Page 100 of A Story of Love

She crossed her arms and fixed him with a scathing look. “I am a prisoner here, my lord, so I’m afraid I didn’t come prepared for formal entertainments. It scarcely matters what I wear as I’ve been a prisoner in my room for the entire time.”

Lori thought she saw something that looked very much like sheepishness on his face before he smothered it and held out his forearm.

She stared at the proffered limb. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

“I thought you might want to get out of this room.” He began to lower his arm. “But if you don’t—”

She grabbed him. “Yes, I very much want to get out of this room.”

He led her toward the door and rapped on it.

Rufus unlocked it and nodded to them as they passed down the corridor, through a set of double doors into a much shorter hallway with only two doors. Severn opened one and gestured her inside. Lori recognized the room as the one she’d been in right before the viscount had gone off to his house party.

She glanced around, confused.

“What is it?” he asked, motioning her toward a table set with crisp linen, sparkling crystal, glittering silver candlesticks, and a bottle of wine.

“I feel like I came from this room a different way the last time.”

“You did. This suite has several different entrances, a few of them concealed.”

“Why?”

He pulled out her chair. “I would guess they were used when a lot of smuggling went on here. And no,” he quickly added, giving her a dryly amused look, “none of that goes on now.”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” she protested. But only because Mrs. Marlowe had emphatically denied there was smuggling of any kind at the brothel.

Lori waited until he’d poured them both a glass of wine before asking, “So, did you enjoy your house party?”

He grinned, appearing, for once, delighted by one of her questions. “You sound put out, Lorelei. Did you miss me?”

“If I sound put out it’s because I’ve been imprisoned in this house for days. When do I get to leave?”

“I’m not sure.”

“You can’t just keep me here forever.”

“Actually, I could.”

Before she could contrive an answer to his shocking statement the door opened and Lucy and Dolly entered bearing trays loaded with covered serving dishes.

Severn politely thanked the two women once they’d set out all the dishes, turning back to Lori after the door had closed behind them, the key turning audibly in the lock.

“You have somebody else lock and guard the door even when you’re in here with me?” she scoffed. “Are you afraid of me, my lord?”

“Let’s just say that I respect your ingenuity, Lorelei. I wouldn’t put it past you to brain me with a candlestick, steal the key from my pocket if I were so foolish as to carry it on my person, and then stab poor Rufus with a butter knife once you’d escaped the room.”

“Ha! I would have more luck trying to brain a rock.”

He laughed. “My grandfather would agree with that assessment. Now, let’s pretend this is a pleasurable meal between two people who want to get to know each other. And once the meal is over, we can talk about other—less pleasant—matters.”

“Such as my liberty?”

“Yes. Such as your liberty.”

Not far behind his genial expression was a wall of granite that said she would neither charm nor badger him into changing his mind.

“Fine. I’ll eat and act pleasant, and you can tell me about this house party.”