“You might become involved in your mission, and I shan’t see you for weeks.”
He laughed. “Am I not to escort you to your sister’s wedding?”
She frowned. “That is three weeks away.”
“You will enjoy being with your family again. You won’t miss me.”
Oh, but she would! The days would drag horribly while being fitted for her bridesmaid dress of some awful color like mouse beige, she thought darkly. She pushed the thought away. “Cathy’s fiancé, Crispin Braithwaite, is a friend of yours, isn’t he?”
“Yes. We were at Eton together.”
“I’ve never asked you why you and Crispin visited us at Chedworth that time.”
Thea hoped he wouldn’t mention her climbing down the tree. Surely, good manners would not permit….
“The day I saw you descending the old oak in your dressing gown?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. She might have known he would.
He grinned. “We were at a house party, and Crispin wanted me to meet his fiancée. But all I remember of that day is the unexpected glimpse of a pair of long, lovely legs.”
A flush rose up her neck at his compliment. “Cathy was frightfully cross with me. But then, she often is.”
He chuckled. “You might try to get on better with your sister.” She had recounted times when she and her sister were at loggerheads.
She shrugged. “I have tried. And I wish you wouldn’t tease me about that day.”
He put a hand on his heart. “It shall never cross my lips again.”
She raised her eyebrows and gazed at him skeptically.
“Why such a poor opinion of me?” Ash grinned. “I’d like to convince you, but that would take some time. And this isn’t the place.” She caught her breath. There was such promise in his gaze, it reminded her of the heated moments they’d shared in the coach on the way to St. Albans. His hands on her arms drew her to him. “I’d much rather kiss you.” With a glance over his shoulder at the footman who had discreetly distanced himself, Ash’s mouth sought hers. Thea held on to his coat and kissed him back, hoping he wouldn’t leave her in suspense for days. She would be uneasy until she saw him again.
Ash drew away and crossed the marble floor, his arm around her. “We’ll discuss our wedding plans when I return.”
The reason they couldn’t do so now struck a sour note. Would Farnborough soon be gone from their lives? “Grandmama has expressed some eagerness to set a date.”
“How pleased she was to hear Julia’s mother was alive. She hopes to see Diana when she comes to London.” His eyes darkened. “I need to find that devil before he finds them.”
“You will, Ash. And when you do, make him suffer.”
Ash laughed. “Blood-thirsty young woman, aren’t you, Miss Tothill.” He kissed her nose, and they moved to the door the footman held open.
Blowing a kiss to her, Ash left the house.
Thea watched him leap gracefully into the coach. When the vehicle disappeared down the street, she smiled at the footman and mounted the stairs.
Her mother awaited her in the morning room. Thea braced herself for one of her parent’s sharp lectures. She was sure she deserved it after her heady journey back to London with Ash. While he resisted making love to her, being held in his arms and thoroughly kissed, while he expressed his need for her, made her impatient to discover the delights of married life. The secrets they’d shared had brought them closer. She loved him even more deeply and hated being parted from him.
Mama and Cathy sat together on the sofa with a pile of fabric samples on the table before them. Cathy barely looked up to acknowledge her. Her mother smiled warmly and held out her hands. “Come and give me a kiss. Here I was expecting to chaperone you for the rest of the Season, and what did you do? Become engaged to Ashton Grainger, no less, from one of the finest families in theton.”
Thea bent to kiss her. “I am glad you approve, Mama.”
Cathy raised her head from the two fabric samples in her hands. One, a grayish pink, was no doubt meant for Thea’s bridesmaid’s dress. The color would look horrible on her or anyone else for that matter, she thought gloomily. But it was her sister’s special day, so she must endure.
Thea sank dispiritedly onto a chintz upholstered chair. “Are you nervous about the wedding day, Cathy?”
“I am a little,” her sister confessed, surprising Thea with her honesty. “I keep going over all the details of the wedding and the reception, but I still fear we might have forgotten something important.”
