She unlocked the rear door. “Thank you. Everything went perfectly.”
Yes, it did. More or less.
When Mrs. Haywood realised Havisham’s documents were gone, it wouldn’t take long to guess who had removed them. But she might not check the folder soon, and since Havisham wasn’t seeing her anymore, chances were Mrs. Haywood might not realise her documents were missing.
But Angeline… she wouldn’t be happy to know what he’d done. Although if she learnt he’d taken those documents, she would also learn what her mother did, but she had to know that already. Hell. He needed to tell her what he was doing and find out the truth.
“Angeline…” Maybe it wasn’t the right moment. “May I see you later? I need to talk to you.”
The rest of what he wanted to say was cut off by her kiss. She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him hard on the mouth. He closed his eyes to savour the softness of her lips and the delicious curves of her body against his as she kissed him with desperation.
The kiss had a lot of passion but was also a little messy. She bit his lips and clashed her teeth against his more than once. Not that her technique mattered, but it was a further reminder that she was innocent, more fragile than he was, that he could hurt her in more ways than one.
She lowered her heels and dragged her hands down from his neck to his chest. “Thank you.”
He held her by the waist, wishing to tell her everything. All of it. From what he’d discovered about her mother to the warm feeling for her in his chest. Her large, trusting eyes were like daggers to his heart.
“The best kiss I’ve ever received,” he said, caressing her cheek.
“Angeline?” Mrs. Haywood called from the other side of the corridor.
She sighed. “I have to go. Sorry.” She held the door open. “Will you come later?”
“When?” He stepped closer to her until she leant against the wall and he stood a mere inch from her.
She was all breathy and deliciously flushed. “Midnight. Come here and I’ll open the door for you.”
He dipped his head to meet her gaze. “I’ll be here.”
She took in a deep breath, parting her lovely lips.
He kissed her hand and left the house, wondering if he was doing the right thing.
Royston pacedin the parlour at Haversham House as he waited for the earl to return home from the Haywood recital.
The earl’s butler had shown him to him in, and Royston looked forward to emptying his pockets and putting the whole,awful story behind him. Although the women’s list was still missing.
What tormented him the most wasn’t having stolen documents from Mrs. Haywood but having promised Angeline to return to her. He wanted to. Hell, he did. He wanted to tell her the truth. But he didn’t want to ruin their friendship or worse, hurt her.
No, it wasn’t friendship. He wouldn’t feel as if he were about to burst with desire if a friend kissed him.
“Wharton.” Havisham entered the parlour and shut the door behind him. “Is it done?”
Royston emptied his pockets on the table. “There was a whole folder with your name.”
The earl rushed to the table and examined the wrinkled pieces of paper and photographs.
He exhaled once he finished, closing his eyes briefly. “Thank you, Wharton. You saved my life.”
How many times had Royston heard that?
“Finally. My freedom.” Havisham smiled. “The nightmare is over.”
“I couldn’t find the list though.”
Havisham frowned. “It has to be in the study. Perhaps your time was cut short.”
“Yes, I couldn’t search thoroughly.” Still…
