Page 33 of The Missing Book
A sudden fire roared to life in his chest. “I must demand to know where those books are,” he said, making to step forward. “I will ask him at this very moment!”
“Pray, do not.” Lady Amelia stepped in front of him, catching him off guard so that he was forced to step to the side, though she put out her hand to his arm, stabilizing him. Her gaze was steady, her hand still lingering there. “I do not mean to tell you what to do but if you go to him now, then all he will do is ignore your request and turn away. It is not as though he will simply admit to you that yes, he stole the books!”
Leopold gritted his teeth, seeing her good sense but feeling the desperate urge to dosomethingto help. “Then what can we do?”
“Lady Anna?” Lady Amelia turned her attention to her. “You know Lady Gwendoline best of all. She is your friend. If you can go to her, once this conversation is at an end, and ask, in a light-hearted manner who the gentleman was, do you think she would tell you?” There was a firmness about her tone and even Leopold felt his spirits steadied by it. He looked at his sister, seeing her hesitate in the way she bit her lip.
“I – I am not sure if I can hide my emotions.”
“I think that you can,” Lady Amelia said, with a small smile. “Set aside your worry and your concern for the moment and go to speak to her. This is the only way we will be able to discover the truth about that gentleman.”
Anna closed her eyes and then nodded, turning her head to glance up at Leopold. “You will wait for me?”
“I will stay here, with Lady Amelia,” he promised. “But with our backs turned, mayhap, so they do not think that we arewatching them. The last thing we want is to make them at all suspicious.”
“A good thought, Lord Broughton.” With a brief smile, Lady Amelia came to stand at his arm, keeping her back towards Lady Gwendoline and the gentleman who spoke with her. Leopold’s heart quickened but he set that aside for the moment, telling himself to concentrate solely on Anna and all she was doing rather than on his own confusing feelings towards Lady Amelia.
“He is leaving,” he heard Anna breathe. “I will go now. Wait for me.”
“You will do very well, I am sure,” Leopold managed to say, just as his sister stepped away. A knot of concern tied itself in his stomach as he let out a long, slow breath and waited for her to return, telling himself he certainly couldnotlook over his shoulder at the two ladies speaking together no matter how much he wished it.
“You are anxious for her.” Lady Amelia’s hazel eyes were a little darker than before, as though, in Anna making her way to Lady Gwendoline, she had found herself suddenly afraid. “I do not know what that might mean but I am afraid.”
“Afraid that Lady Gwendoline is involved?”
Lady Amelia held his gaze for a long moment before, finally, she nodded.
“Ifit is that she is involved, then we do no good in hiding that from my sister,” he said, slowly. “As much as I want to protect her, I cannot hold back the truth.”
With a nod, Lady Amelia bit the edge of her lip. “If only I could see a little of what was being said. I would be able to tell whether Lady Anna and Lady Gwendoline are speaking amiably together or not.”
“Could you stand in front of me?” Leopold gestured to the space. “If you stand there and peek over my shoulder, might you be able to see? It would also make it appear as though you and Iare in conversation. Standing side by side like this might appear a little strange.”
She obliged him in an instant, coming around to stand beside him though her eyes went over his shoulder. Leopold could not help but breathe her in, his skin tingling as her breath brushed across his cheek.
“Theyaretalking,” she said, softly. “Anna is smiling as is Lady Gwendoline. I think all is going rather well.”
“You are hopeful she will be able to find out the identity of the gentleman?”
“I am sure she will,” Lady Amelia answered, her eyes turning to his and fixing on them for a long moment, as though she had been somewhat distracted by him and now could look nowhere else. Leopold’s breath caught, tightening his chest as he realized just how little distance there was now between them. The ballroom was already a crush but at this moment, there was so little between them, Leopold could easily slip one hand around her waist and no one would notice. The desire to do so, to be nearer to her in a physical way was so great, it burned through him like an agonizing pain, making his teeth grit tightly together as he fought against it.
“Lord Broughton, I think… ” Lady Amelia’s voice was so very soft, he strained to hear it, shifting only an inch or so closer to her. “I think there might be something more than just the mystery of these stolen books surrounding us at present.”
Leopold’s heart slammed into his chest. “I beg your pardon?”
The light in her eyes quickly dimmed. “That is to say, if you do not think that – ”
“No, no, that is not what I meant.” Berating himself, Leopold reached out and caught her hand in his for only a moment. “It was astonishment only.”
Her eyes lifted to his again. “You think I am too bold.”
“I think I am so very unworthy,” he said, quietly as the corners of her mouth lifted. “It is not that I disagree with you, Lady Amelia, more that I do not fully understand why this… awareness would be of importance to you.” Looking away, he winced. “I would have thought you would cast it all aside.”
Lady Amelia’s eyes searched his face when he dared to look back at her. “I thought I would also.” The flicker of a smile made him flush. “But I have not.”
“You have more courage than I to speak of it,” he said, with a wry look. “I have disliked this, truth be told. I have not wanted it, and have been furious with myself because of it.”
“I am sure that you were,” she told him, her eyes twinkling. “You do not like bluestockings, from what I recall.”
