you terribly.”
Had they? Derrick had never considered that, yet they had been like a second family to him. His own parents stayed near Cornwall and rarely came to London, which meant he was often alone when in town. But the truth was, seeing even one of the Asgil family members reminded him how much he’d missed all of them, even stubborn-minded Lucas.
He had become skilled at avoiding his friend, and Lucas him, but it was only a matter of time before they found themselves in a situation together. He just never imagined that Arianna would be the one to bring him back to the Asgils.
He was stunned by the changes the last few years had made in her, as he hadn’t seen her up close in such a long time. Glimpses from across a street or at the opera from a distant box weren’t enough to let him see her as she was now. She wasn’t a little girl anymore—she was a beauty. Strong, clever, and every bit her mother’s daughter. Yet whenever he looked at her, he saw Lucas and the years of friendship that he’d had to walk away from. It made his heart ache so fiercely that he nearly put a fist to his chest to ease the pain.
“I’m sorry I haven’t visited, Mrs. Asgil.” He meant it, but the gleam of victory in her eyes warned him he had made a grave error in that concession.
“Well, then, you can make it up to us by staying with us for Christmas. We’re going to the country house in three days. I expect you to come and stay the holiday with us.”
Blast and damnation, he’d given her the powder for her pistol and even loaded it for her. “I...”
“Youwillcome.” It wasn’t a request. “Lucas has to stay in London, so you need not worry about him.”
That was a small relief, but his greater concern at the moment was Arianna. Seeing her today had filled him with wicked thoughts.
Derrick was far from a saint. He knew his reputation in town, and yet Mrs. Asgil seemed to think nothing of inviting a devil such as him into her home with her virginal daughter. He wished he could say he would stay away, that he would not try to seduce Arianna, but he’d seen the bold, innocent hunger in her eyes today that called to something deep inside him to answer.
She was a passionate woman. A fool like Cumberland didn’t understand that; he believed he saw desperation. But she, like all women, deserved romance and seduction. Passion did not only flow in one direction to serve the male ego, and if there was a secret to his success with women, it was understanding that simple truth. And while his hungers were strong, he’d never seduced an innocent.
Yet he sensed that if he had Arianna in his bed, she would quell that restless soul within him. She might very well be the end for him, and he wasn’t sure he could handle that. He also was sure that Lucas would put a bullet in his heart before allowing anything to happen between them. But if Lucas wasn’t there for Christmas, Derrick could have Arianna all to himself...
“How are your parents?” Martha asked. “What are their plans for Christmas?”
The door opened, and the maid brought in tea, which Martha served for them.
