Page 67 of When the Viscount Seduces
“Yes, I need to speak with Morganfeld about a matter he’s discussing in the Commons.” Lazarus was concerned they would be delivering speeches on the same thing, and he hoped they might complement one another.
Gwen appeared in the ballroom suddenly, flanked by her parents. Lazarus hadn’t seen them enter. Her beauty made Lazarus’s chest ache with want. Her dark hair sparkled with bejeweled combs that caught the candlelight. She wore a green gown trimmed with ivory lace, with an embroidered bodice.
He wanted nothing more than to go to her, but he needed to avoid her as if she carried a deadly disease. Perhaps he should look for Morganfeld elsewhere.
“I’ll go in search of Morganfeld in the gaming room,” Lazarus said.
“I’ll join you,” Shefford said. “I’d rather be in there than here.”
“Whyareyou here?” Lazarus asked as they made their way from the ballroom.
“My father was supposed to attend, but is unable to do so. He asked if I would come in his stead. He owed Jordan a favor.” Jordan was the host.
“He wanted a duke to grace his wife’s ball?” Lazarus asked.
Shefford nodded. “The duke’s heir will have to be good enough.”
As they departed the ballroom, Lazarus glanced back toward Gwen. She’d seen him, and now their gazes connected. He saw the longing he felt reflected in her eyes. None of this was fair! He could only hope that in a few days, the Miss Worsley situation would be behind him, and he could perhaps consider courting Gwen.
But should he? She still deserved someone better than him.
Lazarus went to the gaming room, but Morganfeld wasn’t there either. It was likely he hadn’t arrived yet. If he didn’t show up at all, Lazarus would be frustrated. But Lazarus wasn’t sure he would wait much longer. Being in the vicinity of Gwen and unable to talk with her was absolute torture.
“I’m going to play for a bit,” Shefford said. “Join me?”
In his current state, Lazarus didn’t have the patience or attention to gamble. “I’m going outside.”
He strolled out the exterior door into the cool evening. No, it was bloody cold. What had he been thinking?
But before he could return inside, a flash of green hurried toward him. “Lazarus, I must speak with you,” Gwen said urgently as she grabbed his forearm and dragged him toward the shadows.
“It’s freezing out here,” he said. Instead, he looked for another entry. There was a door near the corner of the house. “This way.” He clasped her hand and led her to the door against every one of the voices of reason in his head that were screaming at him not to.
Turning the latch, he ushered her inside a dim landing. Stairs led up and down. The latter likely led to the kitchen. It seemed to be a servants’ passage.
Lazarus pulled Gwen inside then closed the door. Two sconces on either staircase provided meager lighting. But it was enough for him to make out her flushed cheeks.
“You should not be following me,” he said harshly. “Nor should I have brought you in here.” He should have run back into the house and left the ball.
“I need to speak with you about an urgent matter.” Her voice was tight, and he could feel the anxiety coming from her. Unless that was just his own. He had so much of it.
God, did she somehow know about Miss Worsley? But no, how would she? Lazarus forced himself to breathe. “What’s happened?”
“Eberforce sent a note to my parents saying you and I are conducting a liaison, that we’ve been meeting at your cousin’s house.”
“Bloody fucking hell.” Lazarus clenched his jaw shut, but it was too late, for he’d already let the curse out. “My apologies.” Could things get any worse? And could his behavior deteriorate further?
“Do not apologize. Those are my exact sentiments.”
Lazarus tried to ignore the thunderous thumping of his heart. It wasn’t entirely due to this vexing news. He was also keenly aware of Gwen’s proximity and the fact that they were alone and would likely not be interrupted. Desire pulsed through him with a steady, insistent rhythm. “What did you tell your parents?”
“That it’s not true, that Eberforce is just being spiteful.”
“Which he is. But how on earth does he know we’ve been meeting?” Lazarus set his hand on his hip. “And why would he say we’re having a liaison. Unless…is there any way he saw us kissing?”
“I had the same questions, but I can’t see how he would be able to access Droxford’s rear garden, and that is the only way he would have been able to see into the library.”
Lazarus saw that her heart was also beating fast. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Was she as affected by him as he was by her? Or was her physical reaction entirely due to her concern over that giant arse, Eberforce?
