How to Seduce a Scoundrel (31 page)

She realized she’d always thought of Hawk’s charming ways as a natural part of his personality. He could win over anyone with a wink or a jest. She couldn’t remember a time when he wasn’t teasing others.

“Dear God, what is this dreamy look on your face?” Georgette said.

Julianne blinked. “Oh, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

“You
are
different tonight,” Amy said.

Georgette nodded. “Something has happened between
you and Hawk. He kept gazing at you. I almost felt as if the two of you were communicating without words.”

She shrugged. “I’ve known him forever, so his habits are no mystery to me.”

“We know you too well to accept that explanation,” Amy said gently. “You’ve ranted about Hawk for weeks now, and tonight you’re both suddenly in accord? It makes no sense.”

“I suppose we just grew weary of fighting all of the time.”

Georgette and Amy exchanged knowing glances.

Julianne said nothing. Not long ago, she’d admitted he’d kissed her, but she would say nothing to her friends about the events of this afternoon. What had transpired with Hawk should remain private. Even if she were tempted to reveal it, she didn’t know how to explain his behavior and her confusing feelings. And there was a part of her that didn’t want to examine too closely what had happened between them. She wanted to hold on to the bubbly feelings that had enveloped her this afternoon and again tonight.

“You know you can tell us anything,” Amy said. “That is what friends are for.”

Julianne looked at her clasped hands in her lap and decided to tell them just enough to satisfy their curiosity. “We had another row not long ago. He asked if we could be friends instead of enemies.” She lifted her gaze. “I agreed.”

“Julianne, you’re not falling in love with him again, are you?” Georgette asked.

“We’ve always been friends. If he’d not become my guardian, we never would have been at odds.” She’d tried to deny her feelings, but she’d never fallen out of love with him.

Georgette shook her head. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Must you interrogate me?” she said irritably.

Amy gave her a worried look. “He hurt you terribly. We cannot bear to see you suffer heartbreak again.”

“My mother said he’s not the marrying kind,” Georgette said. “My brother agreed.”

Julianne bit her lip. She’d never said anything to Georgette about her despicable brother. Now she wondered if she’d done the right thing by keeping silent. But what good would come of telling Georgette about her brother’s loathsome pursuit? She certainly could not tell her friend about the bad blood between Hawk and Ramsey, for Georgette would surely defend her brother.

“You are not one to keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself,” Amy said. “I’m the one who weighs every word, but tonight you are saying very little. Has Hawk given you any sign he’s formed an attachment?”

Yes and no
. “He is my friend, as he has always been.”

“If you meant to reassure us, you have not,” Georgette said. “Would a true friend mislead you about his feelings and then call you his sister?”

A flush suffused her face. She stood. “I must go.”

“I’m sorry.” Georgette rose as well. “Please forgive me. I’m only concerned—”

Julianne held her hand up. “I know you mean well, but I don’t want to pull apart my feelings at the seams like an old gown I’ve outgrown.”

“We don’t want to see you hurt again,” Amy said.

“This is not between me and the two of you,” Julianne said. “It’s between me and Hawk.”

They gasped as she turned and hurried from the retiring
room. Her heated feelings had shown on her face, and still they’d persisted with their badgering. It had felt as if they’d seen her happiness and wanted to burst it like a soap bubble.

As she climbed the stairs, she realized her vexation stemmed from the fact that her friends had brought up her own fears. And she’d not wanted to face those fears today.

Upon reaching the landing, she caught Ramsey staring at her. She averted her gaze, lifted her skirts, and walked past him.

He caught up to her. “Lady Julianne, please wait.”

“You can have nothing to say that I wish to hear.”

“Even an apology?”

She didn’t trust him. “This is another ruse.”

“What?” His sandy brows drew together.

She turned her back, a cut direct. When she took a step forward, his voice froze her.

“I saw you with him at the park today.”

Shock descended over her like icy pellets. She whirled around. “You spied on me?”

He visibly recoiled. “How could you make such an accusation?”

“You’ve given me every reason to mistrust and dislike you.”

“I walk in the park in the early afternoon when it’s deserted. The solitude helps me to think.” His mouth twisted bitterly. “Ask my sister if you do not believe me.”

“Your habits are none of my concern, and my life is none of your affair,” she said. “You have continued to beleaguer me in spite of my guardian’s wishes and my own, but you will not have another opportunity. This is
our last conversation. From this moment forward, I will never acknowledge your presence again.”

“I saw him kissing you.” He held his fist to his chest. “I cannot even describe to you how I felt.”

She saw the misery in his blue eyes and looked away. “If you were a gentleman, you would not have mentioned it.”

“Open your eyes, Lady Julianne. He’s persuaded you I’m the devil incarnate, but he bases his opinion on events that took place more than a dozen years ago.”

Lady Boswood had said something similar about her son’s youthful past.

Julianne wet her lips. “The animosity is between you and him. I am powerless in this matter.”

“Before you cede more to him, you might want to consider what kind of man would refuse to shake my hand and let the past go,” he said.

“You almost refused to shake his hand after your fencing match,” she hissed. “So do not think to pull the wool over my eyes.”

He met her gaze. “Why do you think I hesitated?”

Chill bumps erupted on her arms. “What happened to cause the bad blood between you?”

Ramsey shook his head. “The specifics are irrelevant now. He deserved to be angry then, but to hold a grudge for more than twelve years is beyond all reason.”

“No one hates another without cause.”

