My Fair Lily (22 page)

Baboon colonies excited her.

Losing one’s beard did not. In truth, she liked Ewan’s beard and
regretted having asked him to shave it off. All of it. Off, even though it suited his rugged bearing. But it was a necessary sacrifice. He
needed to look like an English gentleman.

His father’s family would never accept him as he was.

Lily shook her head and turned toward the stairs, but as she started down the hall, Ewan’s door suddenly burst open and Jasper bolted toward her with an ear-piercing
awroooolf!

“Jasper, not my new gown!”

Awrooolf!

The great woolly beast jumped on her, knocking her off balance. Since he was as big as a horse and clumsily unaware of his size, Lily ended up on the floor, breathless. As usual. Jasper’s tongue washed over her face.
Blech!

Her spectacles fell off her nose, and she could only hope to grab them before the big oaf stepped on them with his furry paws.

“Jasper, ye looby! Off!”

Lily heard Ewan’s exasperated shout, but couldn’t see him.
Jasper was still playfully bouncing beside her, licking her face, and she was drowning in Jasper’s drool.

Ewan tried again in that deep, authoritative voice of his. “Sit!”

Jasper obeyed by sitting on her.

Ewan let out a groaning laugh as he tugged at Jasper’s collar, hauling him off her and handing him over to his valet. “Jergens, lock him away. Somewhere. Anywhere. Bollix, how did he learn to open doors?”

“At once, my lord.”

Then Ewan knelt beside her. “Lass, are you all right?”

Lily felt the exquisite heat of Ewan’s hands on her back as he took her into his arms and helped her to her feet. He had a towel slung over one shoulder, but he slipped it off and used it to wipe the sticky mess Jasper had left on her face. “My spectacles,” she muttered as he rubbed
the towel across her cheek.

“They’re safe. I have them in my pocket. Lass, what are you doing here?”

“Visiting Meggie. Dillie’s with her in her bedchamber. I was on my way to the library.”

“Then I’ll not detain you. Let me toss on a shirt and I’ll join you downstairs.”

“That sounds…” No, wait. Did he say toss on a shirt? He still had his arms around her. His
bare
arms. And
bare
chest. She felt his
warm, damp skin beneath her palms and inhaled the fresh scent of lather against his chin, the appealing scent that tended to linger on a man after he’d shaved. This was Ewan’s scent, a mix of pine forest, lather, and male.

She drew away as soon as he’d finished wiping her eyes, eager to look at the muscular body she’d been touching all the while. “I—”
Blessed saints and burnt crumpets!
Her mouth dropped open. She tried
to close her eyes, but couldn’t seem to do it, for she was too busy staring at Ewan’s lean and muscled body. His lean and muscled shirtless body.

She heard the door to Meggie’s room open. “Good morning, Ewan,” Dillie said. “You’re looking quite fit this morning.”

Burnt, fiery crumpets
. Fit didn’t begin to describe how good he looked.

“Nice to see you, Dillie.”

She grinned. “Meggie invited us over.”

Meggie winced. “I thought it would be fun to show you off. You look much better without that awful beard.”

“But you’re missing some clothes,” Dillie added unhelpfully. “Not that my sister minds at all.”

“Dillie!” Thank goodness Ewan was wearing trousers. Nice trousers. And boots. He was wearing polished black boots, too. And nothing else besides those articles. His chest was bare and skin
lightly tanned. A
spray of dark hair ran across his broad chest, and he’d casually thrown his towel back over one of his muscled shoulders. His upper torso tapered at his trim waist. The taut muscles across his chest and flat stomach rippled as he moved, marred only by an ugly red gash along his ribs, a reminder of the knife wound he’d received at Tattersalls. The imperfection only made him look more perfect.

She was appalled. Stricken and frozen in place.

The butterflies in her stomach felt no such thing. Those traitorous creatures were glancing heavenward to smile at the angels.
Thank you, thank you!

