What reason could there possibly be?Her mind sparked with impossible suggestions, her neck prickling as if he were brushing his fingertips across her skin once more, her stomach twisting itself into anxious knots. Of course, shehadconsidered that he would be a solution to her problems, but he did not think of her that way. He certainly would not pretend to think of her that way just to get her out of an arranged marriage.
“I just wanted to compliment you,” he said, still grinning.
She blinked. “Compliment me?”
He nodded. “Your advice. It worked.” He closed the door, and her heart threatened to burst from her chest. “I did not mean to follow your suggestions; it happened quite by accident, but I cannot deny it was a success.”
“Oh…” She exhaled in a rush, turning her back on him so she could at least distract herself with the lovely view.
Of course, it is about Selina. Did you really think it was about you?her mind taunted, her inner voice mimicking that of her father and her brothers.
“It was like… a spell,” he continued. “All of a sudden, I had her interest, simply by being distant and rather cold toward her.”
Evelyn swallowed thickly. “I did tell you. You might have saved yourself some time if you had just heeded my advice sooner.”
And you might have saved me some confusion.
She heard his footsteps, the floorboards faintly creaking, and held her breath. Why was he coming closer? Why was the door closed? Why could he not have told her this somewhere else, where there were people to witness? This was nothing he could not have said in a whisper at dinner or later that evening, when everyone convened in the drawing room.
“I thought you would be heartened,” he said, his tone puzzled.
“I am heartened for Selina, of course, but I am… annoyed that you thought I did not know my friend well enough to advise you,” she replied tersely, as his shadow fell across her, and her blood began to roar in her ears like waves crashing against tall cliffs.
He appeared at her side, much closer than he should have been… but then none of this was proper: to be alone in a room with a man who was not her family or her husband. If just one person passed by and overheard them or opened the door, it would mean ruination.
“Come now, this is your prime opportunity to gloat,” he urged, laughing. “You cannot muster a single smile of victory? I am saying that you were right and I was wrong. Surely, that is some cause for satisfaction.”
She turned her face away. “What reason do I have to gloat? I already knew I was right. Your disbelief did not alter that, andnor did your attempt to gain revenge upon me at the garden party. I am… unmoved by anything you do.”
Her voice did not falter, and she prayed that he could not see the falsehood etched upon her face. It was not true that she was unmoved or unaffected, but she did not want him to know that her heart was beating furiously and her skin was so warm that she worried she might have a fever.
“Gain revenge?” He barked out a laugh.
“Is thatnotwhat you were doing at the garden party?” she countered sternly. “Were younotattempting to show me that you did not need any assistance when it came to attracting a woman’s attention?”
He stared at her in something like shock. Evidently, he had thought he was being sneaky, that she would not figure out the ruse. But what he was forgetting that she understood what sort of woman she was and she knew her place in society; of course, she would be suspicious of someone like him suddenly trying to flirt with her.
“It was not revenge,” he said in a soft voice. “It was… curiosity. You had such strong notions about how I should approach Miss Parsons that it got me thinking: if being cold and mysterious works on your friend, then what would work on you?”
Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat, but she could not turn her head away any more without having to turn her entire bodyaround. Maybe that would have been the wisest plan, to get out of there as quickly as possible before she began to believe him.
It was revenge. You know it was. Do not be fooled now!
“Tell me, Evelyn,” he murmured, his head dipping toward her shoulder, his breath caressing the curve of her neck, almost at the exact spot where he had touched her.
He was talented; she could not argue with that.
Blushing furiously, her mind a blur, she stepped away from him and whirled around so that they were face to face. If he was at her side, she somehow felt she was more exposed than if she was looking into his eyes. If he was behind her, she knew she would not be able to gather herself enough to hold her own.
This way, she hoped she would be able to see the trick in his eyes, his expression, as he spoke to her in those rumbling, warming tones. As long as she kept her eyes on him, she would not be fooled by him.
“What business is it of yours?” she asked, her breathing ragged.
“I am interested,” he replied, taking a half step forward.
She put her hands up. “I think you ought to stay where you are.”
“Why is that? Is it proximity that elicits your affection?”
