He lunged toward her, but she scurried away once more.
“Practice something else!” he said, gritting his teeth against the urge to scream.
“This is the very reason you should write down your music, in order that anyone can play it whenever they desire.”
He nearly growled. That was another reason he did not want to write it down. Then anyone could play it, control it ... steal it!
With that thought, he dove low and scrambled under the piano table, making Lady Brilliance shriek again. He had his hand on the toe of her kidskin slipper, but she managed to tug it out of his grasp and scamper away. Instead of remaining near the piano where he could reach her, she went toward the window.
“Ha!”he exclaimed, knowing she was trapped.
“Stop this,” she insisted, running into the curtains.
“Give me that music,” he ordered again as he rose to his feet and began stalking her.
“No!” She had her back to the window. Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes looked a little wild, stirring something in his blood.
“You cannot escape,” he told her, “and I will take back those pages.”
Instead of being reasonable and handing them over, Lady Brilliance quickly rolled the half sheets and stuck the cane-shaped tube of paper down her décolletage between her ample breasts. Only the top of the pages was still visible.
Well!The encounter was becoming less irksome and more entertaining.
“Let me pass,” she ordered, but he would vow she was enjoying herself by her satisfied smirk.
“Or what?” he asked, crossing his arms.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I suppose we have achieved a checkmate, which I have never done when playing chess.”
“You haven’t done it today, either.” He took a step closer with his palm out. “Give me that music.”
Raising her hand to ward him off, Lady Brilliance implored, “Lord Hewitt, be reasonable.”
He longed to toss the torn pages into the nearest hearth. Since it wasn’t lit, however, he would take them to the large oven in Alethia’s kitchen.
“I am past being reasonable.” Taking another step, he was slipper-to-boot with her, able to see the instant when her pupils dilated.
His gaze fell to her sweet, kissable lips.
Twice wasn’t enough,he realized. But first, the music. Reaching forward, his fingers hovered over the valley between her lovely breasts.
“What is going on here?” came his cousin’s voice.
Chapter Ten
Brilliance couldn’t move, trapped between Lord Hewitt and the curtained window panes. But he stepped backward, swift as a hare. At the untimely interruption, disappointment trickled over her like cold rain. Almost certainly, he had been about to kiss her again, and she had been more than ready.
She waited, wondering in what way he would answer their hostess, while keeping her own mouth closed. After all, Brilliance didn’t owe anyone an explanation as Lord Hewitt was the one behaving oddly.
“The lady had something in her eye,” he said finally.
“Did she?” Lady Twitchard asked before fixing her glance on Brilliance. “Why don’t you come with me? If it’s an eyelash, I’ll use the end of my handkerchief to remove it.”
“Sometimes blowing hard works, too,” Brilliance said. “But my eye is fine.” She didn’t want to lie to their hostess and felt ashamed of Lord Hewitt for lying to his cousin.
“If you’ll excuse me, I am going to my room,” she said to Lord Hewitt, tapping her chest. He glared at her, but Lady Twitchard could not see his face.
Brilliance edged around him, nodded to their hostess, and hurried from the conservatory.
