Too Hot For A Rake by Pearl Wolf Page B

pierced hers. “If you had behaved like the lady you appear to be.”
    Stung by this, she glared at him, drawn to him at the same time. His sun-streaked hair was tied with a black ribbon. His deep blue eyes mesmerized her.
    “You’ve scored another hit, Lord Waverley. One I clearly deserve. My apologies if I have wronged you. Allow me to rephrase my question, if I may. How is it you came to be my escort?”
    “That’s better, ma’am. Your manners are improving.”
    “Improving? What have I missed? Oh. Sorry. Won’t you be seated?”
    “Kind of you.” Before he sat, he filled their plates. When he set them down, he poured wine in both goblets. Only then did he flip the tails of his coat and take the seat opposite her. “Shall we dine?” Without waiting for her answer, he attacked his plate as though he hadn’t had a meal in ages.
    She toyed with her food, for she had no appetite, but her mouth was as dry as dust. She raised the goblet to her lips and sipped her wine. Helena watched him with lowered eyes as he devoured his food. She couldn’t help comparing him to Chris, whose table manners were almost effeminate. No dainty dilettante here, she thought, watching him attack his dinner with a lusty appetite. Without warning, her terrible faux pas that night in Darlington’s guest chamber came to mind and she blushed.
    Waverley caught the blush. “Do my manners offend you?” He shrugged. “Sorry for it, but I haven’t eaten since early this morning and I am as hungry as a bear.”
    “Go ahead. Enjoy your dinner.” She finished her wine in one swallow.
    He stopped long enough to refill her glass. When his plate was clean, he wiped his mouth and took a deep draught of wine. “Ah! That’s better. I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of the waiter, but I did mean to compliment you on how well you look tonight, ma’am. Yellow becomes you. You should wear it more often.”
    She ignored his attempt at flattery. “Now that you have finished your dinner, if it’s not too much to ask, what is your explanation as to how you came to be my escort?”
    “Viscount Sidmouth, the home secretary, issued the order, but it was his deputy who delivered it. I agreed since our destinations are the same. I am going home to Waverley Castle and you are going there to visit my grandmother. It was put in the form of a polite request, of course, yet I felt I had no choice but to agree.”
    “Had no choice? How is that possible?”
    “What reason to decline their request would you have me give, ma’am? Under the circumstances, I couldn’t very well reveal our first meeting, could I?”
    Helena hung her head. “No, of course not. Thank you for that. Did the deputy home secretary tell you he is my brother-in-law?”
    “He did indeed. He also extracted a promise from me to treat you well. I gave my word, in fact, that I would behave as a gentleman toward you.” Waverley grinned. “He knows of my reputation as well, you see. Have no fear, ma’am. I shall be on my best behavior, especially since you are to be a guest in my home.”
    “Thank you.” She hesitated as if she thought better of what she had been about to say.
    “What is it?”
    She lowered her eyes to her hands. “I don’t suppose I’ll ever live down my mortification at what I did to you that night in Darlington’s home. I cannot imagine what you must think of me.”
    He softened as he examined her face. “Aside from thinking that you are an incredible beauty, you mean? I think you are the bravest, most giving of females to have done what you did for the man you loved. If you must know, ma’am, I wish I had truly been the object of your passion that night instead of Darlington.”
    “Darlington spurned me for it.”
    “The more fool he, then. He’ll never find another woman to love him with such devotion, ready to give him her all. If it had been me, I would have been honored,” he said, his voice as soft as a song.
    Helena burst into tears. “You