Chapter Six
Elliott lifted Amber into the phaeton and took too long to do it. Already, he had been hither and yon in London, and he had a full evening ahead. Was it so wrong for him to linger over the smell of a woman? To feel, however briefly, the fullness of her hips, the swell of her breasts, and the strength in her legs? She gripped his shoulders, and he saw her lips part as her body brushed against his. She was light enough that he did not need to hold her so close. But he did so because her body was luscious, and he had been too long without a woman.
Plus, she had the most spectacular eyes. They were hazel, turning blue or green according to her mood. Right now, they were shifting to blue as she locked gazes with him. And her lips were wet and open, parted in surprise or interest or sheer temptation. He didn’t know, but his imagination certainly supplied details that were best left unspoken.
And yet, he did think and linger until it became unseemly. So, he stepped back. It’s what a gentleman should do. But in his thoughts, they were doing something else entirely.
He jumped into the phaeton, using the time to rein in his runaway feelings. And once the horses were moving at a smart clip, he kept his eyes on them, but his words were for her.
“How much time will you need to gather your things for tonight?”
She jolted beside him. “What?”
“Your things for tonight. Tomorrow as well, I think. Balls end very late, and you will want to rest afterward.”
“But…” She took a quick breath. “Who will work in the cage tonight?”
Now it was his turn to jerk in surprise. “In acage?” The very idea was appalling.
“Yes. All the valuables are kept behind bars. My grandfather and I are there as well as…” She almost said Lina, but quickly switched to the Den name. “The Abacas Woman.” Lina had a character name fromA Midsummer Night’s Dream,but no one ever remembered it. She was simply the woman who click-clacked her abacas as she counted out money. Her exotic voice added to the mystery since she never showed her face.
“I suppose it’s safer,” he finally said, though the idea of her locked every night behind bars horrified him. “But surely, you did not think to work tonight.”
She stiffened. “I surely did. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because you are to stay with my sister. I thought you liked her. I thought you’d want to.”
“I do!” Her hands twisted in her lap. “I definitely do, but…” She exhaled slowly. “This is all so sudden. I don’t know what my grandfather will do without me.”
He looked at her. “You can’t be absent for one night? Your grandfather must have done the work alone at some point.”
“Two nights,” she corrected primly. “And… of course, he can. My father helped when I was younger or sick.”
“Then there is nothing to prevent you from taking a couple nights with my sister, yes?”
“Yes,” she said slowly, a low tension in her voice. And when she didn’t continue, he pressed her.
“Why do you sound so glum?”
“I…I don’t know,” she answered with a frustrated harrumph. “I am being illogical. I was just thinking how much I wished to stay with Diana, and now that I might, I am angry with you.”
“With me?” he said, the words startled out of him. “Whatever have I done?” Except get her an invitation to a ball and set her up for a lovely holiday with his sister.
She turned to face him on the bench. “You have completely upset my days.”
He snorted. “You are a creature of habit, then.”
“Absolutely not! I despise habit, routine, and the hideous sameness of my days.”
There was such vehemence in her tone that she confused him even more. “Then why are you angry at me?”
She folded her arms and twisted back to stare out over the horses’ heads. Her words came out low and grumpy. “I told you I was being illogical.”
Yes, she had. And wasn’t that a surprise? Not that a woman could be irrational. His mother, for example, seemed to take pride in twisting things around until black became white and up became down. But Amber was not only aware of her strange thoughts but admitted to them. That was a rarity, even among elite men. And so, he found himself admiring her, even as he poked at her.
“Can you not try to use a little reason?” He kept his tone light because he was teasing her. And thankfully, she did not take offense.
“I am angry,” she finally said, “because, after two lovely days, I shall be returned to my cage, and everything will feel so much worse.”
