Page 8 of Rakes & Reticules
“Do you have to leave?” she asked. Roman stopped and stared at her. “I would like for you to stay.”
He could stay and listen to her speak for hours, or not say anything at all. Roman calmed in her presence and just felt content. “Do you think that is wise?” He couldn’t believe he was actually trying to convince her to let him leave when it was the last thing he wanted. “My presence with you now might be misconstrued by those with the mind to make it something it isn’t.”
“That is true,” she agreed. “Many would spread rumors without much thought to what it might do to a perso.” She studied him for several moments and then said, “If you must leave me, I have one request before you do.”
“Anything,” he said and meant it.
“Kiss me,” she told him.
He couldn’t have heard her correctly. “Pardon me?”
She flicked her tongue over her bottom lip and stepped closer. “You heard me, Lord Kendal,” she insisted. “Kiss me. I know you want to.” That was definitely not the way to avoid a scandal…
He closed his eyes and groaned. It would be so easy to do as she asked, and he wasn’t strong enough to resist her. Now when she was asking him to do the very thing he desperately wanted. Roman cursed and pulled her into his arms, then pressed his lips to hers. His entire body erupted with need at the contact. He slanted his lips over hers and when she opened her mouth on a gasp; he slid his tongue inside her mouth. Their tongues tangled together as their desire became an entity they couldn’t control.
Somehow, with great reluctance, Roman stopped. This couldn’t happen in a field where anyone could walk up on them. He had to protect her. He took a step back and stared at her, his breathing ragged. “That…”
“Was everything,” she finished for him. Her smile was so sensual it gutted him. “Thank you, Lord Kendal. You’ve told me all I needed to know.”
He wished he could think clearly enough to decipher her meaning. “Roman,” he told her. “You should definitely call me Roman.” He met her gaze. “Tell me your name.” He was tired of not knowing that little detail about her. It was important.
“I’m Athena,” she told him. “Lady Athena Thompson.” She grinned. “I should return home.” Athena folded her blanket and placed it in the saddlebag on her horse where she’d placed her book earlier. She mounted her horse and then said, “Until we meet again in London, Roman. Don’t disappoint me.” Then she flicked the reins, and the horse took off. Roman stared after her like a bumbling fool.
“Athena,” he whispered her name. “Iwillsee you again.” She’d charmed him the first time he’d glanced her way, and now he was most definitely besotted. He couldn’t wait to spend more time in her company.
* * *
Three weeks later…
Athena stareddown at the gown she’d had designed for her debut ball. It was a dark green that was too bold for a young debutante about to be presented, but she didn’t care. Her hair was piled high on her head, with dark ringlets draping around her face. The pendant with her initial that she’d found with her mother’s journal was her only jewelry. The black stone glittered in the candlelight, and it almost felt as if her mother stood beside her approvingly.
All she could think about was Roman. He had kissed her. Yes, she had asked him too, but she hadn’t thought he actually would. And what a kiss it had been… She touched her lips as if she could feel his lips still there. She would kiss him again. Athena hadn’t been certain until that moment, but he was meant to be hers.
That might seem ridiculous to believe, but she did. Athena didn’t regret kissing him. It had been a test. At first, it had started out as something she needed, but then it quickly turned into something far more devastating to her. Her heart opened up to him in those fleeting moments, and he had willingly entered. She would bet everything that he had felt what she had. They were drawn to each other for a reason.
A knock echoed through the room, and Isla stepped inside. She wore a gown of deep gold that made her skin glow. Her only jewelry as well was the black stone pendant with her initial. “Are you ready?” Her gown was a declaration in itself. Isla held her head high as she prepared herself to face the ton again. They’re brutal tongues had flayed her the last time she’d been in London, and she’d fled home to heal. Athena still didn’t know all that had happened to her older sister. She wished she could protect her now from what was to come.
“I am,” she told Isla. “Is Maeve done dressing?”
‘Almost,” Isla said. “There was a slight difficulty with her gown. One of the buttons had loosened, and it had to be repaired. She shouldn’t be much longer.”
Maeve had decided on a soft peach gown that was more suitable for a debut ball. She was more practical than Athena ever would be. The gown suited her twin, though. They had distinct personalities and their gowns would show the world who they were. Soon enough they would be out in society and they would be subject to the same ridicule that still haunted Isla. Were they fools to go through that same torturous gossip and disdain from the ton?
“Let’s go down into the hall then and wait for her. We should enter the ballroom together.” Presenting a united front to the ton would only help them as they navigated the sea of distain they would likely encounter. The buzzards might not want to pick over their remains if they couldn’t actually reach them. She looped her arm through Isla’s. “We will be with you every step of the way.”
Isla sucked in a deep breath. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet tone. “I’ll be all right. I promise.”
She thought she heard her mutter something under her breath. Had Isla said, at leasthewill not be here. Did she mean the Duke of Thornridge? That was the only he that Isla avoided. What had happened between them? All Athena knew with certainty was that the duke had broken her sister’s heart, and both of them seemed miserable. The duke, the last time Athena had seen him, had been as forlorn as Isla. Maybe one day they would find their way back to each other. It was clear to her they were unhappy apart, so they might erase that unwelcome emotion if they admitted they belonged together. She didn’t know if that was possible, or if they would be open to it, but the solution was there for them to grasp on to.
They were not in the hall long before Maeve joined them. Her hair was secured in an elegant chignon, but she did not have as many loose curls as Athena did. She also had on the pendant with her initial. They all had chosen to honor their mother, and Athena prayed they would not regret that choice. The peach gown enhanced Maeve’s beauty. “You look beautiful,” she told her twin.
“Thank you,” Maeve said, then smiled. “You do as well.”
“It’s time,” Isla told them both, then braced her shoulders. She was preparing for something unpleasant and it hurt Athena that her sister felt that need. “Let’s descend the stairs and let them announce us. My maid told me that it is a crush. Everyone who is anyone is here.”
That should make Athena happy, but dread filled her. Something terrible was about to happen. She only prayed it didn’t leave emotional scars as it had with Isla, or worse. “We can do this,” she said, more for herself than her sisters, but it applied to them all. Slowly, they descended the stairs, and with each step, they accepted their destiny. They would make it to the end. Nothing could destroy them if they didn’t allow it.
CHAPTERFIVE
