Page 6 of Charming the Accidental Suitor
She practically hummed with a level of energy that made everyone around her seem sleepy. Her eyes were forever sparkling with a hint of mischief and amusement. And while he’d long been aware that she was pretty, with her dark curls and her delicate features, it wasn’t until he’d been forced to touch her, to stand so close he could not ignore the warm, sweet scent of her…
He swallowed hard and tugged at his cravat.
Well, it was then he realized that spark was inside her. It made her skin burn his hand. It made the very air around her crackle like a summer night just before a storm.
He tugged at his cravat again, entirely too warm just thinking about that encounter.
It had been a disaster. He’d been a blundering fool. And yet, he couldn’t regret that he’d kept her from being discovered. He’d do whatever he must to keep Felicity safe from the likes of Everson.
But also…he’d do best to keep clear of her himself. This much he’d understood from the start. She seemed a nice enough young lady, if her friends were anything to go by. But Miss McGovern did not inspire the comfortable, quiet, placid feelings of long term friendship.
No, indeed. She inspired a riot of sensations that would only drive a man mad.
“Good evening, Lord Albright,” a voice said beside him.
And then, as if summoned by his thoughts—there she was. Miss Felicity McGovern, her curls now wrapped around her head in some sort of ornate crown. She smiled up at him with a dimpled, mischievous grin.
She might as well have leapt from a tree again, her appearance was so sudden.
“Miss McGovern!”
“Felicity, please.” Her voice was lower than most, and deceptively gentle. It was completely at odds with the spark in her eyes that set him on edge.
But despite his alarm, and the warning pound of his heart, he fell back on the good manners that had gotten him through over the years. “Are you enjoying the ball?”
She ignored the question, her gaze darting over him, then glancing over to the dance floor where Ann and Kal continued to make fools of themselves. Her lips hitched to the side in a little knowing smile. “She made the right choice, you know.”
He let out a little huff of surprise at her blatant acknowledgment of the awkward situation. “Yes. I know.”
Her nose wrinkled a bit in sympathy. “It cannot be easy to be the odd angle in a love triangle.”
This time he choked on a laugh. “The odd angle?”
“That’s how I picture it.” She held her hands up to form a triangle. “Two of them fit together neatly and the third is left out in the cold.”
He was torn between shock, horror, and amusement that she was speaking so plainly of something so personal. But it meant that he was able to admit the truth. “I am happy for them.”
Her smile was surprisingly sweet. “I’m glad.” She followed his gaze to the happy couple. “So am I.”
For a moment they shared a companionable silence. It was almost…pleasant.
Until she broke it suddenly. “Now then, I came over because I wish to discuss what transpired the other day.” She arched her brows. “When you were eavesdropping?”
“I wasnoteavesdropping.” Blast. He sounded like a stuffed-shirt ninny.
She met his gaze evenly and said nothing.
He huffed. “Oh, all right. Yes. Fine. I might have been…” He tilted his head to the side as he strained to find another term.
Felicity tilted her head as well. “Eavesdropping?”
His shoulders sagged. “Was there something that you wished to discuss, Miss—” He caught himself as she arched a brow. “Felicity?”
“Actually, I was hoping you might have something to discuss with me.” When he didn't respond, she added, “Why you were eavesdropping, for example. Shall we take a turn about the room?”
Eavesdropping. What a horrid term. He had to bite his tongue to protest that word again. It sounded so…unseemly. But he didn’t relish the idea of explaining the difference between eavesdropping and investigating. Because truthfully, in that particular circumstance…there was none.
He cleared his throat and aimed for polite but firm. “As I told you, it does not concern a young lady?—”
