Winning Miss Wakefield by Vivienne Lorret

Author:Vivienne Lorret
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Seeing a faint trace of light glowing beneath the library door, Bane turned the knob. “I knew I would find you in here.”

Startled, Miss Wakefield jumped and nearly dropped the open lamp she held. The taper wobbled, the flame sputtering. Drawing the candle closer, she shielded it behind the cup of her hand.

The flame grew brighter instantly, illuminating her narrowed eyes. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“And you should be thankful it’s only me and not Montwood.” Thinking about what he’d witnessed, his jaw hardened, a muscle ticking when he gritted his teeth.

She scoffed. “Only you?”

Even though they both knew he was equally as dangerous, or more so, to her reputation, he didn’t concede the point to her. “After the way you teased and flirted with him, I’d not be surprised to hear him knocking at your bedchamber later, expecting recompense for the state you put him in.”

“Montwood is charming, but anyone who spent more than five minutes with him would know his tastes run to more ample pockets. However, the same cannot be said of your tastes. It seems you prefer feminine endowments that are all flesh and no substance.” Now, she cupped her hand around her ear. “Strange, I wonder if I’ll hear the scratch of the widow Pearce’s fingernails on your door?”

He grinned. “You’re jealous.”

Merribeth bristled. “I would no more be jealous of her than you would be of Montwood.”

“Jealous of Montwood? That over-pandering peacock?” The idea appalled him. He’d never been jealous a day in his life. Though the notion that he could be experiencing it for the first time left him unsettled. As it wasn’t true in the least, he didn’t know why he let it bother him.

“Jealous, indeed,” she said with a huff, mirroring his thoughts. With a withering glance, she turned back to study the shelves. “And furthermore, I came in here for the sole purpose of finding a book. I wasn’t running from anything.”

“Or making a hermit of yourself in the midst of a party?”

She exhaled through her nostrils, nearly blowing out the candle. “If that were the case, then I’d give you the blame for infecting me with your tendencies.”

That made him grin. “I would readily take the blame if it were mine,” he said, surprised at how much he liked the idea of having as great an influence on her behavior as she was on his. “Yet we both know you fled the parlor when your attempts at flirtation were successful.”

“Perhaps I’m searching for reading material to better understand the topics of the widow Pearce’s luncheon conversation.”

Her blue eyes sparkled with amusement, as if she doubted his ability to know anything about her in the short time of their acquaintance. After spending days with her occupying his thoughts, he’d catalogued every mannerism, every tell, that gave her away.

He also knew the difference in her blushes now, the subtle alterations in color that told him if she was nervous, embarrassed, or curious.

At the moment, the soft peach tint to her cheeks and the steadiness of her gaze told him it was the last.

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