Adam kept his voice level and his tone neutral. “And what do you think?”
“Oh, I think you came to England for a plethora of reasons,” Ezra replied cheerfully. “Why you’re here at Clarenmore Park…well, I think that has something to do with a certain redhead that you haven’t stopped staring at since you arrived.”
He opened his mouth, a curt denial already on the tip of his tongue…then closed it. Why bother with a lie when Ezra had already seen the truth? Because hehadbeen staring at Eloise. In the morning, at breakfast. In the afternoon, during whatever expedition Lenora had planned for the day. At night, over dinner. He told himself to look way. To ignore her. To pretend that she didn’t exist. Thus far, it had proven to be a futile endeavor.
The more he tried to forget Eloise, the more he searched for her. And the more he searched for her, the more he wanted her. In front of him. On top of him. In his bed. On his cock.
Yesterday, Lady Renalta Donegal had purposefully brushed her breasts across his back as she’d squeezed behind his chair in the dining room. He’d experienced nothing. Not even a twitch. But all he had to do wasthinkabout Eloise and his blood heated.
“It’s not your fault,” said Ezra. “It’s them.”
“Who?” he asked, not following.
“The Rosewood sisters.” Graham helped himself to an apple sitting in a bowl on a side table and tossed it in the air. “The same thing that’s happening to you happened to Perth, then me, then Ezra.”
Adam stiffened. “Nothing ishappeningto me.”
Ezra and Graham exchanged an amused glance.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself,” said the viscount. He polished his apple on his sleeve, then took a crisp bite. “From personal experience, I can tell you that it’ll be easier in the long run if you surrender now.”
Ezra nodded in agreement. “Save yourself the time and trouble, St. James. There’s no use resisting once you’ve fallen for a Rosewood. Let go and give in.”
“I haven’tfallenfor anyone, least of all Eloise Rosewood.”
“Sure,” said Ezra with a wink.
“We believe you,” said Graham.
Adam stood up from his chair and glowered at the two men. “I’m going for a walk.”
Yanking on his jacket, he quit the room and barely resisted the temptation to slam the door in his wake. Had he really thought the Viscount Croft and Earl of Whitmore were men of average intelligence? After that little display, it was clear that they were nothing short of imbeciles and he was more the fool for having sat there and listened to their claptrap.
There was a small gathering of people in the foyer. Deliberately avoiding eye contact, he went straight outside. It had rained before dawn but the clouds had since moved out, leaving behind a clear blue sky. Sunlight warmed the nape of his neck as he left the main drive and blindly chose a narrow, winding path that led away from the house.
Walking with his head down and his hands in pockets, he didn’t realize where he’d ended up until he heard the unmistakable sound of a splash. Startled, Adam lifted his chin…and his gaze landed squarely on a mermaid languishing in the middle of a pond, her hair floating around her in a spill of dark auburn while she lazily treaded water on her back.
Eloise.
Eloise naked save a thin cotton shift soaked through to the skin that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. Not even the color of her nipples, as the rosy blush peaks were clearly visible above the waterline. Along with her limbs, long and slender. The freckles dancing on her nose. Even the springy curls between her thighs.
With a hard swallow, Adam brought his hands to his throat…and began to unbutton his jacket.
After (another) argumentwith her sisters, Eloise had come to the pond to be by herself and to think. With her family and the guests preoccupied at the manor and soon to be engaged in a croquet tournament, she was all but guaranteed the one thing that was in short supply during every house party: complete privacy. Hardly anyone even knew the pond was here, tucked away off the beaten path behind a tangled thicket of overgrown shrubs. And those who did know of its existence preferred to visit in the evening when the gazebo on the far shoreline presented its occupants with a beautiful view of the setting sun. Which meant, that for now, she was alone…and happy to be so.
Her fight with Annabel and Lenora had started with a minor disagreement over her breeches (nothing out of the ordinary) before it had turned into a full-blown battle over her future.
“Enough is enough!” Lenora had cried, flinging her arms wide as they’d stood in the parlor with the door closed. “You have to stop this, Eloise. You’re an adult. A grown woman. I cannot keep finding you in trees, or wearing our brother’s trousers, or–or putting a frog in Lady Renalta’s dresser!”
“She deserved it,” Eloise had muttered, scuffing her toe on the floor.
“You act like a belligerent child and then complain when we treat you as such,” Annabel had said with a haughty toss of her glorious golden curls.
“I’m not belligerent! I’m just…I’m just…”
“You’re what? What are you, Eloise?” Lenora had asked. “Help us understand.”
But there’d been nothing for them to understand, because they didn’t understandher. How could they, when she was struggling to understand herself?
