The Devil Rogue (11 page)

“I suppose I should expect no less, my lord.”

“What’s this you’re wearing?” he asked with a flourish of his hand
,
refer
ring
to her gown
.
“I seem to recall suggesting you wear something a little more
elegant
.
” His gaze moved slowly down the entire length of her body, halting at her hem. “
And your shoes don’t match.
”

So much for hoping he wouldn’t notice that
, Angela thought
bitterly
.
“Oh
?
It must have slipped my attention.”

“
It’s been my experience that most ladies are quite fastidious about their appearance,
right
down to the
very
tips of their toes.
”

“Perhaps I prefer to be unconventional
,”
Angela said sweetly.
“
But
I believe
your suggestion was more in the line of an
order
.”

He
placed
an
index finger under her chin,
gently
forcing her to look
up
at him
.
“You are correct
.
It was an order
.
Do you disobey me, princess?”

Struggling with the urge to fidget,
Angela
forced herself to
stand still,
to
maintain eye contact
.
His eyes, she observed, were a strange combination of green and gold, like a cat’s eyes
, or a hawk’s, as she’d first thought
.
They were mesmerizing
, s
ensual
,
p
redatory
.
He was waiting for her answer
.
“
Yes
.
I-I mean no – er that is, I did not
intend to disobey you, my lord.
”

“Explain.”

His finger traveled from her chin, down the column of her throat to trace the small hollow at the base
.
Her thoughts scattered
like dandelion wisps in the
wind as the tip of his finger drew upward to tease the contours of her ear.

She stepped back
when a servant entered to announce dinner was ready to be served
, gaining some much needed breathing space
.
His hand, which had been left
suspended
in mid-air, dropped to his side
.
His expression
betrayed
his amusement at her obvious dis
comfort
.

When they were both seated at the table, he resumed their conversation
.
“I’m still waiting for your explanation, princess.”

“
All
of
my gowns have been
ruined.”
She decided to tell as much of the truth as possible, leaving out the fact that her clothes had been slashed, however.

“Ruined
?
What do you mean?”

“I daresay it was moisture, my lord
.
”

“Moisture
.
”

“Y-yes, moisture
.
Apparently, the
contents of the
trunk had somehow gotten wet, a-and considering the recent warm temperatures,
everything was covered
with mold
.
I found nothing to be salvageable.”

The soup arrived, halting their discussion
.
While they waited in silence, Ian studied her,
wonder
ing
what she was up to
.
Did the spoiled little princess want new gowns
?
Is that why she fabricated this preposterous tale
?
When they were alone, once again, he continued
.
“Nothing at all, you say?”

“Nothing, my lord.”

“Very well
.
I suppose I must call in a modiste and have
some new gowns made up for you.
However,
I would like to have a look at the damaged gowns in order to assess what needs to be replaced, you understand.”

“No
!
I-I’m afraid that isn’t possible
.
You see
,
they’ve already been disposed of
.
I don’t wish for you to send for the modiste
, truly
.
I borrowed a couple of dresses from my maid, Rosemary, so there’s really no need.”

What was she hiding
?
D
etermined to find out
,
Ian planned on making a late-night visit to her room
while she slept
.
He would examine the contents of her trunk himself
.
“Nevertheless, I won’t have my mistress dressed like a common servant.
”

“But I am a servant, at least part of the time.”

“You are my mistress and I insist that you dress the part
.
I will send for the dress-maker.”
Any woman would be thrilled to have beautiful new gowns made
.
Why did she seem to be lying about her gowns, yet refuses to be fitted for new ones?

“Please, my lord, I don’t wish it,” she persisted
.
“
Perhaps you could purchase some material
for me
.
Rosemary and I are very handy with needle and thread
.
Together we could sew a few new gowns
. I
t’s what I’ve always done in the past
.
We’re
really
quite good.”

“Do you mean to tell me that
you
are the one responsible for all those beautiful gowns I’ve
heard about and
seen you in?”
He could hardly fathom it
.
This spoiled rich girl made her own gowns?

