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The countess’s eyes widened slightly; however, Lady Pippa lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant yet elegant shrug and took a sip of tea. “Is it not the way of courtship, to first send flowers or some poem and then pay a visit for mild discourse?”
William damn well tripped.Courtship?The countess hid her smile behind her cup, before setting it down on the small table with a click. Both ladies stood and dipped into elegant curtsies and greeted him most charmingly.
“Lady Chisholm, Lady Phillipa,” William said, a bit too gravely. Especially given that his damn heart was racing like he was a lad about to discover something wonderful. He bloody well did not like the damn feeling.
“I do feel the need for some fresh air, Lord Trent,” the countess murmured, that mysterious smile about her mouth. “I shall of course, leave the door ajar while I take a turn about your garden. I trust that you find this satisfactory?”
“Very,” he said enigmatically, feeling some satisfaction when both ladies appeared a trifle uncertain.
The countess swished from the room, and William kept his gaze on Lady Phillipa, observing the way she smoothed the front of her pale yellow gown down the front, and that she bit into her lower lip several times. All nervous gestures. So the lady was not as unflappable as she seemed.
“Why are you here?” he demanded as soon as the countess was no longer in hearing proximity.
Lady Pippa’s eyes flashed with something akin to defiance. It stirred something hot and visceral inside William’s gut, and he took a step closer to her beguiling sweetness.
“Is this the manner in how you greet all your callers, my lord?”
“I am never called upon, especially not by young debutantes.”
Her mouth tipped into a smile. “I am hardly a debutante, William. I am no longer a shy lady of eighteen years who is uncertain about the things she wants from life.”
God, the way she said his name scraped rawly against his nerves. Suddenly he knew that he could not allow this woman closer. He would take what she so innocently offered and hurt her abominably in the process. William did not want to hurt her, ever. That he knew it with such certainty shook him to the core. “And what is it that you have determined you want from life?”
Her bold, raking gaze said it washim. He almost laughed, for he was a seasoned debaucher, and this bit of innocence was tripping up his insides. “I am a man of one and thirty and you are a chit of one and twenty,” he growled, sitting scandalously close beside her, enough so that her knee brushed against his. “You are playing a game where you do not even know the rules, Lady Pippa.”
“This is not a game for me,” she whispered, her gaze flicking to the open doorway and then back to him. “I am very much interested in getting to know you. Do you not have a similar curiosity, my lord?”
He damn well did. Even to his own hearing, William’s breath seemed uneven for a moment. “Do you know what I do to ladies who come uninvited to my home?”
Hell, he knew his actions would damn well scare her off, but it was necessary. He was not inclined to marry anytime soon, and a lady like Pippa would demand marriage. Whatever nonsense she had fashioned in her thoughts about him and her needed to be forgotten, by any means necessary.
“I suppose you ravish them,” she said with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “I have not come for ravishment, hence why I brought a chaperone. I merely wanted to invite you to take me for a drive in Hyde Park in your new barouche.”
William couldn’t help laughing. “So you know of my new barouche, hmm?”
“I do. The scandal sheets thought it important to mention that it is gold lacquered.”
“Young ladies do not invite gentlemen to drive with them, Pippa.” He bit back a curse at her challenging smile.
She lightly trailed her finger over his jawline. “Come now, William, we have already established I am not like any lady you’ve ever met.”
He took her chin between his hands, silently cursing at the wonderful softness of her skin. Her lips parted and her eyes flicked to the open door once more.
“Do you think I care the door is open and your supposed chaperone or one of my servants could enter at any time?” he murmured, sliding a thumb across her lower lip.
She lurched away from him, stood, and hastened toward the door. Sensing she meant to close it, William went after her, grabbed her around the waist and pressed her against the wall. “I thought you delighted in taking risks,” he said, his teeth gently nipping at her ear.
The hitch of her breath flowed through him, and he closed his eyes on a breath of regret for having to teach her this lesson.
“I find you wildly attractive, Pippa,” he said softly. “In truth, I want you to know I cannot ever recall wanting another woman in my lifetime. That want is purely sexual, do you understand?”
“That is the point of a courtship,” she said raggedly, clutching at his shoulders. “To see if the wanting goes deeper and perhaps if we might want more.”
“I know I am not interested in marriage, and you are a lady a man marries. I would gladly take you as my lover, Pippa, but I can see the want for more in your eyes. I will not deceive you and make promises of more. I might be considered a rake about town by some, by God, but I have been honest with every lady I’ve interacted with.”
Her throat worked on a swallow, then she met his stare, a sweetly taunting smile touching her lush mouth. “Perhaps I am not afraid of being your lover, William…to decide on this is not only the purview of gentlemen. What men have done…we ladies can certainly do, hmm?”
Then the wicked little minx leaned forward and nipped him on his bottom lip.
