His Reluctant Lady (15 page)

“
Should I bring tea?” the
butler asked.

“
No, that won’t be
necessary. He won’t stay long.” Without waiting for Christopher to
protest, she turned to him and added, “I have a dinner engagement
with my sister and aunt this evening.”

“
Oh, may I come?”

“
Certainly not.”

“
But then I’ll have to spend
another evening without you.”

“
Then it’s a shame your
guardian isn’t giving another dinner party where we can sit in a
room with other couples.” She shut the door and passed him on the
way to the decanter. “Let me guess. You’d like some
wine?”

“
You love it when I stop by
to see you.”

She snorted and poured him a glass.
“Maybe I shouldn’t be pouring you a glass of wine. You’re already
drunk.”

“
Would it take a gentleman
getting drunk to admit he wants to be with you?” he softly asked,
his breath caressing her ear.

She jerked, almost spilling the wine.
“Must you sneak up on people like that?” She pressed a hand to her
heart. He delighted in startling her. She just knew it!

He reached around her and took the
glass with one hand while sliding his free arm around her waist and
pulling her against him. “I’m counting down the hours to when we’ll
be married.”

Noting his arousal which pressed into
her back, she said, “Yes, I can feel your urgency.” Despite her
apprehension, a spark of excitement ran up her spine. Confusing. He
was such a confusing gentleman to understand.

“
It’s not just the bed I’m
looking forward to,” he whispered before he kissed her neck. “I’m
also looking forward to what clever retort you’ll come up with
every time I say I love you.”

“
Love? What you feel is
lust. It has nothing to do with love.”

“
Ah, see? Clever retorts
like that.” He released her and sipped his wine. “I’ll never get
bored of you.”

“
Hmm… I wish I could say the
same.”

He winked at her. “You’re only bored
because you have to run off to cater to your sister so she’ll marry
my cousin. Anyone would get bored doing that.”

“
Your cousin will be an
excellent match for her. He comes with all the things ladies
desire.”

He shrugged and walked over to her
desk. “I’d argue the point but then you think a gentleman is only
worth marrying if he has a title and money.”

“
And you have
neither.”

“
Exactly. But I’m not
boring.”

She opened her mouth to protest but
knew it’d be a lie. He was right. For all his faults, being a
dullard wasn’t one of them. She never knew what he was going to do
next. She didn’t know whether to be impressed or
annoyed.

“
What are you working on?”
he asked then sipped more wine.

“
Pardon?”

“
I see your quill is lying
on the desk and you recently dipped it into the inkwell. What were
you writing before I interrupted you?”

She gritted her teeth. How did he
notice something as insignificant as a quill? He made a move to
open the drawer and she rushed over to him. “Never mind that. This
isn’t your home.”

“
It will be in one
week.”

“
But it isn’t now.” She’d
need a hiding place. While she trusted her servants to mind their
business, she knew Christopher would sneak wherever he needed to in
order to find her other secret. “You have no right to my drawers
until you make me your wife.”

His lips curled up into a knowing
smile. “There’s something good in that drawer.”

“
Nothing you need to concern
yourself with.”

“
Which makes it even
better.” He finished the wine and set the glass on the table before
he placed the quill back in its holder. “You weren’t just writing
something for the
Tittletattle
either. This has to do with something
else.”

He was so infuriating! Did he really
have to be so clever? She knew better than to lie to him. He’d
never believe whatever she came up with. But… “Fine. What’s your
price?”

“
My price?”

“
To not go into that drawer.
I know I can’t physically stop you from doing it, but I can bargain
with you.”

He shrugged. “I’m already marrying you.
I don’t know what else you can wager.”

“
You say you miss me. What
if I spend the next week with you?” She hid her grimace because
that meant she’d have no time to write between seeing him, making
sure her dress was ready for the wedding, and helping her sister.
But one week away from her writing was a small price to pay if he
didn’t discover what she was doing. Forcing a smile on her face,
she closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his
neck. “Am I not worth it?”

He placed his hands on her hips and
pressed her firmly against him. “You’re worth everything, Agatha.”
He lowered his head and kissed her. “We’ll spend every day
together?”

“
That’s the
bargain.”

“
I’m going to bet that the
day will come when I won’t have to find a way to be with you.
Instead, you’ll be the one seeking to be with me.”

“
Unless there’s a cliff
nearby that I can shove you off, I doubt it.” Even as she tried to
sound serious, her lips curled into a smile and she couldn’t hide
the teasing gleam in her eyes.

“
If you do, I’ll take you
with me.”

He brought his hands up, brushing
closely to her breasts but not touching them, an action that caused
a thrill of excitement to sweep over her. It was silly, of course.
She had no real desire for him to touch her so intimately but
knowing he wouldn’t be hauling her off to bed made her feel safe
enough where she could enjoy the way he teased her. He cupped her
face in his hands and caressed her cheeks with the pads of his
thumbs.

“
You’re beautiful, Agatha,”
he whispered. “I don’t care where we are or what we do as long as
we do it together.”

Then his lips touched hers so lightly
she almost missed it.

Letting go of her, he bowed and shot
her one of his disarming smiles. “Where shall I meet you
tomorrow?”

She swallowed, unaware that she’d been
holding her breath in hopes he’d kiss her again. Straightening her
shoulders in what she hoped would indicate her reluctance to spend
time with him, she said, “I suppose you can join me and my sister
as we take a walk in Hyde Park.” As an afterthought, she added,
“You can invite Perry to join us as well.”

