With Purity, from a mere few kisses and furtive encounters that hadn’t even entailed him removing his trousers, Matthew felt more satisfied than he had in years. Knowing she was his fiancée — his intended who would be beside him the rest of his days — having but to wait until his wedding night, the bubbling spring of constant yearning had been capped with contentment.
He was ready to wait for his kitten to curl upon his lap when she was ready. In truth, the anticipation was exhilarating.
Taking the chair opposite, he stretched out his long legs, crossing his ankles. Despite the distance of a few feet, he could smell Emilia’s cloying perfume.
“What do you want?” he asked, not caring how rude he sounded.
She was obviously up to no good. Besides being married, she knew he was engaged and yet hadn’t brought a companion to keep things remotely respectable.
“Aren’t you going to sit over here?” she asked.
“No.”
She pouted her red-stained lips, which didn’t do a damn thing to entice him. “Won’t you offer me a glass of sherry or wine?”
“It’s too early for either,” he pointed out, “and I won’t bother ringing for tea service since you’ll be gone before the tea has time to steep. An uninvited visit should last no longer thanten minutes.” Purity would be proud of him. Moreso since he’d shaved five minutes off the polite time.
Emilia’s brown eyes widened. “You are not being nice to me, which is a mistake. Do you recall how passionate we were the first night we met? Wouldn’t you like to experience that again?” She glanced toward the door.
“We could go upstairs right now,” she proposed. “I remember the way. Just once, perhaps for old-time’s sake.”
“No,” he said again. Whatever game she was playing was tedious. For one thing, they’d never swived at his home, so she most certainly didn’t know the way. Secondly, she might be with child and wishing to blame him. Thirdly, she might be seeking revenge upon Varley. Or she might simply be bored. Regardless, he didn’t care.
Wishing he hadn’t sat down as that indicated he wished to chat and draw out the visit, he rose again to his feet.
“If you came only for refreshments, then I must ask you to leave. I have business to attend to directly.”
She didn’t sit up or even remove her feet from the end of the sofa.
“Foxy, Foxy, Foxy,” she began.
He cringed.
“That sweet little Diamond is not what you need. She’s barely a bland morsel, and you will devour her in a single bite. Then what? When you’re still hungry, what will you do?”
“I won’t discuss my fiancée with you.”
“Do you expect me to believe that upstanding earl’s daughter is really engaged to be your wife? Come now. We both know you played the chivalrous gentleman to protect her, but you are as ready to gallivant as any man I know.”
“You don’t know me,” he said.
“I do. And you are just like me, too wild to be tamed. Let’s take up where we left off.”
“But you have already been tamed, LadyVarley,” he said, reminding her she was no longer Lady Tupmoure. “Or at least you made a vow. In other words, you are married, and I am not interested.”
She was starting to believe him. He could see it in the set of her jaw and the way her eyes narrowed slightly. At last, she swung her feet to the floor. They both could see the dirty mark on the velvet from her boots.
“Oops,”she said without contrition. “How careless of me. Leaving a trace of my being here. I hope it doesn’t get you into trouble. But you’re used to trouble, aren’t you? I hope Lady Purity is, too. She’ll need to be if she’s going to hitch herself to your horse.”
“I don’t intend to get into any trouble, with you or anyone else.” He still didn’t want to talk about Purity with her. It felt disloyal. Besides, he would toss out the sofa and start his married life with a new one. Not just street filth, but the scent of her perfume was probably all over it.
“Tell me,” Lady Varley demanded, “is your cruel disinterest because I up and married after you left? Is that why you are pretending not to fancy me anymore?”
She seemed to have forgotten he’d broken it off in a decisive mannerbeforehe departed for the Continent.
“Even if I had remained in England, we would not be together. Frankly, whether you are married or not means nothing to me.” He didn’t add “because you mean nothing to me,” but he hoped she received the message.
Her nostrils flared. “I gave you a chance. Don’t ever claim otherwise.” With that, she rose to her feet, snatched up her hat, and swept from the room.
