Page 31 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
Sitting bolt upright in her seat, dropping the book she'd been holding, she twisted to find Lord Sinclair standing in the open doorway.
"Lord Sinclair! What are you doing up here?" she exclaimed, rushing to her feet. She was most relieved to be wearing her masquerade mask, hoping that it covered most of the shock she was feeling at seeing him there. His own was pulled down around his neck as though he had no intention of trying to hide himself from her.
Though upon seeing his face, Priscilla wished he would. In the shadows cast by the fireplace flames he was even more good looking, the ambience giving him a dangerous and all together animalistic appearance.
"I saw you leaving the festivities," Lord Sinclair explained with a shrug. He cautiously entered the room with the first hint of a smile on his face. "I thought I ought to come and check you were alright. You did not appear too comfortable downstairs."
"I was as comfortable as one could ever be surrounded by theton," Priscilla responded, her voice snapping a little more than she had meant for it to. "I was fine. I just needed a little quiet to think."
Lord Sinclair raised one dark eyebrow, sauntering closer, his body language almost feral. It was dangerous to allow him any closer. They were already breaking so many of theton's rules just by being alone in the same room together. Priscilla's heart beat faster with the thrill of it.
"To think about what, Miss Lloyd?" he asked, his tone seductive. He arrived close to her, his fingers hooked in the pockets of his waistcoat as though it was the only thing he could do to stop himself from reaching for her.
"My lord, I am afraid that is absolutely none of your business," Priscilla replied through gritted teeth, straightening herself up and trying to steel herself against the way he gazed at her.
"I was concerned something might have happened between you and Lord Frost when I saw him come down but not you," Lord Sinclair announced with concern in his tone as though he was unphased by her harsh tone and the way she tried to keep her distance.
At his words, she scoffed and shook her head, a few curls coming loose from her chignon. "Lord Frost and I are good friends. There is nothing that could happen between us for you to be concerned about."
At that, Lord Sinclair furrowed his brow. Was that disappointment she saw in his gaze or was it something else? Jealousy perhaps. Hope flared in Priscilla's stomach, but she quickly forced it away again. She had no need to be hopeful that a man like Lord Sinclair would be jealous over whom she decided to spend her time with.
"Are the two of you… close?" Lord Sinclair asked. Even as he did so he took a half-step towards her, his hand coming free of his pocket. Priscilla's breath caught in her throat as he met her gaze, reaching up to sweep a stray curl away from her face.
The very tips of his fingers brushed her cheek as he did so and sent a shiver running down the length of her spine.
"We are friends," Priscilla said coldly even though she felt hotter than she ever had in her entire life. The heat of the fireplace that had been warm and cosy before was now uncomfortably hot.
"I did not think that the Ice Queen had friends," Lord Sinclair commented, his gaze never leaving hers. Priscilla was all too aware of just how close he was. Even more so, she was aware of just how much closer she wished for him to be.
And yet, for all her failings in allowing him so close, her rational mind returned to her quickly.
"Lord Sinclair, this is entirely inappropriate!" she snapped at him, pulling away so quickly that she felt as though she might stumble backwards. She regained control of herself well enough, managing to hide the fact from the viscount who eyed her with great scrutiny, as though he was trying desperately to get a fix on her true mood but could not quite work her out.
"Miss Lloyd, you are a veritable conundrum."
His words sent a warm rush down her spine once more and it took everything that she had in her to stop herself from moving back towards him.
"My lord, you should not be here," she insisted. Her jaw was so tightly clenched that it had become painful, hiding her fisted hands in the folds of her peacock blue and green gown. "This is entirely inappropriate."
The corners of the viscount's lips twitched upwards in a most amused smile and he ran his thumb along them before he asked, "I thought you had no high opinion of thetonand its rules?"
The hair on the back of Priscilla's neck started to prickle, her body growing ever tenser. She hated the fact he was trying to use her own beliefs against her.
"That may be true, but it does not change the fact of what would happen if we were found alone together like this!" she reminded him. "Nor do I approve of your creeping up here in the dark to come and find me!"
Now Lord Sinclair laughed openly. Her flustered appearance had clearly amused him, only infuriating her more.
"Lord Sinclair, I do not appreciate your amusement."
She glowered at him, torn between anger and longing, a longing for their much easier conversation in the park several days ago when they had appeared to be entirely on the same page.
"I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, Miss Lloyd," Lord Sinclair assured her, dipping his head. Priscilla thought she saw genuine regret flash in his eyes, but when he looked up at her again, it was gone. "I merely came to check you were alright."
"I was until you came up here!" she snapped back at him, unable to stop herself. "I was perfectly fine until you disturbed the peace that Lord Frost's events have so often offered me."
A flash of hurt crossed the viscount's face, and Priscilla's gut churned. Had her tone been too harsh? Why should she care? She had spoken far harsher for far less previously and yet here she was, with the urge to go to him and apologise.
"You are entirely right, Miss Lloyd," he stated, bowing his head once more, and Priscilla's stomach flipped. Usually, the thought that she had won an argument against a man of thetonthrilled her, but now it only made her feel guilty. "I should not have presumed that you might have need of me."
