Bewitched (5 page)

John cleared his
throat, unsure how to respond.
A variable wake of
panic welled beneath his feet.
So much for fifteen minutes.

Lord Landon grinned. “So we’ll see you at eight o’clock.”

“I—er…”

“Uncle
,
that is quite enough.”
Penelope strode forward, shooing her un
cle from the room.
“Lord John likely has other plans and will be unable to attend tonight.”

There
, she’d offered him the perfe
ct out, and
yet… John hesitated.
Perhaps attending the party this
evening would be enough to warrant
him the urn.
One miserably long day of courting as opposed to a
week’s worth of short visits. The prospect had merit. He faced Lord Landon.
“I
will do my best to attend this evening.”

“Very good.
We shall do some catching up as well.”

“Uncle,” Penelope said in a soft but firm to
ne.
“Your letter opener?”

“Oh, yes, of course.”
He shoved the spectacles back up
his nose and turned on a heel.
“
Laura! Have you found it yet?”
The earl left the room, muttering on about his letter opener, and leaving John alone with Penelope.

John
glanced up at h
er, at a total loss for words.
It had been so blasted long since he’d paid court to a pretty girl he’d entirely forgotten how to go about it
.

Penelope met his gaze and
offered a hesitant smile.
“
Would you
care
to sit, my lord?
”
She gestured invitingly
to the blue upholstered loveseat
.

H
e cleared his throat.
Oh, dear God those eyes.
He glanced
between the sofa and the door.
Only thirteen
minutes
left
.

“Lord John?” she prompted when he did not readily respond.

“
Yes?
”
He snapped his attention back to her
.
“Oh,
of course.
”
He crossed to the loveseat.
Began to sit and then thought better of it
.
“This is for you,” he said gruffly, thrusting the silver package into her hands.

She blushed
. “H-how very kind, my lord.”
She perched neatly on the chair
opposite him, and slid a
thumb beneath the paper edge.
She sucked that delectable bottom lip between her
teeth as though nervous
.
John knew the immediate impulse
to
suck her lips between his own teeth.
Would those
sinfully plump lips taste as sweet as they looked?

Rather sudde
nly the rattle of paper ceased.
“Lord John?” Penelope asked in a rush, disrupting the progression of his fantasy about her mouth… stroking his tongue along the crease and
into that little corner
swirl
…
“Might I trouble you with…
”
S
he dragged that lip
into her mouth again, worrying it
bet
ween her teeth
. She shook her head.
“Never mind.”

He pulled
his gaze from her mouth to her eyes
and quirked a questioning brow.
Really he had no ide
a what to make of her behavior.
The gift rested in her lap
only half unwrapped
.
“Might you trouble me with a question?” he finished for her
.
“Of course.”

She drew a breath and hesita
ted before releasing it slowly.
“Well,” she began, her attention shifting back to the paper surrounding the b
ox, “it’s just that—Oh!”
A little cry of delight escaped her
as she finally opened the box. “It’s an Easter
l
ily.”
Her eyes lifted to his and gen
uine happiness sparkled within.
“How beautiful and so very thoughtful.”

He shrugged.
“R
oses are overdone.”

Her gaze slid to a huge floral displa
y on a table beside the window.
“I couldn’t agree more.”
A grin teased the tempting swirls of her lips and she leaned forward, her manner conspiratorial, her eyes twinkling. A fat curl slipped over her shoulder.
“I was born on Easter Sunday, you kn
ow.” Her voice dropped, low and husky, as though
disclosing
a secret meant only for him. He found himself leaning in to hear it. “M
y mother brought me an
Easter
l
il
y every year for my birthday.”
A
hint of moisture
misted
in the lower rim of her eyes
.

Oh, Jesus.
John shifted uncomfortably.
Don’t cry.

Fortunately s
he blinke
d
t
he wetness
away as quickly as it came,
and brushed
her fingers over the
l
ily’s
white petals. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

John gulped.
Heaven help him
,
but
as he gazed into her smiling face, the satisfying sense he’d done something truly right and good stirred within him.
Hell,
he was beginning to feel warm and fuzzy in places he’d sworn never to feel warm and fuzzy in again
.

She sat back suddenly, he
r expression sobering slightly.
“Forgive me if my question is overly frank,” she began
.