“
I’m afraid my cousin is too
embarrassed by his cane to take a walk in public. However, if you’d
like to ride a horse, I’m sure he’ll give up his very pressing
chess game with Lord Ironfist to join us.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “Lord
Ironfist?”

“
You might know him as Lord
Roderick.”

She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t
laugh. When she trusted herself not to chuckle, she gave him a
pointed look. “It’s not proper to mock someone in such a
way.”

“
Come now, Agatha. You write
for the
Tittletattle
and keep other secrets, secrets that are probably far more
interesting than even I can imagine. If anyone can appreciate my
nickname for the persnickety earl, it’s you.”

She lifted her chin in the air and
crossed her arms. “I may be guilty of many things but childish name
calling isn’t one of them. After all, a good title is hard to come
by.”

“
Of course, my lady.” He
gave her a playful kiss on the cheek and headed for the door.
Before he opened it, he said, “I will send you a note when my
cousin, Lord Lackluster, agrees to go to Hyde Park with
us.”

Despite her surprise he’d refer to his
guardian that way, a chuckle escaped her lips. She slapped her hand
over her mouth, eyes wide.

“
The lady has a sense of
humor after all,” Christopher teased and winked at her.

He slipped out of the room and she
removed her hand from her mouth, knowing it was now safe to
laugh.

***

“
Isn’t it enough that I will
see Lord Clement at Lord Pennella’s ball?”

Agatha pulled on her horse’s reins and
looked at her sister as they rode up to Rotten Row in Hyde Park.
“The fact that he’s eager to see you today is a good indication
that he’s considering you for marriage. He’s an earl, Sophie. A
rich one.”

Sophie groaned. “So you keep
saying.”

“
And I’ll keep saying it
until you stop complaining.” When she saw her sister’s face fall,
she sighed. “I’m not trying to be mean. I just want to make sure
you don’t make a mistake. It’s important to use your head when
picking the person you’ll marry.”

Though she didn’t reply, Agatha sensed
she wanted to protest.

“
Ah, the lovely Lady
Richfield and her dear sister!”

Agatha didn’t even need to look at
Christopher to know it was him. She mouthed the words ‘be nice to
Perry’ then turned her attention to the two gentlemen who
approached them on their horses.

“
I hope we’re not
intruding,” Perry said. “My ward assured me we were invited, but I
try not to assume anything. If we’re inconveniencing you, then we
can take our leave.”

Though Agatha noted the relieved
expression on her sister’s face, she quickly motioned for the
gentlemen to join them. “Your ward is correct. You were
invited.”

“
Perhaps you and Miss
Garrison would like to ride on ahead,” Christopher told
Perry.

Sophie shot Agatha a look that
indicated she didn’t want to talk to Perry without someone else to
chime in during the course of their conversation, but Agatha knew
part of the deal she’d made with Christopher included giving him
time to be alone with her, or at least as alone as possible. And
he’d already taken too many liberties by coming to her townhouse on
a regular basis.

“
A delightful idea.” Agatha
smiled at her sister. “Why don’t you tell Lord Clement about the
last book you read?”

“
I’d love to hear about it,”
Perry told Sophie.

She had to hand it to Sophie. Even
though she didn’t want to, she urged her horse forward and started
talking about it.

Relieved, Agatha joined Christopher,
following Perry and Sophie at a distance that allowed them to have
their own private conversation.

“
I can’t wait until we’re
married,” Christopher said, leading his horse a little closer to
her.

“
Considering you refuse to
take a mistress as I suggested, I can see why.”

“
You do me a disservice,
Agatha. My not taking a mistress is a high compliment. Besides,
that’s not why I’m eager to marry you.”

She arched an eyebrow and glanced at
him. “Oh?”

“
Well, all right. That’s
part of it. But after we’re married, I don’t have to find a reason
to see you. I’ll get to do so whenever I wish.”

“
You already find a reason
to see me whenever you wish.”

“
No, not really.”

“
You come to my townhouse
often enough.”

“
It’s not the same as if I
were living in the same home with you. Believe me, I get to see far
more of my guardian than I want to. We don’t even have to try to
see each other and we end up doing so.”

“
Maybe that’s because you
haven’t discovered any secret passageways in his townhouse or
estate.”

He laughed. “Secret passageways? That
sounds like something right out of a gothic horror
novel.”

She stiffened for a moment but reminded
herself to relax in case she gave her other secret away. Forcing a
casual tone to her voice, she asked, “Do you read such
novels?”

“
Actually, I do. Do you?” he
asked.

“
Certainly not,” she
replied, her face growing warm. Before he could detect her lie, she
asked, “Is your guardian looking forward to seeing you
marry?”

“
He is, actually.
Disappointed?”

She shrugged. “No. Should I
be?”

“
Well, since he is still
ruling over me, he could forbid it until I’m old enough so I don’t
need his permission.”

“
He must have forgotten. I
should do him a favor and remind him you’re too young.”

His jaw dropped but when he caught the
slight grin on her face, he smiled. “You are most definitely my
other half. You impress me.”

“
I didn’t think anything
worried you. Are you really so afraid something or someone might
stop us from getting married?”

“
I’d do whatever scandalous
behavior I’d have to in order to make sure no one prevents you from
becoming my wife.”

Interest piqued, she studied his
expression. “You would?”

“
As trite as it might sound,
there’s no one who’ll be better matched for me than
you.”

She turned her gaze to the path ahead
of them, hardly noticing the way her sister yawned as Perry talked.
Her mind went to the story she was writing. What if her hero did
something scandalous so the heroine had to marry him? Then he’d be
able to whisk the heroine off to his mansion where the suspense
could really develop.