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Chapter Four
Bella’s pulse racedas she entered her bedchamber and shut the door. A glance in the mirror revealed her flushed cheeks, her eyes dark with emotion. Friedrich was about to kiss her. But he just flirted with her. It could be nothing more. And if he had kissed her, she was sure she would give herself away and reveal the hopeless passion she held for him. It would embarrass a sophisticated man like him, for he would seek a light dalliance before he left England, and it would humiliate her.
When he’d carried her from the lake, she leaned her head against his hard chest and listened to his heart beating in time to hers, enjoying his fresh manly scent. She wanted to stay there forever.
She swiveled on her heels and walked the length from the bed to the fireplace and back. Oh, she loved him. She mustn’t love him. It was quite hopeless. But she wanted him so fiercely she burned for him.
By dinnertime, Bella had composed herself. Anna had curled her hair nicely and threaded a white ribbon through her curls. Her pretty evening gown, decorated with pink silk roses, gave her courage as she went downstairs to join the others in the drawing room.
“Ah, there you are, Bella,” Carrie said. “I was about to come and find you.”
“How delightful you look, Miss Leeming,” the countess said. “Does she not, Karl?” She looked very lovely herself in an exquisite beaded lavender gown, which suited her fair coloring.
“Indeed, you do, Miss Leeming.” Karl cast a knowing look at Friedrich, who nodded appreciatively.
When Abercrombie announced dinner, Bella feared she could not eat a bite. She took Friedrich’s arm to follow the others into the dining room. “I believe I was promised a game of checkers,” he said, smiling down at her. “Have you changed your mind?”
“No, of course not. You shan’t deny me the chance to trounce you,” she said, aware that his eyes were shadowed and that more lay behind his words. Was he sorry he’d tried to kiss her? What did he really feel for her? Was it only friendship and attraction? It should not matter, except that it did. Very much.
The eight courses made dinner a lengthy affair. She was barely aware of the delicious food. Nicholas’s talented French chef had created magnificent dishes, and Abercrombie served the best wines from the cellar.
Bella, aware of Friedrich across the table, wished she had kissed him. It would hurt even more to see him leave, but the memory would be so sweet. Something to keep close through the coming years, which would be difficult and require great patience until she could continue her career and be taken seriously. If the opportunity came again, she would kiss him. She yearned to find desire in his eyes and know that he wanted her. A thrill rushed through her, and she dropped her gaze to her plate, pushing the fresh asparagus served with a fine hollandaise sauce around with her fork.
Finally, after a splendid dessert, the ladies left the gentlemen to their port and settled in the drawing room. The countess and Carrie discussed their children. Maria had left her small son at home in Vienna.
It was not long before the gentlemen joined them.
“You’re quiet tonight, Bella.” Nicholas came to sit beside her. “Are you fatigued after your success at the ball?”
She shook her head. “I wasn’t particularly tired. It was all so thrilling.”
“Good. Will you ride with us in the morning? You shall have to rise early.”
“Yes, I’m sure a morning ride is exactly what I need.” She glanced up at Friedrich, who met her gaze with a slight nod. A smile lurked in his blue eyes. Her heart picked up a beat. How wonderful he looked in dark evening clothes, which were a perfect foil for his blond hair.
A table was set up near the fireplace for the four to play whist. On the other side of the room, Friedrich and Bella sat with the checkerboard before them.
“So,” he paused, a smile lifting his mouth in that attractive manner, “Shall we begin?”
Bella’s first move made him glance up at her with an arched eyebrow. “You have played this game before.”
She laughed. “Constantly. With Jeremy when he visits us on his holidays from Eton. It is his final year, he will then attend Oxford.”
“What does he wish to do after university?”
“Pursue a career in archeology. He wishes to go to Egypt. There’s a great deal of interest after Napoleon discovered the Rosetta stone.”
Friedrich nodded. “A remarkable find.”
During their play, Friedrich entertained her with tales of Vienna and the beautiful lakes with a backdrop of snowcapped mountains. It all sounded magnificent and sent a surge of longing through her. How divine it would be to have him show it to her. She bit her lip in consternation. Why was she continually upsetting herself with what could never be?
Before the hour was out, she won their game. Whether it was a fair win, she couldn’t be sure, as he was intent on making her laugh, his attention on her more than the play.
One more day, and he would be gone from her life, she thought, as she climbed the stairs to bed.
Carrie came in after Bella dismissed Anna. “You and Friedrich seem to get on very well,” she said, sitting on the bed.
“Isn’t he wonderful, Carrie? I fear I will never meet anyone to equal him.”
