couldn’t hold
a candle to the magnetic force of her masked man’s gaze.
Alicia shifted her legs to raise
her toes from the cold floor and tucked her feet back under the blanket.
It was already Monday. The
Westaway family awaited Alicia at their ball tonight, and Louis would be there
with her. Thirteen days remained until Louis expected to apply for a license.
She planned to convince him of the inadvisability of their match … but how?
In case she couldn’t devise an
alternate solution to Papa’s plans in time, she needed to convince her cousin
to search for someone else. A love interest for Louis could free her to find her
own marriageable suitor, and she’d have no further cause to search her father’s
office to figure out his sudden urge to be rid of her. She needed to seek her
own true love, whoever he turned out to be.
Her mother once extracted a
promise from Alicia that affairs of the heart mattered more than any sense of
duty. She inspired Alicia’s romantic nature and made up silly stories of
knights and princes who rescued fair maidens. As a result, Alicia fell in love
with the idea of a hero, and refused to settle for less. Louis, unarguably, was
less.
Alicia rose to her feet and
walked toward the vivid sunlight slanting through the window.
Rogue’s heart-stopping smile and
smoothly executed disappearance only added to his impudent charm. Alicia
grinned. He arrived just when she’d lost her faith in romance and had almost
convinced herself that she was destined to a life of Louis and unhappiness.
Jenny returned with the last of
the pails and helped her undress. Alicia sank into the steaming water. She
cupped her hands and splashed her face. Jenny scrubbed her hair. The soothing
aroma of rose-scented soap greeted her senses and the warm suds slid down the
back of her neck. The heat relaxed her muscles and filled her with a sense of
lethargy. Even Jenny yawned and lifted an arm to rub at her eyes.
Alicia wondered if there were
some way she could help Rogue’s sister. She couldn’t imagine how. She barely
helped herself at times, but all that was changing.
The trick, it seemed, was to
repulse Louis without disgracing herself or inviting infamy. Acting improper in
any way risked her reputation far more than Louis’. She needed to present
herself well within the constraints of propriety, but well unsuited to Louis.
Heaven knew many of the young women parading themselves about were less than
desirable to most unmarried men.
Her arms wrapped around her legs
as her knees poked through the sudsy water. Jenny struggled to hide another
yawn as she squeezed the moisture from Alicia’s waterlogged hair.
Alicia snapped to attention.
Jenny was an inspiration! Perhaps she could be relentlessly boring whenever
Louis hovered nearby. If she became yawn-evoking, or better yet,
sleep-inducing, he’d imagine her a horrible hostess and therefore an
undesirable bride. Brilliant.
Perhaps she could handle men much
better than she gave herself credit for. After all, she’d even had the presence
of mind to tell Rogue he couldn’t possibly return.
* * *
One trick frame, one
hollow-centered book, one vase with hidden items inside, and one false-backed
desk drawer contained evidence of guilt. Proof positive of Chadwick’s
involvement – or so the note claimed. Its reverse displayed a crudely drawn map
of the ground floor.
Ian straightened the anonymous
missive on the powder blue tablecloth. He smoothed the creases and bowed his
head in thought. He stood, hunched over the words, arms locked, hands splayed
on either side of the paper.
A figure drifted past the open
window, casting a shadow across the page. Ian turned his head. A footman spread
a cold collation on the sideboard before shuffling down the hall. His footsteps
faded.
The aroma of sliced meat reached
Ian’s nose and his stomach growled in response. He pushed himself from the
table. He crossed to the sideboard and
a candle to the magnetic force of her masked man’s gaze.
Alicia shifted her legs to raise
her toes from the cold floor and tucked her feet back under the blanket.
It was already Monday. The
Westaway family awaited Alicia at their ball tonight, and Louis would be there
with her. Thirteen days remained until Louis expected to apply for a license.
She planned to convince him of the inadvisability of their match … but how?
In case she couldn’t devise an
alternate solution to Papa’s plans in time, she needed to convince her cousin
to search for someone else. A love interest for Louis could free her to find her
own marriageable suitor, and she’d have no further cause to search her father’s
office to figure out his sudden urge to be rid of her. She needed to seek her
own true love, whoever he turned out to be.
Her mother once extracted a
promise from Alicia that affairs of the heart mattered more than any sense of
duty. She inspired Alicia’s romantic nature and made up silly stories of
knights and princes who rescued fair maidens. As a result, Alicia fell in love
with the idea of a hero, and refused to settle for less. Louis, unarguably, was
less.
Alicia rose to her feet and
walked toward the vivid sunlight slanting through the window.
Rogue’s heart-stopping smile and
smoothly executed disappearance only added to his impudent charm. Alicia
grinned. He arrived just when she’d lost her faith in romance and had almost
convinced herself that she was destined to a life of Louis and unhappiness.
Jenny returned with the last of
the pails and helped her undress. Alicia sank into the steaming water. She
cupped her hands and splashed her face. Jenny scrubbed her hair. The soothing
aroma of rose-scented soap greeted her senses and the warm suds slid down the
back of her neck. The heat relaxed her muscles and filled her with a sense of
lethargy. Even Jenny yawned and lifted an arm to rub at her eyes.
Alicia wondered if there were
some way she could help Rogue’s sister. She couldn’t imagine how. She barely
helped herself at times, but all that was changing.
The trick, it seemed, was to
repulse Louis without disgracing herself or inviting infamy. Acting improper in
any way risked her reputation far more than Louis’. She needed to present
herself well within the constraints of propriety, but well unsuited to Louis.
Heaven knew many of the young women parading themselves about were less than
desirable to most unmarried men.
Her arms wrapped around her legs
as her knees poked through the sudsy water. Jenny struggled to hide another
yawn as she squeezed the moisture from Alicia’s waterlogged hair.
Alicia snapped to attention.
Jenny was an inspiration! Perhaps she could be relentlessly boring whenever
Louis hovered nearby. If she became yawn-evoking, or better yet,
sleep-inducing, he’d imagine her a horrible hostess and therefore an
undesirable bride. Brilliant.
Perhaps she could handle men much
better than she gave herself credit for. After all, she’d even had the presence
of mind to tell Rogue he couldn’t possibly return.
* * *
One trick frame, one
hollow-centered book, one vase with hidden items inside, and one false-backed
desk drawer contained evidence of guilt. Proof positive of Chadwick’s
involvement – or so the note claimed. Its reverse displayed a crudely drawn map
of the ground floor.
Ian straightened the anonymous
missive on the powder blue tablecloth. He smoothed the creases and bowed his
head in thought. He stood, hunched over the words, arms locked, hands splayed
on either side of the paper.
A figure drifted past the open
window, casting a shadow across the page. Ian turned his head. A footman spread
a cold collation on the sideboard before shuffling down the hall. His footsteps
faded.
The aroma of sliced meat reached
Ian’s nose and his stomach growled in response. He pushed himself from the
table. He crossed to the sideboard and
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