She did as he instructed, holding the edges of her corset while he tightened the strings. Then he helped her with her dress, buttoning the back with practiced ease. And when it was all done, and he sat on the seat beside her, he rapped on the top of the carriage.
A muffled, “Yes, m’lord,” was the response.
“Where are we going?” she asked, confused.
“To my sister’s home, as I promised.”
How long had they been driving? Shouldn’t they be there by now? “Where have we been?”
“I don’t know. A tour around Hyde Park most likely.”
It took a moment for his words to filter in. A moment for her to realize that he had planned this. That he had prearranged with the coachman to ride them in a circle until their tryst was done.
“How many times have you done this before?”
He blew out a breath. “Never,” he confessed. “You’re my first.” He sounded like she should be grateful to be treated like this. Like a common doxy tumbled in a carriage.
She wanted to be furious, except honestly forced her to admit that she had asked for it. She hadwantedit. He had told her at the very beginning of their ride that he wanted to kiss her, but that it was her choice. And she had asked for two.
Her face burned with humiliation, and she wasn’t fully aware of why. He was so much more worldly than she. Despite her talks with the upstairs ladies, she still didn’t understand what had happened.
“Am…am I still a virgin?” she whispered.
“Yes. As respectable as ever.” His voice was calm, and his matter-of-fact tone reassured her. Though, of course, a woman who worked in a gaming hall was not at all respectable. So even if he lied, she wasn’t any worse off than before.
“You will tell no one?”
He stiffened in reaction. “I do not break my promises. I will tell no one.” Then he paused. “Will you?”
“What? No!”
“No giggles between girls upstairs at the Den? No whispered confessions about the man you had on his knees before you?” There was a bitterness in his tone that rubbed against her raw nerves. He was angry with her, though he worked hard to hide it.
“Of course not. I don’t break my promises, either.”
“Good,” he said as he adjusted his position on the seat. They were touching only slightly. His knee against her thigh. His hand on the back of the seat near her shoulder. Near, but not touching. Close, but not connecting. “I should like to see you tomorrow. Afternoon, if that’s acceptable,” he said.
“Of course,” she said, feeling strange with his suddenly polite tone. “Whenever you like.” She was, after all, staying with his sister. She hadn’t the wherewithal to say no if he chose to visit.
“I have an idea for the brooch. I know the painting wasn’t enough, but perhaps there is a way around that.”
The brooch? The jewelry that had brought him into her circle in the first place. How fast this man thought. She was still reeling from everything, but his mind was back to his vote and the brooch he needed. “Whatever you think best. It is ample…” Her words cut off as she realized what she was about to say. But he was no fool. He finished it for her.
“Ample repayment for a ball and the ride home?”
He made it sound as if he were the upstairs person, and she the one demanding worship. There were a few upstairs men for such purposes, but she was not a customer. And she disliked the implication that what they’d just done was a transaction.
“I agreed to remake the brooch for you,” she said tartly. “If you have found a way that I can do such, then I must perforce agree.” She used her most educated voice merely because it made her feel more in control. “This evening was a lucky…”Experience? Dream? Temptation?“Happenstance. I am grateful for it.” And she was thankful even though she felt as if she wanted to burst into tears. “The one—”
“Has nothing to do with the other?” He was silent for a long moment, and she used the time to gather her scattered wits. “Very well. I will speak no more of it.” His tone held a strange note in it. As if he made fun of himself with his words. “And I apologize.”
“For what?” she asked.
“For what, what?”
She huffed out in exasperation. “What do you apologize for? Men always say that without actually being sorry for anything.”
He cleared his throat. “I apologize for taking advantage, Miss Gohar. I apologize for thinking you were one thing when you are decidedly not.” There was definitely a wry note to his voice. “And I apologize for underestimating you.”
