Masked by Moonlight

Author:Allie Pleiter
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin (UK) Limited
Published: 2008-08-30T20:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Four

Georgia gave a start, shocked at Matthew Covington’s mimicry and his directness. It was one thing to know what was going on, quite another to declare it openly. For a moment it stunned her, but then she discovered it felt surprisingly refreshing. As if he respected her enough not to pretend they both didn’t see what was going on in Stuart’s constant disappearances.

“Mr. Covington, what a thing to say.” She played for a moment at being insulted, then let a hint of her amusement show. “Personally, I’d give Stuart no more than five minutes, under the circumstances.”

Mr. Covington’s face creased in a gleaming smile and he pulled out his pocket watch. “Shall we see who wins?”

Georgia feigned astonishment. “Am I to understand you are suggesting a wager? Here, during tea at the Palace Hotel? The very thought.”

“I’d never suggest such a thing,” he replied, looking all too much as if he’d be delighted to do that very thing. “Think of it as hypothesis and observation. A scientific study.”

She shot him a doubtful glance. “A scientific study. Of Stuart’s diversionary tactics?”

Her label evidently delighted him. “‘Diversionary tactics.’ Why, I do think that’s a most appropriate term.” He made a show of checking his watch. “Two minutes fifteen seconds.”

“This is outrageous.” She fanned herself, playing along. “I should be most insulted.” But it wasn’t insulting at all. As a matter of fact, it was satisfying to call Stuart at his own game.

“But you’re not,” Matthew retorted, “because you’re far too smart for that.”

“A backhanded compliment, Mr. Covington.” She was too smart for this. Suddenly, she found herself wondering why she had ever put up with it.

He stared at her for a moment, almost indecisively. Then, after looking over her shoulder toward the hotel desk, as if to judge how much privacy they had before Stuart’s return, he leaned in. “Then I shall pay you a true compliment, Miss Waterhouse. I find you a most delightful woman, honorable and admirable in every detail. And…” he softened his voice until it seemed to tingle down the back of her neck “…in possession of the most astounding eyes I believe I have ever seen.”

He stared at her again, for how long she could not say. His expression confounded any attempt at words. He found her delightful. Honorable and admirable. Not just the sibling shadow of her outlandish brother, but her. And to think that he found her eyes astounding, when she could hardly think of words to describe his. Their impossibly deep indigo seemed to pin her to her chair.

His directness flustered her. He spoke as though her opinion meant something to him. And that was a rare thing indeed for the sister of Stuart Waterhouse.

After a pause that seemed endless and yet far too short, Georgia saw his gaze shift over her shoulder. “Four minutes fifty seconds,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper. “You win.”

On cue, Stuart appeared at her right side, a stack of papers in his hand and a waiter just behind him.

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