“I’m sorry, Lorelei, but this is the way the game is played. Thetonloves a diamond, and thetonloves to tear a diamond to shreds. You, my dear,arethe diamond. And this little stunt just put you at the top of everyone’s awareness list. Well done.”
“Well done?Well done?”
Her outrage was as enchanting as the young lady herself.
The dowager’s gentleness disappeared with a snap of a fan. “I’ll have none of that from you, young lady. You needed help, and it’s help you’ve received. Do you understand?”
The girl snatched her hand back and, for a long tense-filled moment, Thorne feared the dowager would slap her face. To his relief, the old woman’shand went to the girl’s cheek and patted her. “You’ll do fine. You are full of fire, and that shall serve you well. Men are rakes and rapscallions.”
“Then why do you wish to pawn me off on one?” She sounded hurt. Betrayed.
“Child, your parents left you penniless. No dowry. That is a major strike against you. Your brother is another.”
“My brother is a talented artist.”
“Bah! Art will get him nowhere. He is at a tender age and, in my experience, one most men would not wish to take on.”
To Thorne’s shock, the woman wrapped a bony arm around her charge.
“Might we return home now, Aunt?”
Her arm fell away and she stood up, cloaked in all her dowager duchess hauteur. “Indeed, we cannot. We are here to showcase you and you haven’t danced a single set. You’ve provided us the perfect opportunity to exploit and exploit it we will. Now, pull yourself together. If you are not in the ballroom in ten minutes, I vow, I shall marry you off to the first scoundrel who asks for your hand.” Her grand exit rivaled that of Princess Charlotte’s in a snit with Prinny.
Thorne edged to the door to avoid the onslaught of tears he expected, but that was as far as he managed.
The virginal maiden rose, an ethereal sight gliding to the windows, and looked out at the night sky. Her reflection in the glass was one of resignation, but to her credit, she rallied. Her spine straightened and she set her jaw. “Blast it. I wish I’d never come to London,” she said on a breathless huff.
Thorne stopped short of the door, charmed in spite of himself. “That would have been a shame.”
She spun around. “Who are you?”
“The man who kept you from hitting the floor in an indelicate splat.” He sauntered across the room. “Thorne Gray, Earl of Kimpton.” He bowed from the waist. “At your service.”
“You’ve been here the entire time?”
He detected the soft blush in the dim lighting. “I’m afraid so.”
“So you heard every word my aunt said?”
“Every word.”
Her shoulders lifted then fell. “Well, this is humiliating.”
He took a step closer and was rewarded with the scent of the hothouse roses he’d breathed in earlier. “You are lovely enough to survive it.”
Her eyes narrowed on him. “Are you a scoundrel?”
Unable to resist, he leaned in. “Indubitably,” he said. Then touched his lips to hers, catching her breath with his. She tasted as good as she smelled. He licked the seam of her lips, barely delving within. His pulse kicked up and he deepened his unexpected kiss. At once he was sucked within the force of a vortex, and the effort to pull away took every ounce of his remaining will. “Might I remind you what else she said?” he whispered against her lips.
“W-what?” The tremor in her voice riveted his insides.
“You’ve six minutes before the dowager promises you to the first scoundrel who comes calling.”
She jerked away from him and gripped the windowsill on either side of her slender hips. “Perhaps I’ll scream bloody murder and take my chances with you.”
“You might try, but sadly for you, I’m not hindered by petticoats and yards of skirts. Not to mention the number of Martindale routs I’ve attended. I know my way around. Escape is much easier for me than you.”
This close up, he could see the depths of fire in eyes so blue it was if summer had usurped winter in the blink of an instance. Her eyes narrowed on him a second time. “So it is.”
