Page 19 of Charming the Accidental Suitor
No one was convinced by her argument. Not even her.
“But…” She fidgeted with her fan. “Thank you, all the same.”
He dipped his head in acknowledgment.
“Now then.” She turned to face him, her smile bright. “When exactly will the time be right? A lady cannot be expected to wait forever, you know.”
6
This was odd. Albright caught himself staring at Felicity and tore his gaze away.
Odd and…good.
This was oddbecauseit was good.
He was actually enjoying himself with Felicity and that…was bad.
Wasn’t it?
He scrubbed a hand over his jaw as Carver and Meg joined them, all smiles and laughter just like Felicity. But his own levity began to fade as he realized he’d all but made a scene earlier. And he’d certainly made it clear to Everson that he didn’t like the man.
Oh yes, the more time passed, the more Albright began to look upon his own behavior this evening in horror. He’d…forgotten himself.
He’d forgotten his mission. And that was very, very bad.
“So?” Felicity’s breath was warm against his cheek as she went up on her toes to speak quietly in his ear when the others were distracted.
He swallowed hard when he looked down to see her smiling up at him, her eyes alight with eagerness.
“Will you tell me now?”
She’d asked every time they’d had a moment of relative privacy.
“No.” He said it instantly and not without a smile. Her asking, his refusals…
It had turned into a sort of game between them. The whole night had started to feel this way. He kept finding himself laughing or falling into conversations that were as ridiculous as they were entertaining.
This time, Felicity gave him a good natured shrug and switched the topic. “But if Iwereto become a pirate,” Felicity said, picking up a former conversation where she’d left off.
“Are we still on about pirates?” he asked. But he couldn’t hide his amusement.
Her choice of conversation topics was nothing short of ridiculous. But he couldn’t recall the last time he’d had so much fun.
The young lady was the very worst sort of distraction. He had an investigation to pursue, not to mention a life to lead, and friends to meet. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to walk away from the peculiar girl beside him.
He told himself he stayed at her side solely because he was trying to keep her out of trouble. Who knew what harm she could find if left to her own devices?
The thought was sobering and made him feel slightly more at ease as he remained at her side. It wasn’t until she departed the gathering that Albright realized Everson had left too.
And he hadn’t even noticed.
He thrust a hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. How in blazes had he let himself be so distracted?
“You alright there, old chap?” Rodrick called over to him.
He nodded to his friend, and then realized that his friends were very nearly the only ones left. “Would you mind a word when the other guests have departed?”
“Of course.” Rodrick frowned. “Is something the matter?”
