“You are awfully quiet.”
“A little tired is all.” In fact, each time they went out, she felt the wearying strain of living a lie. And tonight, her worst fears had materialized, draining her of any joy.
Within minutes, they were in a horse-drawn fly heading back to the Beasleys’ residence. Finally, in the seclusion of the small two-seater cab with the driver in front of them, he turned her face toward his with a finger upon her chin and seared her mouth with his own.
When his lips touched hers and she slid her arms up and around his neck, holding on to him, sorrow slithered through her. When he tilted his head and his strong hands roamed her, his palm coming to rest on her breast, she wanted to weep for missing out on this man for the rest of her life.
“You smell divine,” he murmured against her mouth.
“As do you,” she returned. He always did, and she would remember his scent for the rest of her days.
He nibbled down her neck, and her body responded, thrumming and throbbing with need. In the morning, she would wish, as she always did after denying them both, that they were actually a couple.
If only Adam Diamond could truly be hers to love.
All she had wished for was to enjoy the small Season with him before he returned home. It was becoming clear her wish could not come true.
She had allowed her heart’s desire to risk the new life she’d made for herself.
It had been worth it!
Chapter Eleven
“Lady Beasley, I have been waiting nearly fifteen minutes,” Adam fumed. Something was very wrong. Alice had not answered his recent missive, nor appeared at the bakery they frequented. “I asked your butler to tell Mrs. Malcolm I was here. Do you know where she is?”
Adam had paced the downstairs, going along the passageway to peer out into the back garden. He had returned to the drawing room, then made his way through the set of connected rooms to the salon in which he’d first heard her play the violin. And then he’d gone full circle.
Finally, Lady Beasley appeared as if she had no idea he was even there. Her ladyship pursed her lips a moment, then she tilted her chin and sniffed. Her expression was one of deep disapproval.
“You have formed a deep attachment with my girls’ governess, have you not?”
Adam did not intend to speak of his personal life with Lady Beasley, but when asked outright, he hated to lie. He could speak the truth, he hoped, without getting Alice in trouble.
“We share a love of reading and have been comparing our interests and swapping books.”And swapping kisses,he added silently. But as an excuse to show up uninvited, he’d broughtwith him the book Alice had once lent him, which he’d set aside and all but forgotten. “I know no one else in Bath who has the same grasp of both historical and contemporary literature.”
That ought to please her ladyship since Alice could impart her wisdom on the younger daughters. In fact, he knew no one else who had the same manner of thinking and expressing herself as Alice. He was entirely enchanted.
Apparently, his expression disclosed his profound admiration. Lady Beasley crossed her arms and sighed deeply.
“Your mother would be most displeased to learn of your behavior. An earl’s son, playing with the emotions of a middle-class female.”
Adam clenched his jaw and counted to five, so he didn’t say anything impertinent. But he was not playing with Alice’s emotions. It was his own which had been sent spinning. After the Kingswood ball, in which he had set aside the bias he had against her class and declared his intentions for an engagement, she hadn’t jumped at the chance to elevate herself. Instead, she had set herself against him. In the carriage ride on the way back to the Paragon, Alice had kissed him passionately in return but refused to speak about marriage.
As soon as he found her, he was going to overrule her objections regarding being a widowed member of the middle class and plead his case. Or simply kiss her into submission.
“While I appreciate that you have a long friendship with my mother, this has nothing to do with her, nor even with you, although I mean no disrespect. Simply because Mrs. Malcolm lives under your roof, it ought not to mean you can control other aspects of her life outside of the work she does for this family. Thus, I wish to speak with her.”
“As do I,” Lady Beasley said. “I welcomed her as an employee, even with the short list of references she provided because there was something capable about her. And without doubt, she wasknowledgeable in many areas, just what my girls needed for a well-rounded education. And now, look what has happened.” She sighed. “She was the perfect governess.”
Adam’s chest tightened. “Was?”
“She departed without notice yesterday morning. Packed up her things and left.”
Blood was rushing to his head. She had left her beloved position.How would he find her?Should he even try?Alice’s abrupt departure could only mean she had no wish to continue with their blossoming friendship.
“I do not understand.” And he didn’t. Their last kiss had been magical. After the ball, as soon as they entered the carriage, they had been a flurry of mouths and hands. He was certain her feelings for him were growing at the same breakneck speed as his for her. They had made tentative plans to meet, and then she had simply not shown up.
At least now he knew why.
