“I definitely was not,” he denied. “Now go away. I want to eat some of that cake,” he said pointing to the plate on the table.
A shriek had him looking to where Tilly had gone, but he couldn’t see her. He’d started moving before he realized it. Looking around, Ambrose noted no one else appeared worried by the noise, so perhaps it was nothing. Still he kept moving.
“If you are looking for Tilly, she has taken the path around the back of number 11,” Anna said.
“I wasn’t, but thank you,” he lied.
When she’d gone, he took the path around the side of the Nightingale home and found Tilly staring at the side of the house with her hands clenched into fists.
“Tilly?”
She spun to face him, and Ambrose saw her cheeks were flushed.
“Are you all right?”
“Why did you follow me?”
He moved closer until there were only inches separating them. “I heard someone scream.”
“It wasn’t me, so you can go back to the gathering.”
He didn’t speak, just studied her, running his eyes over her face slowly, taking in every inch of the beauty he saw there.
“Ambrose,” she whispered, but she didn’t pull back. Instead, she leaned into him.
This kiss was soft, an exploration of her mouth, and it had his head swimming in seconds. Ambrose cupped her cheek as his other hand went to her waist, needing to feel her closer, and those lush curves pressed into his body. He needed it like his next breath.
He swallowed her small sigh and took the kiss deeper as lust gripped him. Tilly laid her palm on his chest and there was no way he could feel the heat from her touch, but somehow, he did.
He eased her coat aside and slid his hand inside, desperate now to feel her. The thought of the heavy weight of her breast cradled in his palm made him hard. He wanted this woman with a desperation he’d never felt before.
A loud shriek suddenly pierced the air, and he pulled back slightly, looking to the right.
“Dear God,” Tilly whispered, wrenching herself from hisgrip. She then fled once more, leaving him hard, frustrated, and wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.
CHAPTER 11
Tilly spent a great deal of time at The Iris Club over the next few days, getting things just right, or so she told herself. What she was really doing was avoiding any possible contact with Ambrose.
That moment with him had shaken her. The need and want she’d felt had been unlike anything she’d experienced before. Tilly must ensure going forward never to be alone with that man again or she’d end up doing something even more foolish.
“Hurry up, Tilly.” The words drifted up to her from below.
“Coming, Mother!”
Ruby had still not returned to take up the position Tilly had offered in The Iris, and that worried her too. Something wasn’t right there, and it niggled in the back of her head.
They were to go to the Lindell musicale this evening, and while she was looking forward to it, as she loved music, there was also trepidation. Ambrose would be there, as would Lady Crisp. The woman could make her life, and that of her parents, difficult.
“I hope you have a pleasant evening, Verity, and please don’t wait up for me,” she said to her maid before leaving.
“Thank you, and you also. Perhaps tonight will be the night you catch the eye of a gentleman?—”
“I don’t want to catch the eye of a gentleman, Verity.” Tilly bit back a sigh. She knew that, like many, Verity believed a woman’s place was tending to her husband’s every whim.
Her maid tsked but said nothing further, and Tilly left the room. Taking the stairs down, she found her parents waiting for her in the front entrance.
“Excellent, we shall now leave and hope that those performing tonight have not been selected because of who their parents are, but on talent,” her father said.
