“My own ring is your gift to me,” she scoffed. “How generous! I shall make sure to give you one of your own stockings in return.”
The earl laughed hard. Despite her acute annoyance at his manipulation, knowing her ring was safe and that she would soon have it back eased her mind.
“So,” he prompted once again, “would you like to come back to my house? I can make you forget all about the ring.”
She almost groaned aloud. The man was infuriating and cock-sure of himself with good reason. Luckily, his own actions had persuaded her not to succumb to his tempting offer. Then there was the other obvious reason.
“What of Lady Violet?”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “She will not be in my house. I promise you that.”
Julia huffed. It was about the only promise he would make concerning another woman.
“But will she be on your arm tomorrow?” Julia pressed.
He paused, and she considered how proprietary and jealous she sounded and bit her lip.
“You know who I am,” he reminded her.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “I know.”
“Still, the answer to your question is no. Lady Violet and I have parted ways, I believe.”
Feeling a little jolt of happiness, Julia asked, “Have you? What do you mean ‘you believe’?”
There was that attractive, rakish shrug again. “I suppose since I left her behind the other night at the Stridewells — quite by accident, I assure you — and since I haven’t had a moment to contact her, we are probably finished.”
He didn’t sound the least bit unhappy. Moreover, he’d found the time to get her ring back and escort her to a ball. He certainly could have found a moment to communicate with Lady Violet if he’d wanted.
“Don’t let it go to your head,” Jasper added, possibly reading her thoughts.
But since he said nothing more to dissuade her, she let it go to her heart instead.
“Your cheeks are growing all sweet and pink, like juicy cherries I want desperately to taste. What are you thinking, as if I didn’t know?”
“My cheeks are red due to the cold. Nothing more. I must go inside before I lose my nose to frostbite.”
His chuckle indicated he didn’t believe her. “Come now, don’t be peevish,” he said. “I retrieved your ring for you, and you’ll have it soon. I won’t even make you pay what I paid for it.”
Another surprising disclosure. “You paid the baron for it?”
“I did.” He looked supremely pleased with himself.
“Will you tell me how much you paid?”
“It’s no matter. I don’t want your money,” Jasper reminded her.
She had the feeling it was going to cost her far more than a few coins to retrieve it, even after she paid the price of staying home from the house party at Great Oakley.
***
JASPER WAS IN A GOODhumor the following day. He had ensured he would have Julia Sudbury all to himself. He was going to show her how much pleasure two people could enjoy, and he was going to do most of it while she wore nothing but that damned ruby ring!
He would kiss the nape of her neck, capture her enticing scent, and lick the soft skin beside her navel. He wished to discover if and where she was ticklish, and then hear her laugh.
Jasper liked how she spoke to him as if she were his equal, despite her not being born of anyone who was anybody. So very unexpected and delightful. Thus, he treated her more forthrightly than any other woman he’d ever met.
Even stranger was the warmth that infused him whenever he thought of her, quite apart from his proximity to the hearth in his own study. No, he was decidedly sure his thoughts about her were what was making him so content, and always filled with eager anticipation of seeing her again.