Ewan’s half-naked body was so close to her she could feel the heat radiating off his golden skin. Oh, he looked sinfully good! His hair was slicked back and still wet from his earlier bath, several wet strands curling about his neck. She glanced up to meet his gaze. Realization struck her just then. He’d shaved!

“Lily, you’re staring at me.”

He’d shaved for her. At her urging. The first step to turning him into a proper gentleman, and not a heathen to be attacked at horse auctions, then blamed for starting the fight. His family would be surprised. All of London would take notice. She’d thought him
handsome before, but this... this was incredible. Nicely firm jaw, well-shaped mouth. All perfectly situated on his ruggedly appealing face. His hard, muscled body was perfection, too.

She let out an
eep!
as he lifted her into his arms and carried her downstairs. She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself
as he strode toward the library. His skin was deliciously warm, his body delightfully hard. She touched a hand to his clean-shaven cheek.
Angels, did I thank you yet? Let me thank you again. And again.

“You did this for me,” she said in a whisper.

He ignored the comment as well as the palm she was now resting against his cheek. He lightly kicked open the library door
with his boot and set her in a chair beside the fireplace. “Wait here.”

She nodded.

Meggie and Dillie had followed them down. She heard their smothered giggles.

Ewan paused beside his sister. “Meggie, don’t pull another stunt like that again.”

He shot all three of them a warning glance and stalked out of the library, firmly shutting the door behind him.

“Lily, are you all right?” Meggie asked. “Your face is the deepest shade of crimson I’ve ever seen.” She paused to study her more closely. “Oh, dear. You’re angry with me.”

“Meggie, that was so wrong. So scandalous. So improper. So—”

“Worth going straight to hell for it?” Dillie suggested.

Lily burst out laughing. “Yes, you evil twin. He shaved! I’m so pleased.”

Dillie swallowed her own laughter. “Wait, that’s what has you in raptures? His face? Didn’t you look at the rest of him?”

“I couldn’t stop looking,” Lily admitted. However, she wasn’t feeling quite so mirthful as her partners in crime. Skulking beside Ewan’s bedchamber had been a stupid prank, but the powerful force of attraction she’d felt when seeing him in his half-dressed state was no laughing matter. Her sister could giggle and ogle and make jests, but she couldn’t.

What she’d felt went far beyond mere attraction. Her senses were still reeling. She understood how Jasper must have felt that day at Eloise’s when trying to stop himself in mid leap, clawing the air and trying in vain for a soft landing as he fell.

And she was falling hard for Ewan. Painfully hard.

She wasn’t certain she could stop herself.

***

Ewan returned to his quarters after depositing Lily in the library, and then dressed and hurriedly returned downstairs. He was relieved to find Lily alone where he’d left her in the library. “Meggie and Dillie are in the dining room sharing a pot of tea.” She set aside
the book she had been reading and started to rise. “Shall I call them?”

He saw that she’d been engrossed in a publication of Sir William Maitland’s early explorations. She probably knew it by heart. He wondered if there was a chapter on those baboons that seemed to fascinate her so much. “No, lass. It’s you I care to see.”

Her eyes rounded in surprise, probably in response to the awkward phrasing of his sentence. He did care to see her. Always liked seeing her. Preferably naked, but that wasn’t likely ever to
happen.

She sank back down in her chair and waited for him to take the seat beside her. “Lily, I expect I know the answer to this question, but still, I must ask it. Do you have any enemies?”

She pursed her lips and frowned, looking quite adorable and
earnest. “Other than your grandfather and the entire male
membership of the Royal Society? No.”

He dismissed those old codgers and their newest Fellow, her friend, Ashton Mortimer. “Think on it. Anyone who’s ever been mean to you or wished you ill? Outside of those fossils in the Royal Society.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m certain of it. Why do you ask?”

“My cousin’s rudeness to you at the dressmaker’s can be explained. He was actually there to scare Meggie. But I don’t understand why that blackguard came after you at Tattersalls. It
troubles me. It doesn’t fit into a neat explanation and that puts me on edge.”

