Wedding Night With the Earl (18 page)

But he couldn’t be sure.

And no matter how much he wanted to see her, he couldn’t. He was as involved in her life as he wanted to get. There was something about her that had touched him deep in his soul the moment he saw her standing by the dance floor, and that hadn’t lessened. If anything, it had grown stronger. He must keep his distance from her, stay focused on the work he was doing with his solicitors, and then leave London and start touring his estates just as he had planned.

Whenever he was with her, he felt good. Happy, even. He wanted to get close to her, touch her hand, her cheek, just touch her. Feeling those things could only take him places with her he didn’t want to go. He couldn’t let himself become a part of whatever concerned her.

The hell of it was that Miss Wright was wrong for him.

“Here comes Harrison,” Bray said.

Adam leaned back in his chair and winced inside. No doubt he’d have to go through the entire conversation again. Sometimes having best friends was a damned nuisance.

He drained the tankard and motioned for another drink.

Chapter 17

’Tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church door; but ’tis enough, ’twill serve.

—Romeo and Juliet,
act 3, scene 1

Katherine, her maid, and her driver climbed the six steps that led to the front door of the large building that housed the small Potts Orphanage. They had been there three times before when it was Katherine’s turn to collect the clothing articles from the Wilted Tea ladies, so they knew the routine.

There was no use grasping the heavy iron door knocker because no one would answer it. The house was left unlocked during the day. If you had business inside, you simply went in and looked around until you found someone who could help you. Thankfully, they already knew where to deposit the clothing in the drafty old structure.

The foyer was an empty, sizable square room that had several corridors leading off it. The long corridors were mostly empty rooms, too. She remembered walking down three of them before she found someone to talk to the first time they visited. Mrs. Potts had told Katherine that she could fill the rooms with children if only she had the money and staff to do so.

As they passed one of the corridors, Katherine heard a voice that caused her to stop and look down the passageway. Her heart started beating a little faster. The man sounded just like the Earl of Greyhawke.

But why would he be at an orphanage?

Her maid and driver stopped, too. “No,” she told them. “You two go ahead and deliver the baskets. I will either catch up with you in a few minutes or meet you back at the front door.”

She stared down the wide corridor. The voices seemed to be coming from about the third door down. It probably wasn’t him, Katherine tried to convince herself. But she had to be sure. And even if it wasn’t His Lordship, she wanted to see the man who sounded so much like the elusive earl.

Slowly and with soft footsteps, she turned and tiptoed down the corridor. She didn’t know why she was walking so softly or slowly. It wasn’t as if she planned to eavesdrop on the conversation and didn’t want anyone to know she was there. She simply wanted to get closer and see who was in that room. Cautiously, she took a few more steps, then stopped when she saw the man was backing out of the doorway, talking to someone.

“Yes, Mrs. Potts. I would appreciate that. I look forward to hearing from you on the matter.”

He turned and stopped in his tracks when he saw her standing in the middle of the corridor not a dozen paces in front of him. Her skin prickled with anticipation. He held his black greatcoat over his arm and his hat in his hand. Katherine had never seen him look more dashingly handsome in fawn-colored riding breeches with shiny black knee-high boots and a camel-colored waistcoat and coat. And as certain as she knew her name, by his expression, Katherine knew that Lord Greyhawke was glad to see her. And by the racing of her pulse, she knew she was glad to see him, too.

“Miss Wright,” he said, striding in eagerness toward her. “What are you doing here?”

She gave him a ladylike shrug. “I was going to ask you the same question.”

“Ladies first,” he answered, stopping a respectable distance from her.

“I was dropping off some things the Wilted Tea Society collected for the children who live here.”

“Thank goodness,” he said, an easy smile coming to his lips. “When I first saw you, I thought you might be a mirage.”

“Do you see me as unreal or unattainable, my lord?”

His brandy-colored eyes met her stare for stare. “Perhaps. When I look at you as I am now.” He paused. The corners of his mouth lifted devilishly. “But when I realized you were actually standing in front of me and you were not an illusion, I wondered about the possibility that Miss Wright might be following me.”

