Page 57 of A Scandalous Proposition
‘My glass is empty.’ She gulped the remnants of her drink, choking as the bubbles hit the back of her throat. ‘I’d like more champagne first,por favor,if it’s no trouble.’
‘None whatsoever.’
To her dismay he didn’t leave the room but reached beside the huge bed to where a bottle was chilling in a bucket of ice. He opened it and refilled both their glasses.
‘Now then, why don’t you remove that domino so that I can feast my eyes upon the rest of you?’
*
Philippa had invited just a few guests to share a quiet family dinner, all of whose company Adam was known to enjoy. Lord King didn’t number amongst them. It was as though she was showing him, by issuing two such contrasting invitations within days of one another, how pleasant she could make his life if only he would fall in with her ambitious plans.
The ladies had withdrawn, and as the port circulated Adam permitted his mind to wander. He’d had a long meeting with Lord Madison the previous day and plans were in place to capture Dawson when he next made landfall. The temptation to acquaint Florentina with the precise nature of those plans had been compelling. But he resisted. The less she knew, the harder it would be for her to put herself in danger. For that reason, and others besides, he didn’t trust himself to be alone with her until this matter was resolved.
Or until she voluntarily told him what manner of difficulty still plagued her.
It was damnably frustrating, knowing she was a stone’s throw away in the dower house and not even being able to look at her. But he was resolute. To make sure he didn’t weaken, he’d asked his mother to keep her occupied as much as possible. His intuitive parent raised a questioning brow and then smiled broadly, assuring him that it would be her pleasure.
Not being with her didn’t prevent him from thinking about her, almost to the exclusion of everything else. The manner in which she’d surrendered herself to him with such unbridled passion. The featherlight touch of her fingers as they danced across his torso. The look in her eye as she begged him for release. The…
‘Beg pardon, my lord. This was just delivered for you. The messenger said it was urgent.’
Adam started. He’d not even heard the footman enter the room, so lost in erotic thought had he been.
‘Thank you.’
Adam took the note from the salver the footman proffered and broke the wafer. As soon as he realised it was from Christine, a cold sweat broke out on his brow. The note said just three words:Come at once.This had to be something to do with Florentina. And it had to be calamitous. Christine would never write to him here, and certainly not in such an abrupt manner, unless it was a matter of extreme urgency.
He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over in his haste to be gone. All conversation ceased, and the other gentlemen looked at him with open curiosity.
‘My regrets to your wife, James. Urgent business of an unexpected nature has arisen.’
He was halfway out of the door before James responded in a languid tone. ‘Another floozie that can’t get enough of you, I suppose.’
His comment was greeted with a smattering of laughter that Adam barely heard. He left the house and headed to the stables at a run. Too impatient to wait for a groom to saddle Rochester, he did it himself and was galloping down the drive less than five minutes later.
He arrived at Chamberleigh, threw his reins at the lad who ran to meet him and strode into the house. Christine was pacing the entrance vestibule, awaiting his arrival.
‘What is it?’ he asked her.
‘Let’s talk in here.’ She led the way into a small anteroom. ‘Florentina has gone to Lord King’s masquerade,’ she said without preamble.
‘What!’ He ran a hand through his hair, unable at first to take in what he’d just heard. ‘How in the devil?’
‘They met at Philippa’s soiree.’
‘Yes, I’m aware of that.’
‘What you perhaps don’t know is that he’s been pursuing her ever since.’
‘Ah, that explains a lot. But why didn’t she tell me?’
‘She had her reasons.’ Christine stood in front of the empty fireplace and Adam could see that she was greatly troubled by Florentina’s impulsive action. It took a lot to unsettle Christine, which only added to his anguish. ‘You see, Lord King was threatening to tell your mother that she’s connected to Chamberleigh if she didn’t go.’
‘What made him imagine that she is? And how did he know when and where to intercept her?’ Realisation came crashing in, and with a slow nod of understanding he answered his own question. ‘Philippa.’
‘Yes. Being aware of King’s tastes, I imagine she deliberately introduced the two of them, anticipating that he would be smitten. She thought Florentina had something to do with this establishment, knew of her excursions in the gig each afternoon and put the idea in King’s head.’
‘For the love of God, Christine, one of you ought to have told me. About King, I mean.’
