By the tone he used, she couldn’t guess if it was a pleasant or an unpleasant surprise.
“Do you wish me to leave?” She wasn’t sure she wanted him to say yes.
If she were here only to seduce him, then yes. She would want him to accept her presence and kiss her. But she was tricking him, pretending she’d come to his room to see him when it’d been a matter of hiding from him.
Lord, her head was about to explode.
“No.” The single word didn’t hold any hesitation. “Is it what you really want?” He took a step towards her.
Yes. No. Yes, but not like that. Not while she was playing him.
Christopher stopped advancing, a flicker of hurt crossing his face. “You aren’t sure. I understand that.” His gaze dropped to the floor. “I know I’m not the sweetest of men.”
Oh, no. He was blaming himself. “Chris.” A shiver shuddered through her at the intimacy of the word. “I can assure you that the reason for my hesitation has nothing to do with who you are.” She took his hand and held it in hers close to her chest. “I love your strength, your determination, and even your grumpiness. And I want to be with you.”
He peered at her through those long eyelashes.
“I just think that . . .” She should tell the truth, but it’d mean exposing the real Amelia.
One of his fingers pressed on her lips. “You don’t have to give me any explanation. And I don’t want to rush you. I’m glad you allowed me to kiss you.”
“Oh, Chris.” A hard fist of emotions closed around her heart. She wanted to allow more than a kiss.
He wrapped his arms around her and put her head on his hard, broad chest. The steady thump of his heart beat against her cheek, and she relaxed in his embrace.
Things weren’t supposed to be like that. The warm, fluttering feeling stirring in her chest shouldn’t be there. Yet when he stroked her hair and kissed her temple, her heart burst with joy, and the illicit pulse between her legs pounded harder.
“You’re shivering,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. “Let me light the fire.”
Pearl eyed the door, wondering if she should leave. Guilt was twisting her insides, but desire was setting her blood on fire. But taking advantage of his trust wouldn’t be fair. If the positions were reversed, she wouldn’t like being deceived.
She cleared her throat and adjusted her curls. “Maybe I should go before Mrs Armstrong searches the entire estate.”
“I need a word with you, actually. It won’t take long.”
Flames sizzled from the hearth and lit his handsome face with shadows playing over the scar. Her heart constricted. He wanted to talk about her. About Pearl.
“Please, sit.” He offered her the armchair in front of the fire.
In a shuffle of skirts, she walked across the room and perched on the chintz armchair.
He sat in front of her and propped his elbows on his knees. “I’m aware you know Miss Pearl Blackmoore-Smith intimately.”
Oh, more than anyone else. “She’s a friend of mine.”
A pause stretched, filled by the crackling of the fire.
From the corridor came the muffled notes of another contredanse.
“I’m searching for Pearl for a matter of the greatest urgency.” The gravity in his voice made her shiver again. “Do you know where she is now?”
Pearl squirmed in the seat. Talking about herself while pretending to be someone else caused her skin to prickle with dread. “Unfortunately, no. She disappeared a while ago. I’m worried. Did something terrible happen to her or her father?”
Christopher worked his jaw. “Cowasj told me about the conversation you had with him at the lake. You’re aware of the financial fraud that interested Mr Blackmoore-Smith, aren’t you?” There was a pause before her father’s name.
She nodded. “Did you lose your money as well?”
“No, but my fellow soldiers did.”