“Y
ou’ve seen me before, my lord?”

Ian
had
seen her
–
on several occasions
.
Of course, he’d made sure to stay away from her, as his tastes usually ran to the more experienced woman
.
But,
he’d studied her
. He’d become an expert on the Baron and Miss Hopkins
when his investigation into his friend’s death began
.
H
e had
to come up with some other reason for his seeking her out,
other than
the fact that he suspected her
as an
accomplice
to murder
.

“Why do you think I made my offer, princess
?
Your beauty quite captured my attention, and once I saw you, decided that I must have you, even for just one night
.
As it happens, you
’
re
now
at my disposal for three whole months, and I have you to thank for it
.
”

Her brow crinkled adorably.
“I find that difficult to believe, coming from a handsome rake such as yourself
.
I’m sure there is no shortage of willing women to accommodate you
.
So I have to wonder why you chose me, specifically.”

“Handsome rake, hmmm
?
That you think so adds largely to my ego, among other things,” he teased
.
He was i
mpressed by her bold response and that she seemed to see right through his lie
, but he wanted to know more about why she made her own gowns
.
“Tell me why you would do such a thing
as to sew your own garments when you could easily afford to have someone do it for you
.”

“Because I enjoy it,
”
she said
.
“May I have th
e material, my lord?”

There was such a hopeful look in her eyes and s
he seemed so earnest
that Ian could hardly refuse her
.
What would it hurt for her to make
a few
gowns
, as long as they were presentable
?
“You may have what you need
.
Just be sure to include a couple of ball gowns
.
There’s a possibility that we may be attending a function or two.”

In fact, there was one in particular
Ian
wished her to attend
.
He
’
d orchestrated a plan that when set into motion would
truly
mark the end to her position in society
.
It was cruel, but no less than she deserved.

“Thank you, my lord!”

Her face beamed with pleasure over such a
trivial
matter
.
Earlier s
he
’d clearly been
concern
ed
for
the servants,
she’d been grateful that he’d sent for her belongings, and
now she
appeared joyful over the fact that she was to sew her own gowns
.
This was not in keeping with his image of the pampered daughter of a wealthy
b
aron
.
Either he had sorely misjudged her or she was the greatest actress in the land.

Mentally strengthening his resolve,
Ian
tempere
d his softening feelings toward
her
.
He would use her, ruin her, and then toss her to the wolves for the part she’d played in the death of his friend
.
He chose to ignore the nudging of his conscience that
warned him
he could be wrong about her
.
He was sure of her guilt, along with her father’s
, and nothing – not even her innocent act
–
would sway him.

The meal progressed
as
they
talked
, the servants performing their duties with
their
usual efficiency, blending into the background
.
With dinner finished, Ian’s thoughts turned to the evening’s entertainment
.
He was looking forward to witnessing Miss Hopkins in her role as bath slave
.
It would definitely knock her down a few levels from her privileged pedestal.

Angela hadn’t tasted a
single
thing
during dinner
.
She could have been eating
sawdust and not noticed
the difference
.
H
er nerves
were
on edge
,
as always
,
whenever
Blackridge
was near
.
From
be
neath her lashes, she
’d
watched him sip his wine,
analyzed
the way his lips
met
the smooth edge of the fine crystal glass
.
Her gaze
had lingered on
his throat as he swallowed,
giving her
the insane desire to kiss him there
.

The
fingers
that
held the glass by its delicate stem
were long and tapered
, the nails well-manicured
.
She could easily imagine those fingers running along her sensitive skin, touching her breasts
.

G
oodness
!
The room seemed suddenly over-warm
. S
he raised her eyes to look at him fully, her heart
skipp
ing
a beat
when she realized he was looking at her intensely
.

“Did you not enjoy your meal, Miss Hopkins?”
he
inquired in a husky voice
.

“
I apologize if
my appetite hasn’t done justice to the wonderful fare served this evening, my lord,” Angela responded
,
h
er heart still thumping
madly
.
“I only need time to acclimate to my new surroundings.”