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9
Oh, bloody hell.
Maggie, Romy’s sister-in-law, claimed cursing, even if you didn’t do so out loud, was a great way to calm emotions which otherwise might grow out of hand. And Romy knew a great deal of vile words, thanks to her brothers. Leo, in particular, had a colorful vocabulary.
Granby was alone, sneaking up on her while she admired his gardens. She tilted her chin upward to meet his gaze, refusing to appear the least intimidated because he probably wanted her to be. A warm prickling sensation moved slowly up her arms and down across her chest, causing a soft flutter above her heart.
Romy tried to pull away, startled when his fingers curled more firmly around her own. She stared at their clasped hands, his so much larger, dwarfing hers.
She forced her gaze to the edge of his coat. The hem was perfect.
“Does everything meet withyourapproval, Lady Andromeda?” The low, caramel-tinged words wrapped softly around her.
She snatched her hand from his. “The gardens do. Meet with my approval, that is.” Her heart floundered about inside her ribs, beating out an uneven rhythm. “Your gardens are magnificent. I have a marked preference for roses.”
“Because of the thorns?”
Ebony waves blew against his cheek and fell over one eye. Granby possessed beautiful,wildhair. Too long and not carefully trimmed like his friend Blythe’s. The dark strands matched the rambling expanse of his gardens but little else about him. Admiring his hair led naturally to the curve of his cheek and rigid line of his jaw. There was an unearthly beauty about Granby, a rawness to his looks which was absent in most of the gentlemen she knew.
“Especially the thorns,” Romy answered.
“Seems fitting. After all, you are not without your own.”
Granby’s lips were full and sensual, much more noticeable when he wasn’t scowling. Consumed with observing his mouth, Romy at first didn’t acknowledge the thinly veiled insult.
Dragging her gaze from his lips, she drew herself up. “I have a preference for roses because, despite their looks, they are surprisingly hardy. Though I suppose if a rose dared to defy you, Your Grace, you would instruct your gardener to rip the entire bush out by the roots.Sacked, as it were.”
It was gratifying to see the slight flare of his nostrils as her words hit their mark.
Point in my favor.
“I must confess, Lady Andromeda, I am relieved to find you.”
“Are you?” He was standing much too close to her, the breeze shifting. She caught the scent of trees and shaving soap as a delicious heat wafted off his much larger body in her direction, tendrils caressing against the tops of her breasts and across her arms.
“Relieved?” The word was unsteady on her lips.
“You very nearly disappeared after rounding a cluster of hawthorn bushes. My gardeners could easily have mistaken you as ashruband accidentally wielded their pruning shears in your direction. It would have ruined the house party.” He tilted his head to peer down at her. “And your dress.”
Romy had the distinct impression that he was admiring her bosom, a curious sensation which sent another ripple of heat down her body. “I doubt I was ever in any danger,” she said through her teeth. “I’m sure yourstaffis quite observant.” Not bothering to add the implication that Granby himself was not.
“I must ask, Lady Andromeda.” The silky rumble drifted over her skin. “Are you angry with me because I thought you a servant at Madame Dupree’s or that I asked to have you sacked for your impudence?”
“That? I’d forgotten all about your arrogant behavior that day, putting it from my mind as I do most things which I find unpleasant.”
His beautiful lips disappeared into another scowl.
Romy should bid him good day and return to the terrace. It was poor form to stand and throw petty insults at her host, but she seemed unable to help herself. Granby was such a deserving target. One that sent her pulse racing with his very presence.
“I picture you marching about different establishments,” she continued. “Ordering the proprietors to dismiss their loyal employees for any minor infraction you deem offensive.”
“You are the most annoying creature I’ve ever met,” he said in a casual tone. “You’ve not an ounce of self-preservation in addition to your other arrogant, insulting behavior.”
Romy hissed, preparing a scathing speech with which to bring him low, but when she glanced up at him, there was no chilly dismissal as he looked at her. Not a hint of disdain. Instead, his eyes resembled the embers of a fire which had burned for hours, full of banked heat.
“You weren’t angry about my arrogance,” he murmured softly as the ebony locks of his hair danced against his cheek, buffeted by the breeze. “At least, not completely.”
“I wasn’t?” Romy found it difficult to breathe as it seemed Granby had sucked up all the available air around her.
