Page 35 of Irresistible
He emerged from the dressing chamber dressed entirely except for his cravat, which hung loose about his neck and his coat. “Would you mind tying my cravat again? I am woefully inadequate when it comes to fancier styles.”
“I don’t think I’m much better,” she said with a laugh. But she also wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to touch and be close to him. Keeping her attention entirely on the cravat, she moved as quickly as she dared.
“Do you think we can trust the housekeeper?” he asked.
She lifted her gaze to his. “You’re askingme?”
“Just trying to get your impression. It’s probably too soon to say yet.”
Moving her focus back to his cravat, she quickly finished and stepped back. “What should we do, then?”
“We can try to find a coded letter without her assistance.” Dougal went back into the dressing chamber, and she followed him to reapply her cosmetics for dinner. “It would be far more efficient to just get it from her, but I suspect I’ll need to search the William Blake Room. Probably sooner rather than later. I’d like to get you started on breaking the code.” He fastened a jeweled pin into the cravat.
Jess sat down at the dressing table and started with her brows, ensuring the auburn was evenly applied. “I’m anxious to get started too.”
He stood and watched her for a moment, making her feel self-conscious. She turned her head. “What?”
“Nothing, just watching you work. You’ve become rather accomplished in a short time.”
“I had to, didn’t I?” she said with a smile.
“Yes, but you absolutely rose to the occasion. Not everyone would have been able to do that.”
She went back to her application. “I’m still learning, but I appreciate your confidence in me. There is more from my tea with Mary. If the weather is fine, we are to take a picnic to the beach tomorrow and practice shooting. They shoot at targets every week.”
“They both shoot?”
“Yes, Mary said her husband taught her. I thought it would be a good time for you to teach me as well. She said they have plenty of guns.”
“I have my own gun with me, but I won’t reveal that to the Chesmores.”
She paused in applying the color to her lips and turned to face him. “You do? You haven’t mentioned it before.”
He shrugged. “I always carry one on a mission. It didn’t occur to me to tell you. My apologies.”
Was that suspicious? Jess had no idea. She didn’t like him keeping things from her, but was that because she was supposed to be learning everything about him in order to investigate whether he was working against the Foreign Office? Or was it because she felt a connection with him that invited full disclosure and sharing? It was an entirely artificial connection, and she needed to remember that. “Should I have a gun?” she asked.
“Not until you can shoot,” he replied with a laugh.
“Where do you keep yours?”
“I carry it with me unless I’m sleeping, and then it’s in the bedside dresser. It’s currently tucked beneath my waistcoat.” He touched his hand to his left side close to his arm. “I brought a small pistol for this assignment.”
“Have you ever had to use one on a mission?”
“Do you really want to know the answer?”
She turned back to the mirror to finish her lips. “Probably not. For then I shall want to hear the details, and you’ll refuse to tell me. It’s best if my curiosity is only partially piqued.”
He didn’t respond, and when she glanced toward the door, she saw that he’d left the dressing room. She set down the lip color and stared at her reflection. They were barely one day into this performance, and she was already having a hard time separating the fabricated from the reality.
She was going to need to find a way to keep her thoughts from wandering in inappropriate directions. How was she to do that when she suspected they were only going to grow closer?
Chapter9
Later that night, Dougal poured two glasses of brandy in anticipation of Jess finishing her toilet. He’d already prepared for bed. They took the dressing chamber in turns, and she’d insisted he go first tonight.
Before she’d gone into the dressing room, he’d unfastened her gown, which had been even more taxing than when he’d fastened it earlier. Temptation had overwhelmed him as he’d closed up the gown, but tonight as he’d exposed her flesh instead of covered it, his body had flushed completely—and hotly—with desire.
