Page 52 of A Wicked Business

“Oh, you devil, and after being so nice to me. Why did you have to spoil it?”

“I didn’t spoil it! You did, by always having to have the last word.” He glared at her in mock outrage, and she gave his arm a playful smack.

“Dreadful man, but I’m afraid it’s true. Will I drive you distracted?” she asked, not entirely in jest.

“Undoubtedly, and I shall love every moment,” he said, his expression grave.

Belinda let out a breath, reassured, and they walked on in silence for a moment, apparently looking at the marvellous display of a frieze that had once graced the east end of the Parthenon. For her part, Belinda hardly saw the exhibition, which she had visited before and could pay it little heed, too wrapped up in the strange, dazed happiness. She had never experienced the like, the simple pleasure of finding everything right with the world, just by being in the presence of a man who made everything seem possible.

She glanced behind her, smiling to see Doris and Mr Kirby walking arm-in-arm. Doris was taller than Mr Kirby, but he did not seem the least bit discomforted by this. Indeed, Belinda thought rather the reverse; he glowed with pride and pleasure and seemed far more confident in himself than he had the first time they had met.

Perhaps that was what love could do, at its best. It brought out qualities in a person that might have remained hidden if love and affection had not shone a light on them and allowed them to flourish.

Belinda was uncertain how much time had passed when they found themselves in the Zoological Gallery. Doris was very much taken by the rhinoceros and dared to reach out a hand to touch its leathery hide as Charles kept an eye out for anyone who might tell her off.

“Your Miss Bodrott is a bad influence on poor Charles,” Felix said with a laugh, pointing at a sign that clearly stated Do Not Touch. “I’ve never known him to put so much as a toe out of line, and here he is, breaking the rules.”

“She’s done him the world of good,” Belinda agreed with a mischievous smile. “He looks happy. They both do.”

Felix nodded and stared down at her, a look in his eyes that made her pulse leap. He reached out and took hold of a lock of her hair, tucking it back behind her ear. As he did so, his fingers brushed her cheek, and Belinda felt a flush of heat begin at her toes and warm her all over.

“Are you happy, beautiful Belle?” he asked.

She nodded, suddenly too shy to speak.

He took her hand, drawing her behind a glass case that held several lemurs, caught in lifelike poses among the branches of a tree. Belinda found their glassy gazes somewhat unnerving but, as Felix drew her into a dim corner out of sight of the milling crowd, she no longer cared.

Felix pulled her close, into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers. The warmth of his lips sent frissons of delight chasing down her spine and, when he released her and stepped back, drawing her back out into the open, she found herself dazed and a little disorientated.

Felix gave her a rueful smile. “I beg your pardon, Belle,” he said, his low voice setting the strange shivery sensation rushing over her skin again. “I ought not to take such chances in public, but I feel I will run mad if I cannot touch you, kiss you.”

Belinda smiled as colour rose to her cheeks, thrilled by this information. To know that he thought of her, that he desired her and longed to be with her, made her entire being feel charged with a restless energy that she knew only he could subdue.

“You are the one needing time, Felix, not wanting to give up your bachelor ways,” she reminded him gently, though that was not entirely true. She too wanted to be certain. She had known from the start that there was no other man like him anywhere, that no other man had ever caught her attention as he had, but it had still happened too quickly, with no time to consider if they were being rash.

“Do you resent me for it?” he asked, covering her hand with his own where it rested on his arm, his green eyes full of concern.

“Of course not,” she said, gazing up at him. “We would be foolish not to take a little time to be certain. It is the biggest decision of our lives. I may be cut off from my father forever when he discovers what I’ve done.”

“Will that be a dreadful sacrifice?” Felix asked with a frown.

Despite herself, Belinda laughed. “I can understand why you would think it a benefit,” she said with amusement.

“I’m sorry, I did not mean—”

Belinda shook her head. “It’s all right. In many ways, nothing will change. He’s always been a distant figure and had little place in my life until I was of age. But I have always wished things could be different. Despite his disagreeable views, he is still my father and… and I suppose I always hoped he might care for me.”

“I’m sure he does, in his own way. I cannot see how it would be possible for anyone to be in your company and not come to care for you.”

Belinda’s lips quirked. “What a plumper! The first time we met you wanted to murder me with your bare hands.”

Felix laughed at that. “True, but only because you were beautiful and clever and so dreadfully provoking, I knew I was doomed. I think that’s why I was so rude to you. I knew I’d met the girl who would change my life forever, and I wasn’t ready.”

“You were appallingly rude,” Belinda said smugly, squeezing his arm before looking up at him once more, her expression serious now. “And now? How do you feel now?”

Felix gazed down at her. “The licence I procured is burning a hole in my pocket,” he said simply. “And every second I spent with you makes me more desperate to have you to myself. Does that answer your question?”

“Well enough,” she said with a smile, and they carried on with their tour.