Page 46 of Just a Little Daring

“Rachel?” she said to the maid, giving the woman a beseeching smile.

Rachel huffed and folded her arms. “It’s not proper, miss.”

“Oh, but it’s only Monsieur Le Comte, and you know he is trustworthy by now.”

Vivien watched Louis to see how this had gone down, but the Frenchman’s beautiful face was inscrutable. Rachel, too, looked towards Louis and did not appear as convinced as her mistress.

“You do as you think best, miss, but please don’t get lost in there or I shall have the devil’s own job explaining things, and so shall you.”

“I promise we shan’t be long,” Evie said, giving the woman an affectionate kiss on the cheek and taking Louis’s arm. “Well, come along then. Don’t dither.”

August chuckled as Evie disappeared into the maze with Louis and they followed behind, their pace leisurely.

“Good morning, Miss Anson,” he said when finally the dark pathways of the maze swallowed them up and out of sight of prying eyes.

“Good morning, Mr Lane-Fox,” Vivien replied, feeling unaccountably shy.

“I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I’ve been counting the hours,” he said, reaching for her hand.

Vivien looked down at where their fingers tangled together and let out a shaky sigh. “I was so afraid you wouldn’t come. That you would change your mind.”

August drew her to a halt and Vivien was barely aware of Evie’s voice growing fainter as she and Louis moved farther into the labyrinth.

“I’ve been a bloody fool, Viv,” August said, his voice harsh. “Bainbridge tried to tell me, told me over and over if I’m honest, but I—”

“It’s all right,” Viv said, pressing a finger to his lips. “I understand. You don’t need to explain, or to apologise.”

“I do,” he said fiercely. “My God. When I saw you with Blackstone all I could think was, August you blasted idiot, if you’ve lost her it will be the biggest mistake of your life.”

Vivien bit her lip as guilt sat uneasily in her stomach. “Actually, August, I —I think I ought to confess. Blackstone has no interest in me. He put that entire scene on to make you jealous. I’m so sorry. It was unkind to do such a thing and—”

August kissed her.

Viv’s breath snagged in her throat. His lips were warm and soft, and her brain dissolved like sugar in hot tea.

“Oh,” she said dazedly when he drew away again.

“I’m glad you did it,” he said fiercely. “And I shall thank Blackstone, too. He made me see sense, and I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my life.”

Vivien blinked, not feeling entirely steady. “But you want a quiet life, August. Peace and quiet and—”

He kissed her again, this time his hands moving to clasp her waist, which was just as well as she felt increasingly giddy.

“I want you,” he whispered, his voice firm as he pulled back again. “I want you and everything that comes with you. If I must fight for you every day of my life, Viv, it will be worth it. If society doesn’t like us, that’s fine. We have our own society, friends and family, people who care for us, whose opinions we care about. Anyone else can take a running jump as far as I’m concerned.”

“Yes,” Vivien said, hearing the echo of the words she’d spoken to her father as her heart soared.

August gathered her closer, and Vivien’s heart raced. This was what had been missing before. She had allowed a suitor or two a stolen kiss, more out of curiosity than a wish to do so, but it had only ever been a press of one mouth against another. This was entirely different. August’s hold on her was firm but gentle, and her entire being seemed to vibrate with tension, with anticipation, until she felt she would go mad if he did not kiss her.

“Viv,” he murmured, stroking her cheek, staring at her with such a look in his eyes that she wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, for she was so thoroughly overwhelmed. “May I kiss you again?”

A breathless laugh escaped her. “I think you had better,” she managed.

He grinned, a remarkably boyish expression, but then his smile faded, and a different light lit his eyes as he tilted her chin up and brushed his lips over hers. Vivien shivered, and he must have felt her reaction, for she was aware of his lips curving against hers, smiling as he repeated the tender caress. Slowly he pressed his mouth to hers, again and again, a long series of tiny kisses that melded into one bone-melting embrace. His tongue traced her lower lip and Viv’s heart kicked in her chest.

“Let me in,” he said, a sweet command she was pleased to obey.

Slowly, his tongue sought hers and he laughed softly as she sought to copy his movements. “A quick study, Miss Anson,” he teased her, pulling back to look down at her. Viv was somewhat relieved to discover his breathing was as erratic as her own and did her best to unclench her fists, which had unknowingly grasped his lapels and likely wrinkled them beyond saving.