“I appreciate the fact you didn’t take advantage of my condition,” he said.
“I thought about it a few times though. Before this game, I considered myself a decent player.” She collected the pieces, but he did the same thing, and their hands touched over the king.
A little shock of sensations went up her arm. She should remove her hand, but the contact with his rough skin was shockingly too pleasant.
A blush crept over his face, exalting the rich colour of his chestnut hair and hazel eyes.
He withdrew his hand. “Apologies.”
“It’s all right.” She worked quickly, stashing the pieces inside the drawers under the chessboard. “Are you going to resume your work soon?”
“I’m eager to do something, anything. This forced inactivity is wearing me down.”
“I read in theEvening Standardabout a formal ceremony to celebrate your heroic acts.”
He shot his gaze towards the ceiling. “I’d rather get punched by Ross the Gross.”
She chuckled. “You deserved recognition.”
“That’s not important. They should question the engineer who designed the Theatre Royal. The disaster could have been avoided if the theatre had been better designed. All the exits were crammed. People didn’t have enough space to run. And they gathered all in the same corridor. That’s why I managed to come and go a few times because there was almost no one in the lateral exit.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to escape the glory.” She set the chessboard aside. A beautiful waltz music came from the upper floor. “What is it?”
He huffed. “Lord Havisham is organising a ball, which I’m afraid is in my honour. I guess the musicians are rehearsing.”
Would she be too bold if she asked him to dance? Who cared? She’d risked her life and discovered her mother blackmailed people. Seize the day. “That’s your opportunity to make amends after you so completely destroyed me at chess. What about a dance? I love dancing.”
He stiffened, opening and closing his hands. “I can’t see properly.”
“We’ll be careful. I’ll make sure you don’t hurt yourself.”
“No.”
“Just a count of eight.”
“I said no!”
She fell silent. Heavens, he was angry. His eyes seemed sharper, and his voice deepened.
She smoothed down her skirt. “All right. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
He frowned, still stiff and tense.
She rose. “I…” She didn’t know what to say. His outburst had been unusual. He was grumpy, but not short-tempered.
He stood up as well. “Thank you for your company.” The words were polite, but the tone was not.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back tomorrow.” She waited for him to say yes.
“Actually, the physician will be here tomorrow.”
She’d truly upset him. “Send a word if you want me to come.”
“Thank you.”
She left the room and headed for the servants’ entrance since the butler had told her not to use the main entrance. Why had he raised his voice? Obviously, he didn’t like dancing, or maybe he was upset because of his eyes, or maybe she’d been too bold. Never mind. His tone had hurt her, though.
She walked past the busy kitchen, from where steam and the smell of spices came, and exited through the back door. A woman and a man were playing cricket with a child in the park opposite the townhouse. They cheered when the child performed a good delivery.
