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“No, I’m fine. The only damage was to my dress, I’m afraid.” She winced as she held up the garment again for inspection.
“Oh dear.” He assessed the burnt fabric. “It was fortunate that Lord Addington was there.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You may be the only person I have ever heard use the words fortunate and Lord Addington together in a sentence.”
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Before the Highwater scandal, when had you heard of Lord Addington darling?” He cleared his throat. “Be careful judging a man, or a woman, from ton rumors. They are rarely true.”
It was Rose’s turn to raise her eyebrows. She understood her father’s sentiment but she had to disagree. At least in this case. He was involved. She was sure of it. But she didn’t need to enlighten her father. “If you say so.” She began folding up the dress. “You will make my excuses downstairs? I hardly think I will return in a new ensemble. It’s late and there would be questions.”
“Of course” Her father gave her a thin smile. “My question is why you left dinner in the first place?”
Rose was careful to continue folding the dress with deliberate slowness. “I needed the powder room, Papa.”
Her father remained silent for so long she finished and, after crossing to put it on top of the chest at the foot of her bed, she was forced to turn and look at him.
He assessed her still as he spoke. “Why did Lord Addington think you were fetching me a pocket square?”
She gave a casual shrug, at least she hoped it was casual. “It was too embarrassing to admit what I was actually doing.”
Her father’s eyes lit with understanding and she willed her shoulders to remain straig
ht and not slump in relief. “Of course, that makes sense.”
A lovely breeze blew in from the open door leading to her balcony. The smell of flowers drifted in from the courtyard. It would be nice to step out and clear her mind. She’d only left Addington’s room with more questions and few answers.
“I should retire, Papa, but I will see you in the morning?” She crossed over to her father and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Sleep well,” he returned the gesture then headed for the door. “I will see you in the morning at breakfast.”
As the knob clicked closed, she slipped the dressing gown off her shoulders and hung it on its hook. Then she reached her fingers behind her back to begin working the lacings of her own corset, eager to be free of the garment.
“Would you care for some help?” a deep voice called from the balcony door.
A chill ran down her spine as a little scream emitted from Rose and she whirled to face the opening. Standing amongst the undulating curtains was Lord Addington. How had he gotten up on the second story balcony and why? “What are you doing?” she hissed.
He didn’t move from the doorway but his arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow arching. “You entered my room without invitation first.”
She stared at him opened mouthed. How dare he? That was entirely different. “A gentleman would never enter a lady’s room uninvited.”
A devilish smile quirked one side of his lips up. “I am no gentleman.” As if to prove his point, his eyes wandered down her length. It was only then that she realized she was in nothing but her corset and chemise.
She gasped again as she attempted to cover herself. Rose backed up three steps but only bumped into the bed. Then she skittered away, thinking it was even more dangerous place to be. “Get out,” she whispered.
He didn’t move as he continued to stare at her. “Relax, Rose. I am not here to hurt you. We simply need to finish our conversation without the risk of being discovered. And in your room, half dressed, you can not simply vanish again.”
The candlelight danced along the plains of his face. He looked even more handsome in this light than he did during the day, the dark depths of his eyes bottomless, his hair shining wherever the light touched it. “We should discuss this tomorrow, in a more respectable—”
“I don’t think so.” He gave his head a tiny jerk. “Why were you in my room? And do not tell me it was for a pocket square. I heard you speaking to your father.”
Her breath caught and she moved back to the bed, sinking down to sit on its feathered softness. She was normally quite adept at avoiding trouble but he backed her into a corner. “I…” The single word slipped out but she had no idea what else to say.
“What were you searching for?”
His voice was soft, soothing almost, in its deep baritone. It rumbled through her making her already weak knees jelly. She couldn’t have stood if she’d tried.
She rubbed her temples with her middle and index fingers. She had absolutely no explanation other than the truth. The room became so still, she could have heard a mouse upon the floor. “I wished to take a lover,” she barely whispered. “I thought your room was another man’s.”
Well bloody hell, she was full of surprises. And little lies. Will’s eyes narrowed. As a man who had been a spy, he understood the need to lie. The question was, were her reasons noble? Every instinct he had now told him she was not particularly skilled at falsehoods, it was not something she did often. Then why was she lying now? “A lover? Pray tell, who is the lucky man?”
