When she turned, she found Anthony facing her, bare chested and far more muscular than she’d expected from a man of the peerage. Then again, he didn’t live that life. His chest was well defined and had a sprinkling of blond hair across the mounds. His abdomen rippled as he lifted his arms for a clean ruffled shirt. But before the shirt came down, she noticed a neat scar that jolted her memory. He’d been shot. If the duchess hadn’t saved his life, they would not have been able to renew their friendship. That thought made her pause as her chest tightened. Anthony made the world a better place to be. Even if many didn’t know it, she did.
As the shirt came down, it hid him from view, so she turned back to the armoire and closed the door before crouching down and opening her trunk. Pulling two additional daggers from its depths, she slipped them into the deep pocket of her dress.At the slight noise they made, she remembered the necklace Anthony had given her. Pulling it out, she decided it matched her dress perfectly. Rising, she turned to the bed to see Anthony standing in just his shirt. Unfortunately, it came down to the middle of his thighs, but what was revealed was impressive. His thighs were well muscled and his calves looked harder than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. But they were not perfect, as two other scars, not nearly as neat, marred one thigh and the opposite calf.
“Do you see something you like?” Anthony’s voice had her snapping her gaze to his.
She didn’t need to play the role of mistress to answer him honestly. “I do. I look forward to this evening, when I can better explore all that I have seen.” She licked her lips to indicate she would like to do more than touch.
Anthony’s chest rose suddenly. “My love, you tease me unmercifully. We must attend the dinner and games.”
Games? This was the first she’d heard of games. “What kind of games?”
He shrugged as he bent to pull on his trousers. “I do not know, but I’m sure we will enjoy them.”
She hoped the night didn’t go too late. She planned to rise as early as she usually did to get into the secret door before anyone was up, including the servants.
After laying the necklace next to her dress, she pulled out the two small daggers from her pocket. As they were in the enemy’s home with many a randy man about, she preferred to be prepared. With one dagger strapped to her thigh and another to her forearm beneath her long sleeves, she felt comfortable with Anthony. But in case they were separated, she would add one to her boot and another within her pocket.
With nothing else to do as the valet finished dressing Anthony, she strode to the bookcase and found the bookLady Fancy’s Folley, which she’d been looking at with Delilah earlier,curious about what was on page six of the story about a lady of quality who fell in love with a man of a lower class. According to Delilah, the lady’s father would kill the man and sell her to a cruel duke. Of course, she ran away and made her living as a prostitute.
She opened the book and turned to page six.Her heart recognized him as her match. She’d found her love. The one man who could make her happy forever. With that realization, Fancy opened her dressing gown and whispered his name.
Now why would Delilah mention that page? Perhaps there was something else. Lissa looked further down the page, but the door closing as the valet exited interrupted her, and she turned to find Anthony looking particularly enticing in his black tailcoat and white waistcoat, though the colors were a bit severe for his personality. If she didn’t know him, she would be quite impressed. Setting the book back onto the shelf, she moved forward. “I do believe I will need to keep Alice from absconding with you.”
His eyes rounded as he grimaced. “Yes, please do.”
She strolled closer and walked around him. “Yes, you fit the part perfectly.” She stopped in front of him and turned her back. “Now if you could unbutton me, I can dress for dinner.”
Initially, he didn’t react, but finally she felt his fingers on her dress. At first it was as if he were afraid to touch her, but by the fourth button, she felt his fingers brush her back. The touch sent heat flowing through her limbs, and she found herself wishing they didn’t have to attend dinner, but she kept her purpose in mind.
“You are unbuttoned.” His voice was raspy. “Do you not wear a shift with these gowns?”
She faced him, holding her gown in place. “No. I believe that would defeat the purpose. These stays are lined so as to bemostly comfortable.” Though the padding at the top beneath her breasts to make them appear bigger was an odd feeling.
Turning toward the bed, she lifted the gown over her head. It was no easy task, but she managed, not willing to press Anthony’s limits so close to dinner. Once free of the dress, she stood in nothing but her stockings, daggers, shoes, and stays, which pressed her small breasts upward from beneath. As she laid the light blue dress on the bed, she glanced over at Anthony to find he’d turned his back toward her.
She shook her head at how much of a gentleman he acted now, when in France, he treated her like a fellow soldier. Lifting the skirts of the dark-blue dress, she tunneled into it before straightening. Fortunately, the arms were quite loose, making the dress fairly easy to pull into place. Holding it up, she walked back to where Anthony stood contemplating the door. “I’ll need your help with these buttons.”
He turned, sweeping his gaze over her. “I am happy to assist.”
She turned, but spoke over her shoulder. “I must admit, you are the handsomest lady’s maid I’ve ever had.”
“Thank you. I will take your kind words to heart.” His chuckle belied his words as his fingers tightened her dress about her with each button. “There. I believe my work is done.”
Instead of turning toward him, she strolled to the mirror in the corner to see the final result. At first, it was difficult to believe it was her. She looked almost five years younger with the square neckline that barely concealed her areolae. The darkness of the dress made her skin seem lighter, and the wisps of her hair about her face softened it considerably.
Lifting her hands to her hair, she pulled out all the pins, then rolled it into a loose knot and resecured it. The result made it look as if she’d just tumbled out of bed. “Perfect.” She turned to face Anthony. “Don’t you think?”
His gaze fastened on her face for a moment before sweeping over her like a lover’s kiss.
Her body reacted with tingles along her arms and down her legs.
When his gaze returned to her face, he appeared stunned.
“Is it not perfect?”
Blinking, he finally nodded. “It is. You are.”
“Good.” She lifted her skirts and swept past him, in a hurry to break the odd spell his gaze cast upon her body. Reaching into the bottom of the armoire, she pulled out her soft kid leather boots. Definitely not indoor shoes, but for dinner, they would be fine. Sitting on the bed, she untied the laces of a boot before kicking off her shoe.
