“That would certainly encourage people to come through your door.” Henry regretted seeing her clean away her supplies and wash her hands once more because he knew this meant she would soon depart. “Location is important as well, of course. I trust you’ve found a good one?”
She spoke while she worked. “I managed to acquire a reasonably sized building on Swallow Street.”
Henry stared at her while doing his damnedest not to smile too broadly. “Really?” He hesitated, aware that she’d turned in response to his comment and that she now watched him expectantly. Ah well, she’d discover the truth soon enough, so he might as well tell her. “That’s the same street my own place of business is on.”
She shook her head with incomprehension.
“The Red Rose?” he prompted. She continued to look like she had no clue what he was referring to. “I opened it a few years ago with the intention of creating a social club for ladies and gentlemen alike. It offers meals and entertainment.”
“I wasn’t aware.” Her words were pensive.
“It’s at the Piccadilly end of Swallow Street. I expect your rejuvenation center is at the Oxford Street end?” She nodded mutely. “Then we are practically neighbors.”
He was thrilled, while she was clearly a bit uncertain about this new development. Which made him all the more eager to understand her. Because he sensed there was more to her sudden reluctance to socialize with him than his reputation alone. She’d gotten over that enough to keep him company, after all. But when he’d brought up Robert... There was definitely a complicated past there, and while Henry generally refrained from interfering in his friends’ past indiscretions, he liked Viola too much to ignore any possible wrongdoing on Robert’s part.
“I would not go quite that far, considering there must be at least a hundred yards between our properties,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “Must you ruin my enjoyment with such a minor detail?”
To his immense satisfaction, the edge of Viola’s lips quirked. “Have you not realized yet that my greatest pleasure is ruining yours?”
Recognizing a playful lilt to her voice, Henry pushed up onto his elbows and gave her the cheekiest smile he could muster. “That does not bode well for our future together.”
The blush flooding her cheeks was delightful. “Mr. Lowell.” And her voice, while reprimanding, was equally breathless.
A spark of intense awareness raced through him. Now they were making progress. “Fear not, however,” he murmured, “for although my pleasure may not be your highest priority yet, Viola, I can assure you that I intend to take yours most seriously. Now, how about we go outside for a bit. Is that possible? The sun is shining, so it looks like a glorious day, and being confined to this bed is starting to wear on my nerves.”
She stared at him as if he’d just dropped from the ceiling. “I, er...” Her eyes darted around the room looking at anything else but him, which only proved the flustered state he’d put her in, which further proved the effect he was having on her. She was far from immune to his suggestion that they were destined to be more than friends.
“Is there a garden for us to visit?” he asked when he saw she was having some trouble composing herself.
She blinked. “Yes. There’s a small one.” Her words were quieter than usual. Clearing her throat, she clasped her hands together before her and glanced at the door. “I will ask one of the other nurses to escort—”
“No, Viola. I would like for it to be you.”
“But—”
“I am leaving soon, but before I do, I would like to have the honor of getting to know you better.”
Uncertainty puckered her brow, but her eyes warmed with the wish to accept. To Henry’s immense satisfaction, temptation won. “Very well, Mr. Lowell. I will agree to accompany you, but I cannot stay more than half an hour.”
“Then I shall cherish every minute all the more.”
Her lips quirked. “You really are a scoundrel.”
“In some ways, yes,” he agreed, “but I’m not nearly as bad as you may believe.”
She nodded as if in agreement, or was it understanding? Henry wasn’t entirely sure. He was just pleased to have won her over, if only for a brief moment. For it meant that in spite of all the rumors she’d heard and her obvious displeasure at him calling Robert a friend, she instinctively trusted him somehow.
And if this proved anything at all, it was that the wall she’d built around her heart could be scaled.
Henry rose from the bed and dressed while she waited for him in the hallway. After a year of searching ballrooms and social events for the perfect woman to woo, he’d found her at his sickbed. No doubt about it. Viola was smart and had a good head on her shoulders. She ran a business, for heaven’s sake, which meant she would understand the meaning of money. She was not the sort of woman who was going to squander a fortune on unnecessary things the way his father had done. Rather, she would be more inclined to advise Henry on how to administer his own funds sensibly.
Of course there was also the added benefit of her status. As a duke’s widow, she was more than an excellent match for a future earl. And since a physical attraction existed between them, Henry was hopeful that their relationship would also be filled with passion.
One thing was certain. He wanted her more than he’d ever wanted another woman before, and by God, he meant to have her, no matter what he had to say or do to convince her that this was the best way forward for both of them.
What on earth was she thinking, agreeing to accompany Mr. Lowell outside? After everything she’d learned about him, how could she have surrendered to his suggestion?
