The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour

Author:Faye Delacour
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks

Fourteen

Eli took the stairs two at a time after he’d deposited Tommy with his nursemaid, who’d plunked the child quickly into his pram and gone outdoors. There was a mass of noise and movement on the main floor, with everyone coming in from the carriages and Miss Linden calling instructions to the cook and housekeeper for the supper preparations. His parents and the Kerrs were taking tea in the parlor. No one should have reason to hunt for Jane in the study-turned-nursery.

She was still there when he returned, but the flush had left her cheeks, and she’d smoothed down the loose hairs that had been creeping free of her chignon a moment before. She looked a good deal more businesslike.

“Please shut the door behind you.”

Eli obliged, his heart kicking into a gallop. His feet carried him across the room quite without any forethought on his part—it seemed only natural to retake his place at Jane’s side—but she held up a hand to still him. A piece of paper was perched between her fingers.

“My forfeit?” This was more direct than he’d expected, but he wouldn’t complain. “I’m at your mercy then. What will you have of me?”

They would have to be quiet, with so many people in the house. But he could kiss her quietly. He could touch her quietly. The only challenge would be holding himself in check. This newfound confidence of hers was entirely to his liking.

“I want you to answer my questions with complete truthfulness. First, were you really abducted by—”

“Wait.” Eli held up a hand, as much to get his bearings as to forestall the interrogation. “You’re using your forfeit to question me? I thought you might use it for something more…”

“Something more what?” The edge in Jane’s voice could have cut glass cleanly, but it was making messy work of his pride.

“More…amiable,” he persisted. “Are you still fixated on my abduction? I thought we’d moved on from this.”

“I have no idea why you would leap to such a conclusion. I’ve made my doubts very clear from the start.”

“You’ve been kissing me for the past three days!”

“Not true,” Jane replied. “I only kissed you once on the journey here. Yesterday and today, you kissed me.”

“I didn’t hear you protest.”

She dropped her gaze. “I may have…allowed certain liberties in order to indulge my curiosity, but you shouldn’t have interpreted this as a sign that I’ve accepted everything you’ve told me.”

To indulge her curiosity? She made him sound like a new parlor game she’d tried out. Hadn’t the moments they’d shared meant anything?

“Yes,” Eli muttered. “I see that now.”

“My questions.” Jane folded her hands before her waist, the forfeit still perched between her fingers like a miniature war flag. “There’s no one here but us, Lieutenant. If you are truly a man of your word, surely you will honor your debt and give me truthful answers. If you’re worried about the risk that I’ll ruin your good name, I promise you, I’m not seeking to stir up gossip. I only want to set my own doubts to rest.

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