CHAPTER 2
Damn, she was even prettier up close, wasn’t she?
Smiling, and trying to pretend as if hehadn’tbeen waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Olive L’arbre to descend, Phineas stepped forward to greet her and her friends. He had to admit, he liked the way her eyes widened behind her spectacles when she saw him wearing his formal kilt—thank Zeus he’d ignored his brother Lysander’s advice to burn the out-of-date fashion—and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a glint of appreciation in those dark orbs as well.
She wore a simple gown of blue silk, which clung to her shoulders as if prepared to fall off at any moment, and his fingers itched to help it along. Her dark hair was arranged into a simple bun, unlike the coiffures Athena managed.
His sister was absent again tonight, which was no surprise.
“Miss L’arbre.” When he greeted Olive, she flushed in the most adorable way, then offered a slight curtsey for him. Dare he hope she’d been looking forward to spending time with him as much as he’d been with her?
Since their introduction, he’d been hoping for the chance to get to know her better. He’d only agreed to attend this house party at the estate which bordered his father’s as a favor to Da—who, Phin suspected, was sweet on their hostess. That, and he’dfinallybeen granted permission to investigate the local ruins. Still, the days had been pleasant, and he’d enjoyed meeting so many interesting people.
But through it all, he’d watched Miss Olive L’arbre, a surprising bright spot in the festivities. She was clearly shy, but when they’d spoken, he’d seen the intelligence in her eyes, and had heard it in her words.
She intrigued him.
And now, when she placed her hand on his arm so he could lead her into dinner, he felt her body’s heat inside her gloves through the fine tailoring of his coat.
He definitely wanted to know more about this woman.
Small talk was discussions about the weather—expected to be damp in the coming week—and the dancing for the evening. He secured her promise of a dance, and when she blushed again and nibbled on her lower lip, he was glad his heavy sporran hid his body’s response.
As he held her chair for her to sit, Olive’s shoulder brushed against the back of his hand, and he could swear he saw her shiver. She tamped it down and turned to the older lady on her left, making small talk as he slid into his seat, unable to hide his smile.
As per Society’s regulations, Phin did his best to keep their conversations along acceptable topics, asking about her brother—sitting at the other end of the table—whom he’d met the week before at the card table.
“And Ash will be back there this evening, I have no doubt. I do hope you did not lose too much to him.”
Phin’s eyebrow twitched. “Ye assume he won?”
“Oh, Ash never loses at cards. It is one of his annoying traits.”
Surely she wasn’t saying…?
As if she could hear Phin’s unspoken thought, her eyes suddenly widened behind her spectacles, and she shook her head frantically. “He would notcheatif that is what you are wondering. Ash does not need to cheat. He is just very good at math and knows where each card is. He has made quite a lot of money that way, and I am certain it is the only reason he agreed to attend this house party as our chaperone.” Her lips curled up beguilingly as she glanced down at her soup. “I am just pleased because it means he leaves me to my own devices most days.”
Well, Phin liked the sound of that too. There were all sorts of things he wanted to experience with her—starting with a tour of the ruins and working up from there—and now he knew she had the freedom to make that happen if he could convince her to.
“I can understand the appeal. My oldest brother is content to leave us to our own devices as well, and our father has never been—” He shrugged. “Da is the laird of the clan, and believes in thefree rangemethod of child rearing.”
“Free range?” she repeated, interest in her tone.
“It’s an American term I learned from my newest brother.” Yet another example of Da’s wild-oat sowing. “Instead of fencing in their cattle, they allow them to graze where they want, then thecowboys round them up. Da has always allowed us to do what we will, even if it goes against Society’s standards.”
Which was a polite way of explaining how his youngest sibling, Athena, had managed to get herself shunned from polite Society with one youthful mistake.
From the way Olive was staring at him, wide-eyed, he suspected she understood. “How delightfully…freeing.”
A surprised laugh burst from his lips, and he found himself toying with his spoon to keep from reaching for her. “Aye, I suppose it is, especially for my brothers and me.” Athena had been less lucky.
“You mentioned yournewestbrother?”
Phin smiled fondly. “Max—Maxwell DeVille. He’s an example of Da’s—” He found himself flushing slightly, and his smile turned to a wince. “Ah, let’s call it hisliberalattitude when it comes to the wholebairnsthing.”
To his surprise, Miss L’arbre chuckled—a low, arousing sound—and turned back to her soup. “I think I should enjoy meeting your father. Will you tell me about your family?”
And so, Phineas found himself describing his siblings to the intriguing young lady at his side.
