she found that as tantalizingly easy to picture as he did. She blushed in earnest and he felt a distinct sense of accomplishment. Miss Langley presented herself as pristine, yet she understood every one of his innuendos. He was enjoying their game to the fullest.
They left the drawing room and he let her lead the way to the library, as if he could not find the path there in the dark with a blindfold. He was glad for light filling the corridors now, though, so that he could admire the sway of Miss Langley's hips, enjoy the defiant sparks in her eyes when she glanced back to find him admiring.
"The library is here, sir," she said.
"Pity. I was hoping perhaps you had moved it upstairs. Near the bedrooms."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but we use our bedrooms for nothing more than sleeping. This is the area of the house reserved for entertainments."
"Then I'm exceedingly thankful we are here and not there."
She huffed at his impertinence and marched over to a wall of very tall shelving. Pointing with authority, she directed his gaze upward. He let his eyes catch on all her finer qualities as she shifted, of course.
"Up there. That large volume, bound in the burgundy color. That is the book of dog breeds."
"That one?" he nodded upwards in the general direction. " There must be a dozen large volumes on that shelf. Huge, actually. You impress me, Miss Langley. You're clearly quite fond of the over large ones."
"I enjoy reading, sir. Trust me, there is nothing else in this room that could possibly interest me. At all."
He merely shrugged. "Books have their allure, I agree. But you might surprise yourself, Miss Langley, to learn there are other delights between the covers besides reading."
"I think my mother is expecting us to delight our guests waiting in the drawing room with an actual book just now, sir, not some tawdry display of schoolboy bawdiness."
" You're probably right. I can hear Miss Vandenhoff's scathing distain already if I were to suggest anything slightly off-color."
"You'd be put well in your place, that's for certain."
"It's going to take much more than a book to draw any delight out of her, I'm afraid. What do you suppose can be done? Surely you can think of some way to make the girl seem less of a... less..."
He honestly couldn't think of any word to fit there that wouldn't be taken as a direct insult toward the young lady. Miss Vandenhoff was a shrew and a nag of the worst kind, but even he wasn't low enough to go around saying so. Besides, he was hoping for her to be his sister-in-law one of these days. How on earth that would happen, he had no clue. His cousin would likely arrive tomorrow, feel the sting of the chit's sharp tongue, and go running back to his club.
"I'm sure she's simply a bit irritable due to the travel," Miss Langley said. "Surely tomorrow we'll begin to see the softer side of Miss Vandenhoff."
"I certainly hope so. I'd hate for my cousin to arrive and find her out of sorts," he muttered, though he could hardly imagine how else anyone might find the girl.
"Your cousin?"
"Yes. Didn't I mention? My cousin, Edmund Chadburne, is expected to arrive tomorrow. I'm sure that I told you."
"No. You did not. I would have remembered."
"I was sure that I had."
"You've been too busy pretending I find your insinuations amusing, apparently. You neglected to mention anything of importance, like another guest scheduled to arrive."
"Well, I've told you now. He should be here shortly after noon."
"And is he as charming as you are?"
"Almost. You'll like him."
She rolled her eyes. "I can't wait. Now please bring over the stool and collect the book that we came for."
"I could lift you and hold you until you get what you want," he suggested, purely for his own entertainment.
She stabbed him with her glare. "No thank you. The stepping stool, please."
"Very well," he said, complying and dragging over the stool so he could step up and retrieve the book. "One of these days, Miss Langley, you're
They left the drawing room and he let her lead the way to the library, as if he could not find the path there in the dark with a blindfold. He was glad for light filling the corridors now, though, so that he could admire the sway of Miss Langley's hips, enjoy the defiant sparks in her eyes when she glanced back to find him admiring.
"The library is here, sir," she said.
"Pity. I was hoping perhaps you had moved it upstairs. Near the bedrooms."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but we use our bedrooms for nothing more than sleeping. This is the area of the house reserved for entertainments."
"Then I'm exceedingly thankful we are here and not there."
She huffed at his impertinence and marched over to a wall of very tall shelving. Pointing with authority, she directed his gaze upward. He let his eyes catch on all her finer qualities as she shifted, of course.
"Up there. That large volume, bound in the burgundy color. That is the book of dog breeds."
"That one?" he nodded upwards in the general direction. " There must be a dozen large volumes on that shelf. Huge, actually. You impress me, Miss Langley. You're clearly quite fond of the over large ones."
"I enjoy reading, sir. Trust me, there is nothing else in this room that could possibly interest me. At all."
He merely shrugged. "Books have their allure, I agree. But you might surprise yourself, Miss Langley, to learn there are other delights between the covers besides reading."
"I think my mother is expecting us to delight our guests waiting in the drawing room with an actual book just now, sir, not some tawdry display of schoolboy bawdiness."
" You're probably right. I can hear Miss Vandenhoff's scathing distain already if I were to suggest anything slightly off-color."
"You'd be put well in your place, that's for certain."
"It's going to take much more than a book to draw any delight out of her, I'm afraid. What do you suppose can be done? Surely you can think of some way to make the girl seem less of a... less..."
He honestly couldn't think of any word to fit there that wouldn't be taken as a direct insult toward the young lady. Miss Vandenhoff was a shrew and a nag of the worst kind, but even he wasn't low enough to go around saying so. Besides, he was hoping for her to be his sister-in-law one of these days. How on earth that would happen, he had no clue. His cousin would likely arrive tomorrow, feel the sting of the chit's sharp tongue, and go running back to his club.
"I'm sure she's simply a bit irritable due to the travel," Miss Langley said. "Surely tomorrow we'll begin to see the softer side of Miss Vandenhoff."
"I certainly hope so. I'd hate for my cousin to arrive and find her out of sorts," he muttered, though he could hardly imagine how else anyone might find the girl.
"Your cousin?"
"Yes. Didn't I mention? My cousin, Edmund Chadburne, is expected to arrive tomorrow. I'm sure that I told you."
"No. You did not. I would have remembered."
"I was sure that I had."
"You've been too busy pretending I find your insinuations amusing, apparently. You neglected to mention anything of importance, like another guest scheduled to arrive."
"Well, I've told you now. He should be here shortly after noon."
"And is he as charming as you are?"
"Almost. You'll like him."
She rolled her eyes. "I can't wait. Now please bring over the stool and collect the book that we came for."
"I could lift you and hold you until you get what you want," he suggested, purely for his own entertainment.
She stabbed him with her glare. "No thank you. The stepping stool, please."
"Very well," he said, complying and dragging over the stool so he could step up and retrieve the book. "One of these days, Miss Langley, you're
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