“Damned overdue,” Adam finished for her.
Ellie’s response was an incoherent gurgle.
Adam chuckled warmly, rolling onto his side to face her.He threaded his fingers into her hair, pushing it gently back from her face.“What do you think of Connie’s family so far?”
Her brain was still buzzing with the sated aftermath of their activities.“I think Padma is going to pressure her to marry,” she mumbled.
“Picked up on that too, did you?”
Ellie’s focus sharpened.“You noticed?”
“I might avoid social machinations like the plague, but I can still tell when they’re happening right in front of me.”
The dark note in his voice reminded Ellie of Adam’s own troubled history in high society.
“Any idea what Connie plans to do about it?”Adam prompted.
A warning thrill chased over Ellie’s skin.“What makes you so sure she has a plan?”
“It’s Constance,” Adam returned dryly.“The question’s less whether she’s got a plan and more how crazy it is.”
Ellie clamped her mouth shut as she considered Constance’s plan.
Adam read the look.“That crazy, huh?Do I even want to know?”
“I’m really not sure that you do,” Ellie warned him.
“Fair enough,” he returned easily.“But you’ll tell me if I can help her—right?”
Ellie warmed in a manner that had nothing to do with the humidity.She touched her hand to Adam’s face—rugged, strong, and unquestioningly loyal.“I promise.”
She let her hand drop as she mulled over Adam’s earlier question.“The family are all lovely.”She hesitated, then added the rest.“Mr.Chowdhury seems very close to them.”
Adam traced a finger along the line of her collarbone.“I’ve been wondering if he might be a bit more than just a ‘close personal adviser.’”
“Like what?”Ellie frowned, half her attention consumed by the softly ridged texture of his touch.
Adam answered her with a cocked eyebrow.
Ellie sat up.“You mean… He and the maharaja.You’re suggesting they might be…”
She blushed rather than complete the sentence.
Ellie was aware that there were gentlemen who formed a more particular sort of attachment to each other.She’d known several women who had done the same, calling themselves roommates while being devoted in a way that had nothing to do with platonic ideals of feminine affection.It was a fairly open topic of conversation among the more radical ladies in the suffrage movement.
She considered Mr.Chowdhury’s careful formality, which he maintained strictly even though he and the maharaja were obviously very old and dear companions.
The solicitor’s obvious concern about Vijay’s safety and discretion.
The easy, familial warmth in Parvati’s greeting.
The way the two men seemed to be able to communicate with a look.
“That would explain a few things.”Ellie frowned thoughtfully.“I’m not sure how the Hindu faith treats such relationships.”
“I don’t think Mr.Chowdhury is Hindu,” Adam countered.“Nawaz is a Muslim name.”
“I suppose that complicates the matter.”
