AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The footman blanched. “Up the stairs,milady,but—”
She was not about to hear even onebut, especially not as she spotted the staircase just down the corridor. “I’ll manage on my own.” And then she made her way to the steps and climbed them with a determinedfocus.
The arrogant, egotistical bastard. Thinking he could just swoop into her life and make decrees that would be heeded simply becausehesaid so. Of all the high-handed…
Reaching the top of the stairs, Caroline glanced right and then left. Which way to search first? Luckily, a chambermaid stepped into the corridor and her eyes rounded in surprise at seeingCaroline.
“Lord Haversham’s chamber is…?” she askedthegirl.
“That door right there.” The maid gestured to the right and then said, “But,Miss—”
“Thank you,” Caroline replied before the girl could offer any sort of objection. She stalked to the door in question, fury still pounding in her veins, and she tossed the dooropen,and…
GoodHeavens!
Marc was sitting in the middle of a copper bathtub. His dark hair was wet as though it had just been washed, and soapy water clung to his chest which was…Well, his bare chest was quite remarkable, actually. Muscles that looked as though they’d been sculpted by Greek Gods. So blast him for that. Hewouldhave to be…remarkable. Caroline sucked in a surprised breath and was certain she was blushing to her roots as her gaze flashed to his face. Unfortunately, he’d always been more handsome than he had a right to be. Heavens, it was suddenly very warminhere.
“Caroline.” A rakish smile tipped the edge of his mouth, and his light blue eyes glinted wickedly. “What a surprise. Do come in. Shall I ringfortea?”
Oh, he was enjoying this. He was laughing at her. Not outwardly, of course, but that glint in his eyes… “Youplannedthis,” she accused. It was just like him to do something so untoward as to flummoxherand—
“You’re too clever for me,” he drawled, leaning back against the edge of his bathtub, and the soapy water sluiced up his chest, which she didnotwant to look at, remarkable as it was. “I’ve been sitting here for hours in tepid water on the off chance you might break down the door to my chambers and find me in such a state ofdishabille.”
She wouldn’t put itpasthim.
“However did you figure me out?” he continued smoothly. Then he dipped his hand into the bath and flicked soapy water in herdirection.
The water found her leg through the muslin of her gown, and it wasn’t tepid in the least. The water was quite warm, actually, as though it had recently been drawn. So…hehadn’tbeen waiting in bath water for hours on the off chance she would burst into his chambers. What a foolish thing to have even suggested. He just…Well, he always turned her thoughts inside and out until she couldn’t think straight. And if he hadn’t sackedTindle…
That’s right. She was there because he’d interfered in her life without warrant to do so. “I want my butlerback,Marc.”
He shrugged, which made the bathwater move against his skin once more. Heavens! She shouldn’t be here. It was the last place on Earth she shouldeverbe.
“The man had no fortitude, Caroline. You’re in much better hands withSimmons.”
Oh! She wanted to slug him. “I don’t wantbloodySimmons. I wantTindle.”
He seemed to bite back a smile, which only made her hate him even more. “What an interesting vocabulary you have,mydear.”
“You bring it out in me,” shesnapped.
“I must confess, I have often longed to hear naughty words slip from your tongue, though that wouldn’t be the first one I would choose if given thechoice.”
Whatever hewouldchoose, she never wanted to find out. “You arethemost vexing man alive, do youknowthat?”
That glint in his light eyes twinkled once again. “I have been told something similar once or twicebefore.”
She was getting nowhere with him like this. They could talk in circles all day and never get one blasted thing accomplished. “Youwillfind Tindle and you will return him to me. Are weclear?”
Marc gripped the edges of his tub and stood up. Water dripped down his body and Caroline gasped as she quickly spun around, but not quickly enough to keep from seeingeverypart of him, and… Well, his chest wasn’t the most remarkable part, apparently. Heavens! She’d never get the image of Marc’s very noteworthy, naked form from her memory, not as long as shelived.
“What are you doing?” shedemanded.
“You said I should find Tindle. I am always your most humbleservant.”
He hadn’t been called humble a day in his life, and she was certain he’d only grown more exasperating over the course of their friendship…not that they were friends any longer. But that was beside the point. “You could have waited until Iwasgone.”
She heard him rummaging through something behind her, but she didn’t dare to even glance over her shoulder to see what he was doing. And then he was right behind her, his strong hands on her shoulders, and Caroline’s stomach flipped. Good heavens, what was wrongwithher?
