AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shot him a severe look. “Lord Tavener, are you serious about trying to find a respectable bride?”
His blue eyes turned penitent. “Yes, Miss Antinori.”
“Then, I beg you, try to overcome your rogue’s responses and pay attention.”
He nodded. “I am duly rebuked. What else should I say to the young lady?”
“After a proper compliment, it would be good if you could question her about her interests, if you have knowledge of them. If not, comments about the weather or events taking place in society are always acceptable. And current fashion, of course.”
He groaned. “Are we back to remarks about bonnets and the state of the roads? If being ‘proper’ means I have to confine myself to uttering such swill, perhaps I should give up now and emigrate to the Americas.”
Though Allegra couldn’t help but sympathize, having just endured three weeks of social calls that focused on those same numbingly innocuous topics, she said, “Pray, do not despair yet! You may speak about the theater, concerts or exhibitions currently taking place. Or if you invite the lady to ride or drive in the park, you may discuss horses and carriages. Literature, if the young lady enjoys it. But generally not politics.”
He chuckled. “So I discovered! For all the recognition it sparked in my dinner companions tonight, the Congress of Vienna might have taken place on the far side of the moon.”
Allegra shook her head in sympathy. “I’m afraid young ladies are not encouraged to study—much less to venture opinions—on such matters, which some consider beyond their understanding.”
“But not beyond yours?” he guessed.
“My upbringing was not precisely…conventional. Such foreigners as we encountered in our travels were often bid to dine, and rather naturally, Papa wished to discuss the turmoil on the continent.”
“I should like to hear more about your proper but unconventional upbringing.”
The interest he was expressing in who she really was, rather than in the society maiden she had to appear to be, drew her as strongly as his physical appeal. Resisting it, she said, “Perhaps another time. But to continue your lesson, neither should you discuss any purely masculine pursuits, such as cock-fighting or boxing.”
She remembered then that Tavener was a boxer—a very accomplished one, if Rob’s impressions were correct. Perhaps that was responsible for the slight aura of danger that hung about him as negligently as the black coat stretched over those broad shoulders.
Allegra slid him a glance from under her lashes, trying to imagine that lean, powerful body stripped of jacket, waistcoat and cravat. Balanced on the balls of his feet, shirt open at the neck, sleeves turned back as he circled his opponent, fists up and ready, his fierce blue gaze focused…She shivered as a thrill of attraction and trepidation rippled through her.
She started from her reverie to find his head bent, his face so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. That intense blue gaze focused on her, he said softly, “What else can I touch upon, Miss Antinori?”
Ah yes, touch… Her eyes strayed to his mouth, hovering near hers. The top lip was firm, almost stern, but the bottom lip was plump, sensual. Allegra had a sudden memory of Molly and her rake standing in the shadowed wings of the theater, the man slowly pulling Molly’s head down as he slanted his mouth over hers. A memory of Molly’s sigh…
Tavener looked like a man who knew a great deal about kissing. He looked as if he wanted to kiss her.
Her heart commenced pounding and heat suffused her. Beginning to understand the sensual spell Molly’s rake had cast over her that long ago summer, alarmed by how much she yearned to lean up and brush Tavener’s lips, Allegra jerked away. “You may touch upon many topics, my lord, but you must not look at me—at a young lady—like that.”
He smiled, his eyes still heated. “Like…what?”
“Like you were about to kiss her!” Allegra blurted.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” he murmured.
“My lord, you are hopeless!” Allegra declared, once more stifling a laugh. “If you are to make any progress at all, you must cease uttering such provocative comments.”
“Is Lord Tavener annoying you?” a stern voice asked.
So absorbed was she in her conversation with Tavener, Allegra had become completely oblivious to their surroundings. She looked up to see Rob gazing at them, arms folded, a disapproving frown on his face.
“Not at all, Rob. He has been quite…entertaining.”
The glance Rob gave Tavener was distinctly unfriendly. “You were gone so long, I grew concerned. Mrs. Randall begged me to fetch you. A number of people have stopped by, desiring to make your acquaintance. Let me return you to her now.”