“I always appreciate frankness.”

“Why did
you come to call on me today?
Unless I’m mistaken
,
we’ve never met before last night.”

J
ohn leaned forward, holding her
eyes with a steadfast gaze. “Let’s just say I felt…
c
ompelled.”

Six

“Kate
!
Marie!”
Penelope exploded into their private sitting room
after bidding her unexpected caller farewell
. “This is a disaster.
Lord John said he was
compelled
to call on me.
Compelled.”

“So?” the sisters asked in tandem
, staring up at her with matching owlish eyes.

“Don’t you see?
The love potion worked.”

Kate
dropped her book and stood
, clasping her hands in excitement
.
“
Oh, t
hat’s wonderful.”

“
No,” Penelope cried in
exasperation.
“
It is not wonderful
at all
. It’s awful.
”
She
flopped into a chair, resting her head in her palm.

“Come now,
Penny
.
It isn’
t that bad,” Marie placated.
“
He is very handsome
and a war hero I’m told.”

Kate al
l but squealed with excitement.
“
An
other
officer?”

“A
major
I think
.”

“
Ju
st imagine
,
” Kate gushed, “
he’ll be married in his uniform. Oh, Penelope, what a sight it will be.”

Penelope rolled
her eyes.
“
Married?
Haven’t you hea
r
d a word I’ve said?”

Marie and Kate shared one of their annoying looks be
fore turning back to Penelope.
“We thought you wanted to get ma
rried.”

“Of course I want to
get married, but not like this.
And not to
him
.
He is Colton’s brother for H
eaven’s sake.” Penelope sighed
, shoving away the disappointment tugging at her heartstrings
.
For just a moment in the parlor she’d connected with John
.
She’d looked down at the Easter
l
ily and then
up into his eyes
.
A little spark
had lit between
them
, leaping from his
deep
brown eyes and warming her from the inside out
.
For the space of a heartbeat she’d comp
letely forgotten her heartbreak,
believed he was an erstwhile suitor
bring
ing her a truly thoughtful gift.
U
ntil she’d remembered the
G
ypsy potion and asked after his motives
.
She drew a slow breath before continuing.
“I want to marry a man who chooses to marry me, not one induced to do so from a magic spell.”

“Then why did you use the potion at all?” Kate sat beside h
er.

“Because… because…
”
Penelope
shrugged, defeated
.
“
I never thought it would work.
”
She glanced up at her cousins
.
“But now we must set this to rights
.
Where is Co
rinne?”

Marie pursed her lips for a long moment as though contemplating their options or mayhap even regretful of the turn of events
.
“She is helping Mrs. Hargrave polish silver
.
I’ll fetch her.”

Within ten minutes their maid was fully aware of Penelope’s situation
.

“How can we reverse the potion?”

Corrine
slumped back in the chair, staring up at Penelope with wide, unblinking eyes
.
“I don’t know how to undo the potion, milady
.
No one has ever asked me that before
, and to be perfectly honest…” H
er gaze shifted from Penelope to Marie and Kate
.
“I never believed it would work.”

Penelope crossed her arms, beating back the frustration welling up inside her
.
What a ridiculous situation
.
“But it did work, Corinne, and now we must find a way to undo it
.
T
his afternoon you will accompany Lady Katherine to the lending library to search out a book which might
have an antidote
.
Marie and I will
search through Uncle’s collection of strange books here.”

The three other women nodded in agreement.

“Lord John will be attending the card party this evening
.
We must have a solution by the time he arrives
.”

*
             
*
             
*

Snowflakes drifted lazily
around the ornate sign hanging outside
Colton’s favorite club,
Townsend’s.
John leaned against a lamppost
, shoulders hunched against the cold, hat sitting low over his eyes. He’d learned of his brother’s usual lunch habits and headed for the club immediately after
leaving Lady Penelope.

Of course t
hat was a good hour ago, and
the February air was
damn cold.
Puffs of misty breath rolled out before him.
About now he was sorely missing the Landon’s warm parlor and Penelope’s
equally
warm smile.
Hell, even the girl’s hair looked
warm
. A
s did her
freckles
.
A man could wrap himself up in a woman like that
for hours
.

T
he whitewashed door swung open
, jarring John’s trail of thought. Colton and a handful of his cronies
ambled out, laughing heartily.