Her eyebrows lifted a little and so did her chin. She made no effort to hide her amusement as she casually folded her gloved hands together in front of her. “And why would you suspect that, my lord?”

“It’s simple. I take a walk in the park and it just so happens I see you taking a walk in the park. I come to the orphanage and you come to the orphanage. Do you see why I might think this?”

She chuckled softly. “Yes, but you have it wrong. It must be you who is following me. You never told me why you are here, and I freely confessed my mission.”

“You’re right,” he admitted. “I didn’t. This is where Dixon was first left after his mother died. When he was found and brought to me on the coast, I was told some of his things had remained here. I came to ask about them for him.”

Her smile faded. “I hope they had them.”

“Yes. Thankfully. Mrs. Potts has them safely stored away in the attic. I made arrangements with her to have them picked up tomorrow.”

“That’s a kind thing for you to do, my lord. I’m sure he’ll appreciate having all his possessions with him.”

“It’s the right thing to do, Miss Wright. I told Dixon I was coming to look into claiming his possessions. He said he wanted to come with me, but when we arrived, he refused to get out of the carriage.”

Her eyes softened. “Do you suppose he thought you might leave him here?”

“That could be it, I guess. But why didn’t he just tell me he didn’t want to come?”

“Maybe because he is five years old and not yet a young man who knows what he wants or what he can handle.”

“I think that could very well be true, Miss Wright. So it’s true. There is actually a society called Wilted Tea?”

She laughed a little. “Indeed there is. We know that not everyone sees the humor in our name, as do those of us who belong to the group. But yes, as odd as it sounds, that is what we call our little society.”

“You wouldn’t want to know the names of some of the groups that I belonged to when I was a younger man, and I wouldn’t tell you if by chance you did.”

“I’ve heard that gentlemen enjoy their secret societies.”

“We do, and it’s best that I not talk about them in front of a lady.”

“Why is that?”

His expression questioned her. “Is that a personal inquiry from you, Miss Wright?”

“If it is, I’m glad I was the first one to ask this time. It’s usually you who ventures headlong where only angels go.”

“It’s difficult to be a gentleman at all times, Miss Wright. It seems that at your uncle’s dinner party we aroused suspicions in a few people as to the real reason you were in my arms.”

“Unfortunately, that is so.”

His eyes and lips softened. “I didn’t want that to happen. Has the gossip been bad for you?”

“You could have called on me to find out.”

His expression changed to one of uncertainty, and she wondered if he felt she’d been too forward.

“You’re right. I could have. I wanted to. It’s just—”

“Nothing for you to worry about, my lord,” she interrupted, taking him off the hook she had just placed him on. “My aunt cleverly convinced everyone that I exchanged dinner plates with you because yours had a chip in it, and the duke has convinced everyone you were my savior that night by lifting his injured niece off the ground and rushing her into the house before she could catch consumption.”

He grimaced. “You’re right. I should have stopped by to see you. The reasons I didn’t are purely selfish ones.”

“You’ve been busy, I know.”

“You are not going to let me get off that easy, are you?”

“You chose not to call on me.”

“I didn’t because I know that you, Miss Wright, are wrong for me. It’s best I stay away from you.”

Katherine’s breath caught in her lungs. Did that mean he had been as affected by their kisses as she had? Did it mean that when he looked at her, he felt the same wonderful feelings she felt when she looked at him? And if he did, was the problem that he felt he was betraying the memory of his beloved wife?

Her gaze held fast to his. “Is that why I haven’t even seen you at any of the balls or parties?”

“I told you I didn’t come to London to attend the Season, that it’s mainly for those who want to be on the marriage mart.”

“Yet you came to my uncle’s for dinner.”

“Yes, but when we met, I realized that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have gone.”

“Because we kissed?”

He stepped closer to her, keeping his intense gaze on hers. “No, not because of it, but because of the way we kissed, because of the way it felt.” He stopped. “I came to London for business reasons, and as soon as I’ve accomplished them, I will be leaving.”