Allegra couldn’t imagine that she had truly been in such demand, but judging by the almost hostile look on his face, Rob was determined to separate her from Tavener.
Before she could reply, Tavener said, “I’ve no doubt there are others anxious to meet her. Excuse me, Lynton, for monopolizing so lovely a lady. Miss Antinori, I hope you will permit me to call. As you have just noted, I still have much to learn.”
“I should be happy to receive you, Lord Tavener,” she replied, curtseying to his bow. Then Rob seized her hand and propelled her toward the exit.
Glancing over her shoulder, Allegra saw Tavener standing motionless, his bright blue gaze following her as Rob walked her away. Something sizzled in the air between them before Rob steered her through the door.
“Unfortunately you cannot cut the connection, Allegra,” Rob said as he hurried her into the ballroom where Mrs. Randall waited. “Still, I cannot help but think it highly imprudent for you to spend much time with him. You can hardly hope to encourage more eligible gentlemen to pursue you if you allow that…that man of questionable character to hover around you.”
“Perhaps you need to stay near and protect me,” Allegra said, half in jest.
To her surprise and delight, Rob tucked her hand more firmly under his arm. “Perhaps I should. In any event, I shall insure that none but eminently respectable gentlemen approach for the rest of tonight!”
From that moment, Rob proceeded to be as good as his word. For the time they remained at the rout, he hardly stirred from her side, escorting her to meet his friends, obtaining her refreshments, and when not conversing with other guests, focusing all his attention on her.
Twice during the succeeding hour she saw Lord Tavener among the guests and wondered if he would approach. Each time, Rob took a protective step closer, as if to warn the man off. Like that valiant knight of old…although in this case, she wasn’t sure she really wanted his protection.
Soon after, Mrs. Randall professed herself tired and Rob summoned the carriage to convey them home—to Allegra’s gratification, seating himself beside her.
As the carriage bowled along, Mrs. Randall nodded off while Allegra and Rob sat in companionable silence. Content to have Rob at her side, Allegra mused over the events of the evening.
In the past few weeks she’d seen so little of Rob. He seemed to always be away on business or meeting friends at his club. He had not accorded her as much time or attention as he had tonight—after reclaiming her from Lord Tavener—since the two private interviews he’d given her the day of his arrival.
Could he be jealous of Tavener? she wondered with a little thrill. Probably not, she conceded. Still, if having Lord Tavener dance attendance would prompt a protective Rob into spending more time with her, perhaps she should openly encourage that gentleman.
She’d have to use the diversion Tavener created cautiously, though. Attractive the man certainly was—perhaps too attractive. The heated sort of feelings he generated could not be permitted to go beyond titillation, no matter how much they intrigued her, lest she endanger her reputation. Besides, she recalled with a sigh, even for an actress who was free to pursue such attraction, lustful adventures seldom ended well. Molly’s handsome rake had broken off their affair after only a month, leaving her friend brokenhearted.
Nor was there any question of a more serious relationship between them. The likelihood of a man who openly admitted earning his rogue’s reputation turning into the sort of faithful, devoted husband she required was slim. She had no desire to spend her life worrying and wondering whether her husband was truly in London on business—or dallying with another of the women he could charm so easily. In any event, her dowry probably wasn’t large enough to tempt an offer from a man who needed to refurbish his estate.
Though her parents had loved each other dearly, Allegra was now paying society’s price for Lady Grace succumbing to her attraction to the wrong sort of man. The bitter aftermath of her parents’ and then Uncle Robert’s deaths had burned into Allegra’s soul the realization of just how alone and without resources she had been left, caught between two worlds, truly at home in neither.
Uncle Robert’s bequest had given her the opportunity to change that. More than anything, she wanted a home and a place of her own. Regardless of Lord Tavener’s potent allure, Allegra didn’t intend to throw away her one chance at a secure future by becoming beguiled by a rogue.
Still, encouraging Lord Tavener’s attentions would set her on a risky path, walking a thin line between friendship and the power of his dangerous charm. But if doing so would jolt the handsome, honorable, peerless man of character she wanted into realizing he wanted her too, surely the risk was justified.
