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Eliza’s stomach lurched and she blinked. What was he suggesting? She would rather die than read it with Nathaniel. Then again, she would rather be buried alive under a mountain of rank earth than read with Thomas.
Without thinking, she did what she hoped might save her from complete humiliation.
“I suppose I really cannot perform this alone, can I? Would you be so kind as to join me by reading Romeo’s lines, Doctor?”
Nathaniel beamed at the invitation and pushed out of his chair. “Why, it would be my pleasure, Juliet.”
Chapter Seventeen
This is ludicrous. Thomas forced himself to calm his tensing muscles and strained to keep from jumping out of his chair when Eliza asked Nathaniel to read.
Better to have Nathaniel performing with her, that much was certain. The last thing he needed was to stand next to her, to smell her sweet fragrance, gaze into her dark eyes, and feel the warmth of her body radiating only a few inches from his.
No. Let Nathaniel do it. Thomas had never been very good at reading aloud anyway.
While the two performers held the book and reviewed their lines, standing much too close, Kitty leaned over to him from her chair. “Liza does this so well. I can’t wait for you to see it. It will be divine!”
Thomas’s insides solidified and he didn’t know how to respond. “We’ll see.”
Eliza stepped forward. “Kitty, I remember how you used to like
to ‘announce’ me. Would you do us the honors?”
“With pleasure!” Kitty stood in front of the fire. In her most poised tone she announced the entertainment. “Ladies and gentleman, Romeo and Juliet, act two scene two.”
Once she’d taken her seat, Nathaniel cleared his throat and began.
“But soft!”
Even at the beginning of the monologue, Nathaniel made it painfully clear he was no actor. He read flat and stumbled over his words. None of that seemed to bother him or Eliza. She looked at him and smiled, trying hard not to laugh. He chuckled at his mistakes and continued on, sending Kitty an occasional smile.
Thomas sighed, his tense shoulders relaxing into the chair behind him. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as he’d imagined. So long as things didn’t get too intimate, he could sit through it.
When Eliza’s turn came to read, her voice floated like a song. The words flowed from her—she became the part. Her eyes filled with longing as she spoke the words. Thomas became so mesmerized he nearly forgot how uncomfortable he’d been to have his best friend reading by her side instead of him.
Thomas looked at Nathaniel. It was apparent she had entranced him as well. His friend couldn’t seem to look away and smiled with more sincerity than Thomas had ever seen from him. When his turn came, his voice dripped emotion—however ridiculous he continued to sound—and he drew Eliza closer.
Suddenly the temperature of the room increased by twenty degrees.
Thomas’s mouth went dry and he took off his jacket, but the room was still too hot. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his sleeves and rolled them up.
Eliza and Nathaniel went back and forth, getting more comfortable and more absorbed in their roles. They appeared to be having a marvelous time. Too marvelous.
Thomas’s legs burned as if he’d sat on a pile of ants. He had to use all his endurance not to squirm and move about in his chair.
Twice Eliza had snuck a peek at him between lines, gifting him with a titillating smile. He hoped she didn’t notice his uncomfortable writhing and assume he didn’t care for her performance, because he did care for it. Very much. Too much.
“I would not for the world they saw thee here,” Eliza said.
“I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes.” Nathaniel failed again with miserable cruelty at his dramatic attempts, but he made up for it with flare.
Eliza pressed her lips down as if to try to hold back a smile and accompanying giggle.
Nathaniel moved closer to her as he spoke. She no longer needed the book. It was evident her memory had been refreshed, so Nathaniel held it in one hand, and placed his other around her waist. She moved closer, placed her hand on his chest and gazed up at him. Nathaniel pulled her completely against him.
Thomas gripped the upholstery to keep from bolting out of his chair.
He looked at Kitty, expecting her to be just as riled. She smiled as big as the sky with her head at a slant.
