AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The top of her head barely reached his shoulders, making her a little shorter than average, but nothing else about her was. For one, her eyelashes wereridiculouslylong. Then there was the delicate slope of her nose, the finely pointed chin, and the lushly curved mouth. She wasn’t classically beautiful like Lady Arlington, but it was a face he could imagine staring at for a long time and never growing tired of. For years, even.
His entire body tensed. Where hadthatthought come from?
“Here,” he prompted, handing her the first Inspector DuMonde book. “My valet swears by this series. There’s murder, intrigue, and a bit with a dog.”
She took the book from his hands, and Rafe stepped back until he couldn’t smell lavender. Until he couldn’t feel the heat that blossomed so easily between them. But as their eyes met, her steel-gray gaze felt like an unexpected punch to the gut, and his abdomen automatically tightened. The ingrained response was usually reserved for bodily threats, not sharp-tongued spinsters. And to think he had been waiting all evening for her to look over at him.
“And romance?” she asked after a moment. Her eyes had gone rather limpid, but she stood firmly in place, her body as rigid as his own.
The question slowly penetrated his woolly brain. “Pardon?”
Her tongue darted out as she wet her lower lip. Was the movement involuntary, or an invitation? “Lady Arlington,” she rasped. “She sits with us sometimes in the evening and asked for something with a bit of romance.”
“Oh.” She had been asking about the book. Nothim. “I believe there is a plucky assistant and a mysterious heiress who vie for his affections throughout in the series.”
Miss Sparrow gave a dismissive sniff and rolled her eyes. “Of course they do,” she muttered.
Her visible annoyance over a tired cliché was adorable. Rafe had to suppress the smile tugging at his lips. She then addressed him with perfect politeness. “Thank you. I think they’ll both enjoy this.”
“My pleasure,” he said, the words coming out more roughly than he intended. Rafe cleared his throat. He should take his leave. Say good night and make sure to keep his distance. But his mind would not give up just yet. “And what about you?”
She tilted her head at the question. “Me?”
“Do you share Mrs. Crawford’s bloodlust?”
Miss Sparrow finally smiled a little. “Somewhat.” She looked back at the shelves and began to run a finger lazily over the spines. “Do you think Mr. Wardale stocked this room, or did these come with the house?”
Rafe swallowed and shifted on his feet as he imagined that finger drawing a path down him instead. “My understanding is that the previous owner’s wife was an avid reader.”
She made a murmur of approval. “And an eclectic one.” She paused at one book and turned back to him. “Have you readThe Gadfly?”
Rafe frowned at the mention of the sensational and, in his opinion, melodramatic novel that had been published by Ethel Voynich only several months ago. “She’s a Communist, you know.”
Miss Sparrow smiled again, undaunted by the censure in his voice. “The author? Yes, I do. But it’s about a romance.”
“And a revolution.”
Her gaze flickered, as if she had only just recalled where she was and who she was with. Her arm fell away from the shelf, and she hugged the book tightly to her chest. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“People can get hurt.”
People like her.
She glanced down, not bothering to hide the disappointment on her face. “I suppose someone like you is invested in maintaining the status quo, no matter the cost.”
It took him a moment to realize she was referring to his family. Not his work.
“I’m not opposed to change, Miss Sparrow,” he said tartly. “But I don’t think marching in the streets is the best way to achieve it.”
“Sometimes that’s the only way to be heard.”
Of all the things he thought might occur when she stepped into this room, debating the merits of public protest was decidedlynotamong them.
“That is what parliament is for. So the laws can be debated and changed accordingly.” Christ, he sounded so much like Gerard, he wanted to kick himself.
Her eyes rightly flashed with anger. “Well over half the population isn’t even allowed thevote, Mr. Davies.”
Oh, but he had walked right into that one. He understood her outrage, even agreed with it, but the Honorable Rafe Davies couldn’t possibly.
