Page 30 of Seducing a Frigid Lady
“Never, Miss Lloyd, I can walk for hours.”
Again, there was a challenge set in her gaze and Lionel knew without a doubt that he was willing to rise to it no matter what she tried to throw at him.
Chapter 10
After the fiasco in the park, Priscilla did not see the viscount again. Yet she thought of him often, unsure as to how she felt, considering that their views on marriage seemed so similar. It was odd to actually share something in common with a male member of thetonfor a change.
If there was one night of the year that could stop her from thinking of the viscount and their wager, or even stop her aunt from constantly nagging at her, then it was the night of the year when Lord Frost was to hold one of his exhibitions.
Though the man was just as eccentric as her father and half his age, every member of thetonloved him greatly, Priscilla included. Not only did she love his utter lack of following in the rest of theton’s footsteps, but she also loved him for his marvellous taste in art and literature and the fact that he was perhaps the only young man in all of society who did not look at her as though she were a puzzle or a challenge to be conquered just for the sake of it.
Though her father had been called away on business and she was unhappy that he could not share in the one night a year they both so loved to attend, Priscilla was exceedingly glad to stand in Lord Frost’s halls. It was perhaps the one night on the calendar that did not make her feel out of place.
The parties that Lord Frost threw along with his exhibitions were legendary, having turned half of his manor into one giant piece of artwork. With exotic dancers, acrobats and an entire assortment of live entertainment, not to mention all the sculptures, paintings and other atrocities that Lord Frost came up with, everybody was far too entertained to bother wondering what she was up to or where she might sneak off to.
And after a suitable amount of time taking in all of Lord Frost’s hard work, that was exactly what she did. With her masquerade mask on, she slipped from the hallowed halls of the main part of the manor and took herself up the servants' staircase, checking back over her shoulder several times to be sure that she would not be seen or followed.
The only person who might care for her absence was Sophie and so far she had been utterly distracted by Lord Knighton, whom she appeared quite enamoured with of late.
Priscilla was halfway up the stairs, already able to imagine the wonderful smell of books in the library at the top of the manor, when she heard the sound of a door opening above her head. Stopping dead in her tracks, she held her breath and listened.
Surely it had to be a servant. No other guest would be found skulking about on the servants’ stairs while there was a party going on downstairs. And yet the way the boots clicked on the stone stairs above her told her that she might know the person.
Just as she started to glean who it might be, Lord Frost appeared before her, looking quite pleased with himself.
“Ahh! Miss Lloyd!” he greeted her warmly with a flourishing bow and a great waving gesture of his arm. “I had a feeling I might find you here.”
Priscilla could not help but laugh at the eccentricity of the man and the way he practically bounced about her, looking like a child who was about to get everything he had ever dreamt of.
“I… I was just on my way to…” Priscilla started, finding it next to impossible to string a sentence together when he was smirking at her so happily. “Lord Forst, what are you doing up here when you ought to be downstairs with your guests?”
“Oh, Cilla!” Lord Frost said scoldingly. He made her jump with the way he lifted a hand andboppedher on the nose with the tip of his finger. “You ought to know better than to call me that! We are friends, are we not? Otherwise, why would you be sneaking off to hide in my library for the evening?”
He winked at her and before she could say a word; he gripped hold of her forearms and began to spin her as if in a fool’s dance, clearly excited and quite wonderfully mad.
“I had some finishing touches to make on my treasure hunt, though it is all fixed now and I am to rejoin my guests,” Lord Frost explained, beaming from ear to ear.
Priscilla laughed unbridled, feeling as though Lord Frost was the only person in thetonwhom she did not need to act the Ice Queen with. It was rather ironic really, considering his name.
“Well then, you had better get yourself back downstairs and announce it to your guests before they begin to wonder where you are!” Priscilla insisted, knowing that from the looks of him he was far too excited to stand still let alone think straight.
“Oh, yes! Yes!” Lord Frost responded, releasing her and beginning to make his way down the stairs past her. He only paused long enough to turn around and wink at her. “And don’t worry. Your whereabouts are safe with me.”
Priscilla chuckled to herself as she heard him hurrying off down the winding staircase. Being of similar age to the earl and knowing just how mad he could be, she had always seen him as a friend, always known that his parents had left him far too great a sum of money that had allowed him to do whatever the hell he wanted with his life, and he was unapologetically doing so.
I only hope I am as happy as he when I find myself in a similar situation,she thought, her stomach clenching at the idea of losing her father and being left with nothing but the fortune and the title that he had promised to her in his will. Though it was the life of a spinster, it was a much happier life than many had planned for their daughters.
Relieved and reassured by meeting with Lord Frost, knowing that he had no objection to her hiding herself away for the evening in his library, she smiled to herself as she continued on her way up the stairs.
The moment that she entered the library, the smell of so many books hitting her all at once, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. All was quiet in the room, even though she knew without a doubt that the party would be going on at full force three stories beneath her.
Lord Frost’s parties always lasted well into the night, and she knew that she was in no danger of being missed. All would be far too excited by his treasure hunt and his wondrous collection of fine art and other things he had collected on his travels, not to mention the fact that everybody loved to get on his good side because he was so generous with hisfriends. Priscilla had never wanted anything from him, nothing save for the chance to hide in his library.
And she did so willingly, grabbing a book from the nearby shelf and flinging herself down onto the couch beside the roaring fireplace that felt as though it had been lit specifically for her.
The room was cosy and inviting, and best of all, it was empty save for her. Or so she thought.
She had barely settled herself down on the couch before she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was an all too familiar sound. One that made her tremble the moment that she heard it.
