“I think that highly unlikely. Shop all day every day if you wish.”
“You’re too generous.”
“Don’t mistake my spendthrift tendencies with generosity. A generous soul gives his last and only ha’penny to someone else. You saw my gaming establishment. Trust me when I tell you that as long as men believe that they have a chance of winning fortune rather than earning it, I shall never have a last and only ha’penny.”
She gave him a self-effacing smile. “Well, this is certainly not how I’d planned for the evening to go. All this talk of money. I’d hoped for the evening to be about us.”
Us. It had been years since that word had been part of his vocabulary. He almost told her that they should only think of him and his needs, but if that was part of tonight’s plans, he wouldn’t be standing there in a damned waistcoat, jacket, and cravat, feeling on the verge of suffocating. He’d done it for her. He was beginning to realize that he was doing a great deal for her. Giving her leave to spend as much as she wanted? He’d never been a spendthrift. His coins were too hard-earned. He certainly never did without anything he wanted, but what he wanted most was more coins.
Taking her empty glass, he set it aside. “Let’s go to dinner, shall we? I’ve been anticipating it ever since your invitation arrived.”
They ate in the sitting room that looked out on the garden. She’d had her father’s portrait removed earlier. She would have it returned tomorrow. But for tonight she wanted the intimacy of a smaller room. The dining room was too large, too formal, too cold.
Candles flickered. Servants brought in the food, one course after another. She barely touched anything, was aware of his constant gaze. Whether he was eating or sipping on his wine, he was looking at her.
She had clung to a vain gossamer hope that things between them would not progress, that she might become more of a companion than a mistress. Talking of inconsequential topics over dinner, reading to him as he’d asked that first morning. But the extent to which she was already in his debt astounded her. She’d given no thought to the small things.
“That’s how men lose fortunes, isn’t it? They lose a little bit at a time, hardly giving it any credence—then suddenly they look about them and everything is gone.”
He studied her over the rim of his wineglass. “Usually, yes.”
She could sense a tension building on the air, like a dark storm sweeping over the moors. She’d known when she penned her invitation where things tonight might eventually lead, that she would end up playing the part of seductress. It had been her intent to ease the loneliness she sensed in him, to give him more than he required, to be more than the bargain demanded.
“You went to a great deal of bother to arrange things for this evening,” he said quietly.
She nodded, touched the necklace at her throat. “It just seemed that a mistress should ensure that the evenings are rich with flavors and fragrances. I know you’re not wooing me, but I thought I should create an atmosphere in which it appeared you were.” She didn’t know how to explain it without sounding likean absolute ninny. “I came to the realization last night that you’re not such an awful sort—”
“High praise indeed.”
Darkness hovered at the edge of his grin, andshe wondered if he would ever bestow upon her a smile of pure enjoyment. Ignoring his interruption, shecontinued. “This afternoon I came to understand that with my father’s passing, I lost everything. I was simply too overcome with grief to fully comprehend the extent to which my life had changed. I’m here until you tire of me, so up to that moment I shall strive to make our arrangement pleasant for both of us. I thought I could read to you after dinner. Or play the pianoforte, if you prefer.”
“Surely, you can think of another entertainment.”
His gaze was hooded as he sipped at his wine in a manner that made her think of him sipping at her mouth, slow and leisurely, taking all until he’d had his fill. She knew what he wanted her to offer—bed sport, but she wasn’t going to make giving up her maidenhead as easy as all that. Yes, she owed him, yes, she’d promised. But he could damned well do his part to entice her into the bed. “Would you prefer a game of chess? I’m rather good. I played with my father quite often.”
His lips curled up into a smile that promised wickedness. “We’ll begin with a reading.”
She suspected they were going to end with a tumble. “It’s going to be tonight, isn’t it?”
She was extremely pleased that her voice didn’t quiver.
“I’ve been more than patient.”
“I daresay you’ve been as patient as a saint.”
“I’m hardly a saint.”
A sinner, and soon she would be one as well. “I’m trying not to get nervous.”
“Drink some more wine.”
She did, savoring the flavor on her tongue, the warmth swirling through her, the light-headedness taking hold. “I can’t think of anything to talk about.”
“Then don’t talk. You don’t have to entertain, not tonight.”
She furrowed her brow. “Will I on other nights?”
A corner of his mouth curled up. “I doubt it. I suspect once I’ve had you that it will be awhile before I’ve had you enough.”
