Page 34 of Meet A Rogue At Midnight
“You will come back to the tower tomorrow?”
Lapis lazuli eyes gleamed boldly at her. The rakish earring did, too.
“For the chair,” she said firmly. She would not ask again to lie with him.
Jonas smiled at her, the first glimmer of friendship shining in his face. “I gave my word to restore the chair.”
“Good. I’m sure we can get past this. We promised to remain friends…at least for, for however long you’ll remain in Plumtree.”
He stretched out his hand, palm up. She shifted from one foot to the other.
“What’s this?”
“My hand,” he teased. “I believe it’s customary for a woman to place her hand in a man’s palm when he offers it.”
“Iknowthe custom. There’s no need for fine manners out here at midnight. No one will see.”
She set her hand in his anyway. Her fingertips had gone numb, but his breath warmed her knuckles. “It’s not about what others see. It’s about you and me.”
They’d both been remiss about donning gloves tonight. Jonas planted a chaste kiss on the back of her hand. Straightening to full height, he held her fingers longer than propriety allowed. But, they’d already dashed headlong from proper to improper in her tower.
Tenderness lit his blue eyes shaded under the brim of his hat. “I will come for you in the morning.”
With that, he turned on his heel and trotted down the stairs. She stared speechless at the wide line of his shoulders. The bottom of Jonas’s coat swayed with his—dare she say?—jaunty step. He trod the Halsey drive to the north road, a whistle drifting after him.
Head shaking, she opened the door and shut it quietly. She swiped her boots clean on the boot swipe, lost in the comforting stillness of home. The clock ticking in the hall. Her footsteps sinking in the entry’s thick carpet with its cream and light blue pattern. The medallion with a chip in the plaster above the cloak hooks.
And the empty chair where the housekeeper, Mrs. Tillmouth, or a footman usually waited for all to come safely home.
“I sent Mrs. Tillmouth to bed.” Her mother’s voice floated from the unlit hall until she came into view, her thick auburn braid rested on her shoulder like a laurel. Her eyes narrowed shrewdly. “I see you had quite an evening with Mr. Braithwaite.”
“What makes you say that?” She smoothed her coat, her stance awkward. It was foolish. She was a woman of twenty-four…not far from being on the shelf.
Her mother glided into the drawing room where she beckoned Livvy to follow. “Wet boots. Your rather quiet entrance…sans the Hastings’ carriage.”
Livvy followed her into the drawing room, and her mother shut the double doors behind them.
“And there are your waistcoat buttons. They are not properly fastened.” Her mother’s continental accent was light behind her. “Or should I sayre-fastened?”
She gasped, both hands covering her midsection. Her mother strode forward, her elegant, blue dressing gown swaying. She lit a taper and touched it to a brass candelabra, fine lines etching her forehead.
“As much as I should scold you for letting Mr. Braithwaite kiss you, we have bigger problems than your evening’s escapades.”
“Father?”
“No. Mr. Haggerty. He’s here.”
“Here’s herenow?” Livvy sunk into the nearest chair. The man she’d unofficially agreed to marry.
“Sound asleep upstairs thanks to Mrs. Tillmouth’s tincture. He complained of a headache when he arrived. But between you and me, the good woman spiked it with one of her stronger herbs in an effort to save your hide, my dear.”
“I didn’t think he’d be here this soon.”
Her mother poured port into a crystal glass. “Your Mr. Haggerty is most anxious to have the banns read. He brought his solicitor, Mr. Kendall.”
Humph!Her Mr. Haggerty. He’d want nothing to do with her if he knew what had happened tonight. No one could tell. Not even her mother. The comment about letting Jonas have his way with ardent kisses was enlightening. That’s what her mother believed had happened. Brushing hair off her face, that’s what she’d let her mother keep thinking.
Livvy’s shoulders sagged inside her coat. What about Mr. Haggerty? He was their best chance for the best price for the chair.