He hesitated. “My friends and I tricked him. He was much younger and fell for the scheme.”

“There is something you’re not telling me. I want the truth.”

“You’ll have to ask him. And for the record, I don’t
hate him. I only hate that he stands between us and does it to get revenge.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said. “You’re slanting the truth to make yourself appear in a better light.”

“You asked me what happened. Why did you not ask him?”

She stiffened.

Ramsey nodded. “You asked, and he refused to tell you, didn’t he?”

She knew her silence confirmed his suspicion.

“Perhaps it’s not me you should disbelieve.”

She shivered as he strode toward the ballroom.

The double doors opened and a noisy crowd of guests spilled out. Hundreds of people emerged and headed toward the staircase. Julianne stepped back and found herself trapped against the wall. Panic gripped her.

She started gulping for air. She felt suffocated.

Hawk. She wanted Hawk. Nothing else in the world mattered. Because after everyone had warned her about him this evening, she needed his reassurance.

She made herself push into the crowd. “Hawk!”

A Scoundrel’s Code of Conduct: The road to good intentions is paved with posies.

H
awk stood in the ballroom, craning his head trying to find Julianne. She’d promised to return promptly. He told himself something must have happened, but the denial made him angry. She’d manipulated him again.

He walked over to the nearly empty punch bowl, poured himself a cup, and downed it in two gulps. The brandy burned his throat. He set the cup aside and watched the crowd shuffle out the door. The laughter and din of voices grated on his nerves.

A stir erupted among the crowd. And her voice pierced through the hundreds of voices. “Hawk!” she cried.

He strode forward, pushing past people. “Julianne?”

Others were staring at him, but he didn’t care.

“Hawk, where are you?”

The crowd parted a little. “Hawk!”

“I’m here,” he called out, shoving past the other guests and ignoring their complaints.

She broke through. Her face was ghostly white. He threw his arm around her shoulders. “Let us pass,” he said. “She is unwell.”

A chorus of concerned voices erupted, but at last others stepped aside and let them pass. His heart was beating fast as he managed to withdraw her from the crowd. She was trembling.

He found an empty adjoining drawing room and took her to a sofa. Then he sat beside her with his arm around her shoulder. “Shhh. You’re safe now.”

“The doors opened. When all the people emerged, I got trapped against the wall.”

He nuzzled her hair. “You must have been frightened.”

“I couldn’t stand it, so I pushed through the crowd. It felt as if I were swimming upstream. I caused a scene, but I wanted you.”

I wanted you, too
. “You were panicked, but it’s over now.”

“I wish I’d never left,” she whispered.

He smoothed an errant wisp of hair from her cheek. “Where are your friends?”

“I left them in the ladies’ retiring room,” she said in a miserable voice.

“Did you have a disagreement with them?”

She shrugged one shoulder.

“Do you want to tell me?” he asked.

She wet her lips. “You know what it is like when well-meaning people offer advice and try a bit too hard to influence you?”

He thought of his mother and sisters and nodded.

“I didn’t like it when they worked on me and persisted,” she said. “They made me angry, but just because we are friends does not give them the right to pry and poke.”

“I won’t pry or poke, but if you wish to discuss the matter, I will listen,” he said.

“No, there is a matter that is more critical,” she said.

The fine hairs on his neck stiffened.

“One of the reasons I got trapped was because Ramsey waylaid me.”

“He is spoiling for a fight,” Hawk said between gritted teeth.

“I started to walk away, but he said he’d seen us at the park.”

“What?” His heartbeat drummed in his ears.

She moistened her lips. “He claimed he walks there every day. He said his sister would confirm it, but I think he knows I cannot ask her without arousing suspicion.”

He inhaled. “Did he see us kiss?”

“Yes.”

He released her. God, he’d been an idiot.

“What can Ramsey do?” Julianne said.

“He can write your brother. Tristan will not take this lightly. I’m your guardian, for God’s sake.”

“Doesn’t my brother know Ramsey’s character? Tristan would not think well of a man who resorted to tattling like a schoolboy.”

“If Ramsey does inform him, your brother will ask me. I won’t lie to him.” He paused. “I should not have kissed you.”

“I should not have let you, but we’ve been partners in mischief for years.” She tilted her head slightly. “It was a natural evolution.”

It was pure lust, but he thought better of admitting it. “Nevertheless, I am your guardian, and it was wrong of me.”

“Hawk, it was a kiss. We put our toes on the boundaries, but we didn’t step over them.” She paused and added, “If Tristan finds out, we will act sheepish and say we made a mistake.”

“Your brother is likely to plant his fist in my face.”

“I’ll tell him not to be ridiculous. Besides, I suspect he and Tessa did more than talk all those times he called upon her.”

Hawk kept his mouth shut, but he recalled the night he’d caught Tristan and Tessa alone in the dark library at Ashdown House. The memory gave him an idea. “I’ll tell your brother I apologized profusely. He’ll probably still try to beat me to a pulp, but I’ll live.”

“Don’t worry. Tessa won’t let him.”

Hawk drew in his breath. “I apologize profusely for kissing you, but not for stealing your bonnet. There, it’s official.”

She laughed, but her expression sobered. “There is another matter Ramsey brought up.”

Every muscle in his body tensed. “What did he say?”

“He said you hang on to a grudge against him for something that happened a dozen years ago. When I questioned him, he admitted that he and his friends tricked you.”

He’d kill Ramsey if he’d told her about that sordid house party. “What else did he say?”