And that wicked part he’d been teasing about with Evie, the one that he had pushed down and hidden over the years, returned to the surface. He looked at Evelina and smiled. “Miss Comerford, would you like to make a scene?”
* * *
Evelina was doing her level best not to react in any way to Vaughn’s question. Her reason for coming here hadn’t been this, but to truly spend a little time together that didn’t involve tangled bodies and sweat-slicked sheets. But now it had turned back to reality and revenge. A stark reminder that sex was sex, but Vaughn still wanted to use Evelina for his own purposes.
She couldn’t get that confused just because they now included orgasms and laughter in their arrangement.
“I’m never opposed to making a scene, Blackburn,” she said with a forced smile. “Why don’t we put our blanket here where we’ll be sure to be in the correct sightline?”
His face lit up and he winked at her as he spread the blanket on the grass. She sat down, artfully arranging her skirt to fan out around her. Then she beckoned him to join her. He did so, taking a seat beside her.
“Oh no, my lord. If you truly want to make a scene, I think your very handsome head must go in my lap.”
His eyes widened. “Er, here?”
She rolled her own eyes in response. “You know I don’t mean face down, you cad.”
He flashed her that quick grin and settled onto his back on the blanket, his head resting against her thighs. She looked down into that truly beautiful face and forced herself not to have a full-body shiver. Instead she began to thread her fingers through his thick hair.
“Oh, that’s nice,” he said, and his eyes shut. “We should come to the park and make a scene twice a week.”
He was teasing, but she didn’t smile. She found it was far too difficult to do so now that reality was back. All of it, including the secret she might know about the countess. The one she hadn’t the heart to tell him when she was diving into passion and pleasure and locking out everything else. But here in the park wasn’t the place to tell him about Florence.
She cleared her throat. “I’ve never met a man who didn’t like to be petted like a dog.”
He snorted at the quip but didn’t open his eyes. “That’s me. Your loyal bird dog. And you would be a sleek cat whose affection one must earn.”
“But once one does, I hope it’s worth the trouble.”
Now his eyes did open and the green depths were truly impossible to look away from. “Very much worth the trouble.”
She looked up to break the spell and found that Lady Blackburn was watching them. The countesswasvery pretty, with her perfectly quaffed blonde hair and a dark blue dress that was beautifully made from what looked like a gorgeous damask silk. At present, though, her lips were pinched. Even from a distance her frown was obvious. She shook her head and looked away as she realized Evelina was watching her.
“Oh, she doesn’t like this,” she said softly.
He lifted his head slightly. “No?”
She shook her head and glanced at the woman again. “She’s not looking anymore, but her companion keeps glancing this way and folding and unfolding her arms.”
“That’s her sister, Honora. They’ve always been very close. Florence has financially supported her and her n’er-do-well of a husband a great deal over the years. With all the scandal, she must be calling in those favors.”
Evelina blinked. “Oh.Oh.”
“Why oh?” he asked.
“It’s silly, but I suppose I never think ofthemhaving family.”
“Them?” he repeated, his tone laced with confusion.
She glanced again at the pair. Lady Blackburn’s sister tossed her hair and snapped her gaze away and the two put their heads together for what looked like irritated chatter. Good. Let them fuss and worry after what that woman had done to Vaughn.
“All those proper ladies who are far too good for the likes of us. Of women like me ormysisters. The ones who judge us for the path we had to take to survive what they couldn’t even imagine.”
“Evelina—” he began, his tone softer.
She interrupted him, partly because she had information to convey and partly because she didn’t want to be placated or pitied. “Lady Blackburn has stormed off to the path now though her sister remains and is just glaring at us.”
“Wouldn’t your sister do the same if she was watching someone you once cared for with a new love?” he asked.
