“Except the answer to my actual question,” he said softly. “Which was why you didn’t tell me, ask me more directly for help.”
“I-I thought you’d say no. I thought you’d tell Finn because you believed it was for my own good to go back into the corner where I belonged.” She sighed. “I thought you would think me silly.”
He nodded. “You’ve been relegated into the corner by Society for too long. Not seen by those around you, including me, I’m afraid. But I must tell you how deeply I admire you for trying something so bold.”
She laughed. “It cannot seem bold at all to a man who is known for rabble-rousing. My little rebellions cannot be anything to you.”
“You’re wrong, they’re everything.” His fingers came up to trace her cheek. “Flouting expectation is incredibly brave. I’m in awe of you. I hope I can be so brave, to be a different kind of man.”
She drew back. What kind of man did Sebastian imply he wished to be? She would have asked, but the carriage was coming to a stop and he smiled as he glanced out the window.
“Now we’ve arrived. But I don’t want to force you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable. This is not the kind of party that a lady would often attend, you see. So it will cross something off your list, but if you don’t wish to do it, we don’t have to.”
She stared up at him, memorizing his expression in the dim light from the lamps outside at whatever mystery location he’d brought her to. She didn’t need to look at it. Didn’t need to ask questions. She merely nodded. “I already told you, I trust you, Sebastian.”
He didn’t move for a moment but then he lowered his lips. She lifted to meet him and they were kissing for the first time in over ten days. It was like a lifetime and she clung to him in relief that she would know his taste again. He clutched her against his chest, his mouth becoming more hungry, more demanding on hers. She met him for every stroke, pushing herself closer, almost into his lap in the tight confines of the carriage.
But before everything could escalate into the encounter of her foggy, heated dreams, he drew back. He was panting, his rough breaths matching her own.
“Great God, what you do to me,” he muttered, she thought more to himself than to her. “But you cannot deter me, though I very much appreciate the attempt.”
“Youkissedme!” she burst out with a laugh.
He shook his head. “Me? I’m a perfect gentleman. That cannot be true.” He rapped his hand against the carriage wall with a wicked grin.
And that exchange released all the tension between them in a moment. She was smiling as the servant opened the carriage door, and Sebastian exited first so that he could help her. He tucked her hand into his elbow and they turned toward a large, brightly lit estate before them.
“I don’t know this place,” Marianne said softly as they approached the open door that led into a dazzling foyer.
“I should say not. This is the estate of a woman named Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan.” Marianne’s mouth dropped open and he laughed at her shock. “We do not have to stay if you don’t wish. But the moment we cross that threshold you’ll have attended a party to which you were very much not invited.”
She drew in a long breath. “I’ve nothing to lose, I suppose. Yes, let’s go in.”
He escorted her forward and they entered the foyer. The servant there seemed to recognize Sebastian, which set off a twinge in Marianne’s chest that she didn’t particularly like. It would be ridiculous to be jealous of this man’s past, especially since he wasn’t even hers. Whatever was happening between them now wasn’t permanent, no matter how her aching heart wished it to be.
Together they went down a long hallway and Marianne looked around her in wonder. It was a chic, sophisticated home, decorated to perfection. Certainly not what she would have pictured if someone had asked her to imagine the dwelling of aninfamous courtesan, as Sebastian had called her.
The ballroom doors were all thrown open and in the distance she heard lively music being played. When they entered the room, she caught her breath again. There was some sort of theme being played out it seemed, for all of Miss Manning’s servants were wearing scanty livery that made them look like fairies. The guests were wearing something of the same, wings affixed to shockingly low gowns on the ladies and the jackets of the men’s best. But other than the increase in bare flesh, it was exactly like a Society ball.
Which Marianne was about to say when they were approached by a beautiful blonde woman with sharp, bright blue eyes. “Ramsbury,” she said, her voice light and musical. “I didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”
“Good evening, Vivien,” he said with a slight bow. “It’s been too long.”
“It has,” she said, and her gaze focused on Sebastian’s face for what felt like far too long for Marianne’s taste. Then she shifted it and those blue eyes met her own. “I do not recognize your friend.”
Marianne swallowed. She’d never been an uninvited guest before, but here they were. And she found herself extending her hand. “Marianne,” she said simply. “Sebastian’s lover.”
He pivoted his head toward her, his eyes suddenly wide. She almost laughed at the sight of him. He actually looked shocked and that was highly difficult to do.
Miss Manning smiled. “Then you are most welcome. I hope you’ll enjoy the gathering. Good evening, Ramsbury…Marianne.”
She gave Sebastian a knowing look and then slipped off into the crowd and left them alone. When she had, he pivoted toward Marianne. “I think you’ve completed two items from that list of yours. Attend a party to which you were not invited and say something shocking!”
“Is it shocking if it’s true?” she asked, although she knew the answer. “I admit I rather liked shocking you.”
“I liked being shocked,” he said with a laugh. “Keep doing things that are so unexpected and I will not make it through the night before I’ll need to get you alone in my carriage again.”
He motioned toward the dancefloor and she nodded. As they began to move, she noticed he pulled her far closer than he ever would have done in a Society ballroom. Enough that she felt the full length of his body from chest to hip. She shivered at the warmth of him.
