“Yes, thank you.”
Placing them beside the front door, she asked, “Did you find out why Harper was here?”
“You heard him,” Brina said, more defensively than she intended, but Harper had her afraid to say anything about what she really felt. “To check on the house.”
“No, no, there was more to it than that,” Julia said, not letting Brina off the hook as easily as she’d hoped. “I think he was hiding something in his coat pocket.”
“Hiding? What are you talking about?” She gave Julia a curious look.
“You probably didn’t see it because you were so stunned to see him at all. I couldn’t tell what it was. He put his cloak on before he even reached down to give you a kiss. Didn’t you notice how strange that seemed?”
Brina hadn’t noticed, but she knew he was clearly hiding things about Mr. Browning and the card club. That had her curious as well as worried, but she didn’t want Julia to know that.
“What could he be hiding, and more to the point, why would he be hiding anything from us? I felt he was acting a little odd. Maybe even a little nervous, but so was I. Neither of us expected the other to be here, and it was quite unsettling at first.”
“It was that and more,” Julia insisted, refusing to give up her stance on the subject.
“You aren’t suggesting he was taking anything from the house, are you?” Brina said, not willing to go that far with her suspicions, but agreeing there was cause for concern.
“I’m only commenting on my observation. I know Harper had something in his pocket, and it seemed to me he was trying to hide it with his cloak. I’m not saying he took anything from here. It could have been something he brought into the house with him that he didn’t want you to see, but whichever, he didn’t want you to ask about it.”
Suddenly feeling warm, Brina unfastened her cape and laid it on the table with her reticule. She didn’t know what to think. Yes, it was disturbing Harper was in her parents’ home and that Mr. Browning had fallen and was convalescing at Harper’s home.
“You may be right,” Brina admitted with some reservation. She’d known Harper all her life. She couldn’t start believing the worst of him. “But I’m not sure what I can do about a young man’s secrets or habits. And I don’t want to believe he was here for any bad reason.”
Brina didn’t like doubting Harper’s story, but this was the second—no third—time Harper wasn’t acting himself when he was with her. And it didn’t help her feelings that Julia had been suspicious too. Something had turned Harper into a different person. No, someone. Mr. Robert Browning.
Julia folded her arms across her chest. “Then, we’ll leave it at that.”
“Yes,” Brina said more confidently than she was feeling. “Let’s do forget about this conversation with him and put our minds on something far more pleasant while we look through Mama’s painting materials.”
“You lead the way,” Julia said. “I’ll follow.”
Brina started down the corridor. She wanted to talk with Zane about this. The earl might be a scoundrel and gambler at heart, but she had no doubt he cared for his cousin. He would want to know that Mr. Browning had been injured. Zane had proven he was quite fond of Mr. Browning, but how could she mention this to him when she’d promised Harper she’d keep quiet about where he was and the fall?
Besides, she couldn’t start relying on the earl to help her. She had enough worries about what she was feeling about him, the approaching end to the Season, and what would be expected of her if the earl kept all her mandates.
Oh, what a troublesome man Zane was. If only he hadn’t come into her life and upset it just as she was getting her balance again.
Chapter 19
Zane placed his cup back into the saucer and set his empty plate to the side of the breakfast table. If not for Brina’s unusual terms, he would still be in bed at this hour. Thanks to her, he’d already had a rousing early morning ride in the curricle, followed by over an hour of fencing at his club. Now, he’d eaten scrambled eggs, toast, and a thick slice of ham as if he’d been famished.
Since he was no longer staying up all night playing cards and sipping on a brandy, he found his energy level during the day had exceedingly improved. It was amazing how much one could get done in a day when he went to bed with the chickens—as he’d heard someone once say.
However, all the good things that were improving his life couldn’t keep him from missing the stinging taste of a brandy, the satisfaction of winning a hand, or curb his desire to have Brina in his bed. His gaze strayed to the window overlooking the side garden. It didn’t seem tomatter what he was thinking. He found a way to bring his thoughts back to her.
Zane had never had to be proper about anything in order to win a wager. Skill had always accomplished it. He either won or lost on how tightly he stayed focused on the game before him and how well he read his opponent and the cards he’d laid down. It was difficult for most players not to show any emotion when they were in a well-matched game. Sometimes it was something as simple as squeezing the cards a little too tight with their fingers or breathing in a little too deep. The trick was to study enough men to know the small signs. Over the years, he had learned to discern when someone wasn’t playing fair too.
And Brina Feld wasn’t playing fair.
Whether or not she was doing so intentionally, he’d yet to completely settle in his mind. He didn’t think so, but there was a little qualm of doubt that surfaced from time to time. Especially when she was so pliant and eager for his every touch, willing for him to thoroughly satisfy them both. Was she trying to get him to break his promise? She had said kisses were exempt but not anything else. He had no doubt her passion for him was real, but he had no doubt her desire to win their wager was real too.
One other thing he was sure of—he couldn’t get her off his mind. Most especially when he imagined her lying in his arms, coming to life beneath him. Those images wouldn’t leave him alone. Day or night. When he was with her, it was almost impossible to hold back his desire. When he held her, felt her shiver, and sensed the beat of her heart racing along in time with his, it thrilled him.
He had no doubt he was the first to awaken the sensual desires left dormant since her husband’s death. That pleased him. Zane wanted her to experience every one of them to their fullest. He was sure she wanted that too. Asdesperately as he did. And they would have, except for the minor consequence of their bargain. He was caught in an unfortunate cat-and-mouse game with her when what he wanted to do was strip off her clothing, lay her on the bed, and kiss her softly curved body until he was rigid with pain. And then make love to her all night.
Grunting, he pushed away from the breakfast table and made himself more comfortable by placing the ankle of one leg on top of the knee of the other. Thinking about her so early in the day was not doing him any favors. Best he get her off his mind in a hurry. He picked up theTimesand unfolded it.