His words felt like a stab to her heart, and she took a step back. “Oh, I didn’t know you would be leaving.”

“Yes,” he said on a sharp intake of breath. “And you will be continuing to get to know and measure Lord Rudyard and other gentlemen who are pursuing you in your quest for a husband.”

“Yes, of course I will,” she agreed, feeling an odd sense of rejection. “I told you I promised my uncle I would settle on a husband by the end of the Season. I won’t go back on my word.”

“It’s a shame he’s put a time restraint on you about that.”

“He is past ready for me to be some other man’s responsibility. He feels he must fulfill his duty to my father and see me properly wed. I am holding up his fulfilling that obligation.” She paused and let her gaze gently, slowly, sweep up and down his face. “I will settle on someone. I must. But I want you to know I will never forget our kiss. And I am pleased that my first kiss came from you.”

Lord Greyhawke swore. He reached over and opened the door to his left and looked around. Then, without saying a word, he grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her inside with him.

Chapter 18

Men that hazard all

Do it in hope of fair advantages.

—The Merchant of Venice,
act 2, scene 7

Despite reason and common sense, Adam shut them inside and backed Katherine against the door. They remained quiet for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. They both knew he shouldn’t have done it, but neither of them was going to do anything to correct it.

Just looking at her caused Adam’s lower stomach to tighten and a surge of desire to catch between his legs.

Thank God she hadn’t screamed or resisted him when he’d seized her wrist and pulled her with him into the empty room. This was probably the worst idea he’d ever had, except perhaps for kissing her on her front lawn, but Adam could no longer bear not touching her, and this cold chamber gave them privacy.

He had tried to stay away from her. By the holy saints, he’d tried. And he’d actually been good about doing it, for him, anyway, forcing himself not to go to the places she might be: the dinner parties, the balls, the opera, and all the other social gatherings he’d had every intention of enjoying when he’d first arrived in London. But that was when he’d thought that after living in isolation for so long, he’d be able to dance, banter, and enjoy a lively social Season with delightful young ladies who would be no danger to his heart.

Miss Wright had shattered that idea his very first night out.

But what was he to do when fate kept seeing to it that their paths crossed?

And now at an orphanage, of all places!

Fate wasn’t fickle after all. It was a menace, creating trouble for him at every turn, knowing he desired Katherine Wright more than he had ever desired another woman, and knowing that he was no saint.

Katherine’s beautiful, sparkling green eyes smiled at him as he gazed down into their depths. He breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t frightened or angry with him for forcing her to come with him. Hope flared inside him that maybe she had wanted this time alone with him as much as he’d wanted to be alone with her.

He caressed her soft cheek with his fingertips, letting them slowly trace the outline of her gorgeous lips. His fingers continued to travel down her face to where the ribbon of her bonnet was tied under her chin. He pulled on the end of it and the bow unraveled. With a steady hand, he untied the sash that held her short velvet cape together, letting it slide off her shoulders, drop to the floor, and pool at the back of her feet.

The neckline of her pale gray dress was just low enough that he could see the gentle billow of her breasts. How glorious it would be if he could completely disrobe her. But that would be far too foolish. Instead, he reached down and kissed each firm swell, then enjoyed hearing the sharp intake of her breath. Adam lifted his head but kept his face very close to hers. He placed his middle finger at the hollow of her throat and let it rest. There he found the telltale sign of her wildly beating pulse and knew excitement was building inside her, too.

Dropping his coat and hat to the floor, he moved in close to her. “I want to kiss you,” he said huskily and with more feeling than he thought he was capable of.

“I want you to,” she answered breathlessly.

Adam bent his head and nuzzled the warm skin of her cheek, letting his nose travel over to her ear. He inhaled the exhilarating scent of fresh-washed hair and would have loved to rip her bonnet off and push his hands into her shiny auburn tresses. For a moment, he kept his nose buried at her temple and indulged himself in that small fantasy as he breathed deeply, drinking in her tempting womanly fragrance. He then let his lips travel to the crook of her neck as he reached down beside her and searched the area around the doorknob.