“In all likelihood, he and his unsavory friends saw me with you and thought to gain your attention by accosting me.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Perhaps. It’s logical. But I don’t have enemies either, none that I know of... outside of my own family.” He winced at the dismal state of his family relations. “But neither Desmond nor my grandfather claim to have had a hand in the
incident. I believe them.”

“Where does that leave us, Ewan? Was it simply a matter of mistaken identity?”

He took her hand in his, liking the feel of her skin against his.
She had small, delicate hands. Innocent hands. “I don’t know. Lily, don’t go off on your own until we’ve figured it out. Will you
promise me that? I need to know you’re safe.”

She cast him an indulgent smile, obviously doubting she was in
any danger. He doubted it as well, but it couldn’t hurt to be
thorough. “I’ll be careful.”

“Good.” He rose and brought her to her feet beside him. “I want
you to remain with Meggie and Dillie today. Don’t stay alone
anywhere, not even here at Lotheil Court. Not even in this library.”

“Not here?” She seemed disappointed, but reluctantly agreed.

After escorting her into the dining room and depositing her with
Meggie and Dillie, he made quick excuses to slip away from Lotheil Court. He cast Lily a concerned glance. “Remember what I said, Lily.”

“It is seared into my brain,” she teased, but he noted a mix of relief and disappointment in her eyes. He understood how she felt. His senses reeled whenever he was around her, and she responded the same way whenever in his presence. He knew it as surely as if she’d spoken the sentiments aloud. All he had to do was look into her beautifully expressive eyes.

He hurried off, forcing his attention to all that needed to be accomplished in the next few hours. Besides the day to day work of
putting his father’s estate affairs in order, he had an investigation to conduct. He’d questioned Lily, but merely as a formality. Who would want to harm a nineteen-year-old innocent? No, it wasn’t her these villains were after. Someone wanted to hurt him, possibly kill
him. His first call would be on a reliable Bow Street runner by the name of Homer Barrow, a sharp old-timer who came highly recommended by a friend.

In any event, he was glad to be away from Lily just now, couldn’t remain under the same roof with the girl without his senses exploding. He needed distance from her in order to get his mind and body fully under control. The feel of her soft body was still branded
on his chest,
and her light, rose scent still tickled his nostrils. She’d seen him bare-chested. All he could think about was seeing
her
bare-chested, running his lips and tongue over her soft, white breasts and worshiping their pink tips. He wanted Lily beneath him, crying his
name in ecstasy.

Lord! He was in agony.

Over a bookish, bespectacled innocent, no less!

He had about ten hours to get himself back under control. He knew she would be at the Simmington musicale this evening. Since he, Meggie, and their grandfather planned to attend, he expected to see her there. It was to be one of those small society functions that Eloise had deemed suitable for him and Meggie. A quiet gathering of close friends. Yes, he could manage seeing Lily in a crowd.

Lady Simmington’s father was a Highlander, a proud member of the MacCorkindale clan, so he expected to find several of his own friends and acquaintances there. It was a good way to ease Meggie into the stream of London parties. It was also a good way to distract
his thoughts from Lily’s blue eyes and soft, pink lips.

***

Ewan attended to his business affairs, retained Homer Barrow to conduct his investigation, and returned late to Lotheil Court. If he hurried, he could make it to the musicale without missing too much of the music.

Meggie and his grandfather, as expected, were nowhere about when he arrived. They’d surely gone ahead without him. He felt a pang of regret for not being by Meggie’s side, but she’d likely spent
the day with Lily and her sister, and would only have been alone with their grandfather for the short carriage ride to the Simmington residence.

“My lord.” Harding met him in the entry hall as he was about to climb the stairs. “Your sister asked that I give this to you.” The butler handed him an envelope. Ewan took it with a nod and continued to
his bedchamber, where he opened it, read it, and then paused and
laughingly shook his head. Lily had invited Meggie and his grandfather to supper with her family before the musicale. Incredibly, his grandfather had accepted.