and she shrugged, now wondering if it had been wise at all to bring him to her studio. If what she wanted was to detangle herself from this relationship, this wasn’t how to do it.
It was time to send him on his way.
But she wasn’t ready.
Regina sat down in one of the chairs and deliberately let her dressing gown drape open. “Do we really want to discuss biblical applications of artistic endeavors, or shall we explore yet again the more earthy aspect of the term
biblical
?”
He grinned. “I favor the latter.”
Chapter 5
I
n the light of day, her little adventure of the evening before seemed fantastical, like a scene from a romantic novel, complete with a handsome prince, danger, secret passageways, and then the dramatic rescue.
Only in her case, Lily thought as she stirred her chocolate and took a small sip of the steaming beverage, Lord Damien was not precisely a prince but instead a somewhat cynical ex-spy with dubious skills such as wielding a picklock, the danger had been social rather than physical, and the secret passage about the least romantic dank staircase imaginable. Besides, she’d never read a story where the heroine—she was hardly qualified for that role—stripped off her gown before a man she didn’t know. In retrospect, she couldn’t believe she’d done it, but then again, maybe it was worth it.
There
was
a happy ending.
They’d managed it. After all the bad luck that had gotten her into the situation in the first place, a ray of light had glimmered. She’d slipped back into the crowd seamlessly enough even with James catching her out, and Lord Damien was nowhere to be seen the rest of the evening. Whether or not he’d left to avoid Lady Piedmontas he’d said he would or was in one of the card rooms, she had no idea, but the impression she had of him was that if he chose to remain out of sight, he could do so easily enough.
She had to admit, while most of the gentlemen she knew were rather dull, he’d at least been
interesting
.
The duchess had accepted the excuse that Lily had felt rather dizzy and had gone to lie down for a bit—not all of it was a lie, she wasn’t a swooning kind of female but she’d definitely had a horrified moment when the key broke off in her hand—and since the library door had been locked when the duchess went looking for her, the explanation was plausible enough.
A knock interrupted the reverie. Reclined against the pillows, Lily called out, “Come in.”
Her younger sister, Betsy, entered, attired in a day gown of striped lemon yellow and cream, her hair tied simply in a satin bow. Immediately her brows rose. “Still in bed? That isn’t like you.”
It didn’t seem prudent to describe the harrowing experience when she’d brushed up against potential scandal, so Lily just maintained what she hoped was a neutral expression. “I was tired. Tell me, is Harold Dougherty calling again today?”
Betsy’s blush well enough answered that question. Good, her sisters were both being courted by quite respectable gentlemen, for Carole also had Lord Davenport sending flowers and showing an avid interest and all Lily wanted was for them both to be happily married to men of their choosing.
“Jonathan quite likes him.” Betsy settled into a chair, her bright skirts in a froth of muslin around her. “That isquite a coup. I think Mr. Dougherty was fairly terrified of him at first.”
It was true. Their brother was only half English, and the other half was about as barbaric as possible in the eyes of most of society, being a mixture of French and an American Indian tribe. His unusual dark looks did lend him a dangerous air among the pale polish of the
ton
.
Amused, Lily murmured, “Yes, well, he might be an earl, and have recently married the daughter of a duke, but I still think the beau monde expects him to at least exhibit some sort of savage behavior or they will be sorely disappointed
.”
“You forbade him to act anything but the
It was time to send him on his way.
But she wasn’t ready.
Regina sat down in one of the chairs and deliberately let her dressing gown drape open. “Do we really want to discuss biblical applications of artistic endeavors, or shall we explore yet again the more earthy aspect of the term
biblical
?”
He grinned. “I favor the latter.”
Chapter 5
I
n the light of day, her little adventure of the evening before seemed fantastical, like a scene from a romantic novel, complete with a handsome prince, danger, secret passageways, and then the dramatic rescue.
Only in her case, Lily thought as she stirred her chocolate and took a small sip of the steaming beverage, Lord Damien was not precisely a prince but instead a somewhat cynical ex-spy with dubious skills such as wielding a picklock, the danger had been social rather than physical, and the secret passage about the least romantic dank staircase imaginable. Besides, she’d never read a story where the heroine—she was hardly qualified for that role—stripped off her gown before a man she didn’t know. In retrospect, she couldn’t believe she’d done it, but then again, maybe it was worth it.
There
was
a happy ending.
They’d managed it. After all the bad luck that had gotten her into the situation in the first place, a ray of light had glimmered. She’d slipped back into the crowd seamlessly enough even with James catching her out, and Lord Damien was nowhere to be seen the rest of the evening. Whether or not he’d left to avoid Lady Piedmontas he’d said he would or was in one of the card rooms, she had no idea, but the impression she had of him was that if he chose to remain out of sight, he could do so easily enough.
She had to admit, while most of the gentlemen she knew were rather dull, he’d at least been
interesting
.
The duchess had accepted the excuse that Lily had felt rather dizzy and had gone to lie down for a bit—not all of it was a lie, she wasn’t a swooning kind of female but she’d definitely had a horrified moment when the key broke off in her hand—and since the library door had been locked when the duchess went looking for her, the explanation was plausible enough.
A knock interrupted the reverie. Reclined against the pillows, Lily called out, “Come in.”
Her younger sister, Betsy, entered, attired in a day gown of striped lemon yellow and cream, her hair tied simply in a satin bow. Immediately her brows rose. “Still in bed? That isn’t like you.”
It didn’t seem prudent to describe the harrowing experience when she’d brushed up against potential scandal, so Lily just maintained what she hoped was a neutral expression. “I was tired. Tell me, is Harold Dougherty calling again today?”
Betsy’s blush well enough answered that question. Good, her sisters were both being courted by quite respectable gentlemen, for Carole also had Lord Davenport sending flowers and showing an avid interest and all Lily wanted was for them both to be happily married to men of their choosing.
“Jonathan quite likes him.” Betsy settled into a chair, her bright skirts in a froth of muslin around her. “That isquite a coup. I think Mr. Dougherty was fairly terrified of him at first.”
It was true. Their brother was only half English, and the other half was about as barbaric as possible in the eyes of most of society, being a mixture of French and an American Indian tribe. His unusual dark looks did lend him a dangerous air among the pale polish of the
ton
.
Amused, Lily murmured, “Yes, well, he might be an earl, and have recently married the daughter of a duke, but I still think the beau monde expects him to at least exhibit some sort of savage behavior or they will be sorely disappointed
.”
“You forbade him to act anything but the
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