Page 18 of The Pureblood Daughter
“I’d like to know just that.” The viscount doesn’t move toward her, just tips his head to the side, his green eyes narrowing.
“You’rethe one in my head,” she whispers, and it comes out like a hiss. Her hands curl into fists around the silky fabric of her skirt, and she steps forward once more. “That was you with the owl, was it not? And you led me here.” Another step forward. “How?”
He smiles that deliciously roguish smile, the one that makes her yearn for him in a way she most certainly shouldn’t.
“What if I told you I’ve no idea what you’re talking about?”
She presses her lips into an unamused line. “I’d call you a liar.”
“Oh, Miss Gray, you wound me.” He places a hand to his chest as if she’s struck him.
A breeze sends the hedges trembling, and a shiver rushes down Adelina’s spine. Being caught alone in the hedge maze would be one thing, but to be caught with the viscount would be something entirely different. Her reputation would be ruined. She’d have no chance in the marriage market after such a scandal.
Even so, she can’t bring herself to retreat, can’t step away like she knows she should. She’s trapped as if by a spell, and his green eyes hold her in a trance.
“Am I going crazy?” she asks quietly, almost childlike. Perhaps her sickness has taken a turn, has made her see and hear things that aren’t actually there. This could be the first stepping stone down the troubled path to madness.
“Certainly not,” he says, the lighthearted tone in his voice transforming into something solemn. “But I fear I might be.”
The viscount closes the distance between them in a moment, his hands coming up to cradle her cheeks, one thumb sliding tenderly across her skin. His touch, so gentle and yet so hungry, makes her gasp, and his proximity holds her frozen. His eyes search hers, but for what, she doesn’t know.
“Whatareyou?” he whispers.
That word,what, causes her pause, and she pulls away from his touch to clear her head. The moment his hands leave her, she wishes for them back, but she forces herself to step away, if only to think more clearly.
“You’re speaking in riddles,” she snaps. “Tell me what’s going on.”
His gaze becomes cloudy, troubled. “You took your tonic this morning,” he says, his tone dark.
Once again, he’s surprised her, and it’s a struggle not to let it show on her face. “How’d you know?”
“I can smell it on you, even under the fragrance in that vial.” His eyes cut to the silver about Adelina’s neck, and though her first instinct is to wither under his stare, she forces herself to stand tall.
His being able tosmellit on her is most unnatural, but so too is his reaction. Nothing about this man makes sense. He’s a mystery she’s most determined to solve.
“You’re upset,” she says, trying not to let any emotion creep into her voice. “Why?”
“Because you—”
“Adelina!”
Adelina starts, her head whipping toward the sound of her mother’s voice. She can’t be found here with the viscount. Adelina may not be the most eligible bachelorette this season—or any season for that matter—but the scandal would cast an unfavorable light upon the Gray family. It could ruin her.
“You mustn’t take it, Miss Gray,” the viscount says as she takes a step back. “Promise me.” His voice is strained, his words clipped. He lifts a hand as if to reach for her, but she’s too far away.
Despite his lack of candor and the absurdity of his request, she nods.
“Okay,” she whispers. “Okay, I promise.”
“Adelina, are you out here?” Lady Gray yells, closer this time.
“I have to go,” Adelina says, turning to search for a way out of this maze. “And so do—”
She looks back, and just like that day at the garden fence, Lord Rosetti is gone, but this time there’s no carriage to whisk him away. He simply ceases to be, as if he weren’t ever there to begin with.
“Adelina! What in the heavens are you doing out here?”
Lady Gray emerges from around the corner in an explosion of fabric and champagne. She carries a half-empty flute in one hand and presses the other to her forehead. “I couldn’t find you anywhere. Are you alone?” She casts a look about like any dutiful mother would.
