Page 14 of The Viscount in her Bedroom
“Wool gathering?” he asked.
She gave a start. “Forgive me, my lord. It’s hard to know what I might be permitted to ask.”
“I can only say no.”
“Of course.” She found herself longing to know how he was recovering, but that would be too personal a question to ask. Tonight it must be all about Miss Wade. She took a deep breath. “I sense a tension about your sister’s first Season, and I don’t want to cause her any distress by my ignorance. She’s an intelligent, attractive girl. It did not go well?”
He didn’t say anything at first, then gave a sigh and tipped his head back, as if he were looking at the stars. “She reluctantly came out last Season—and promptly fell on her face in front of Queen Victoria.”
Louisa winced. “Oh, the poor girl.”
“It got worse from there. At a ball, she tripped a duke’s son when they danced. At a dinner party, she accidentally spilled her drink on the most sparkling debutante of the Season, leading to a rumor that she did it deliberately out of jealousy.”
“Who would believe such a thing?”
Simon listened to the sympathy and compassion in Miss Shelby’s voice. Though she had proved herself not so smart where men were concerned, it was obvious that she was a caring woman.
A woman who should have had her own household by now.
He hated how distrustful he’d become, how he now questioned the motives of everyone around him—everyone but family, whose motivations he understood. His family wanted to help him, and he was becoming tired of being their personal charity.
Now he had Louisa Shelby all concerned too. He didn’t have to see her; the pity was there in her voice. That’s what he inspired in the opposite sex now.
After several minutes, he realized she was waiting for him to say more about Georgie. But what was there to say? He was hardly going to tell her that he thought his mother was to blame for Georgie’s lack of self-confidence. That would be just another reason to pity the whole family.
“So will she go to London this Season?” Louisa asked.
“I don’t know.”
And now he sounded surly, so unusual for him. Well, for the old Simon. The new Simon was sitting beside a beautiful woman he couldn’t see, feeling sorry for himself. Miss Shelby reminded him too much of his old life. A year ago, in a situation like this, he would have been enjoying her company, making her laugh.
Now he was forced to wait for Manvil, when all he wanted to do was leave, to escape the tempting scent of her, the soft sound of her voice. He found himself wondering how often she’d “accidentally” been alone with men.
Her breath was sweet as perfume, and he could feel it on his skin. She was looking right at him.
“Why are you watching me?” he asked, hearing how husky his voice sounded.
She spoke steadily. “Because we’re having a conversation. I don’t usually look away from someone when I do that. And if you don’t mind my curiosity, how can you tell?”
“I can feel your breath.”
And then he didn’t. “You can stop holding it,” he said dryly.
She gave a soft laugh, and for a moment he was back in time, alone with a woman, his confidence as it used to be.
But he wasn’t a part of that world anymore. He sighed, turning away from her, wondering where Manvil was.
No, he was not going to play the coward. He forced himself to consider bold Miss Shelby and her questions. “Might I ask why you’re so concerned with my sister, when it is my grandmother who has employed you?”
She hesitated. “Because Miss Wade and I will deal with each other every day. As I said before, I don’t want to cause her any—”
“Distress, yes, I remember what you said. And strangely, I sense a deeper reason.”
“Ah, Lord Wade, maybe you’re trying to see too much into my innocent questions.”
He arched a brow at her, then heard her gasp.
“I didn’t mean—”
