Page 78 of An offer from the Marquess (Necessary Arrangements 4)

Chapter 20

Something wicked glinted in Lady Isabel’s eyes. She’d been quite red from the moment he’d spotted her on the bank of the stream, and her blush had deepened when Vane made the comment about his bare torso.

She looked shy, almost bashful. He’d imagined she was quite experienced if she’d been lovers with Stanhope for over a decade, and he did not expect her to blush over Vane’s naked chest.

“At least we are even now,” he said as they ascended the stairs to the first floor.

She glanced at him with evident confusion.

Ah, she still hadn’t figured it out. He smirked and led the way to her bedchamber. He opened the door for her, and she slowly glided in.

“If you are referring to the first night we shared this room together, I am compelled to remind you that I was not nearly as disrobed as you were.”

Rhys smiled, remembering the flimsy nightgown and how it hugged her womanly curves. “Thank you for the reminder. But no, that was not what I was referring to.”

She walked further into the room and perched herself on the bed. “What were you referring to?”

“The first time we met,” he said simply.

Lady Isabel frowned. “Do you mean tackling me at the ball?”

“First off, you tackled me. And secondly, that’s not the first time we met.” Vane allowed himself a slow smile.

She looked utterly confused. “No?”

“No.”

Lady Isabel raised her brows. “Please, enlighten me.”

Rhys leaned his hips on the edge of the vanity table. “We met at the stream. On your father’s estate.”

“On my—” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you telling that story you told during our wedding breakfast again?”

Rhys raised a brow. “Do you remember it?”

She looked at him queerly. “Of course, I do. And I’ve asked you about it.”

“And I told you the truth. I said I met a girl once just like that. I meant you.”

Lady Isabel looked quite confused. “I was nineteen. And I was swimming in my shift!”

“Well, I couldn’t very well tell that to our wedding guests.”

“And the boy I met, he was younger than me”—Rhys grimaced—“and his name was Thomas!”

Rhys let out a chuckle.Oh, Lord.“Do you know what my name is?”

She reared back, offended. “Of course, I know your name.”

“My full name?”

“Viscount Carlton, the fifth Marquess of Vane—”

“These are my titles. What about my name?”

Lady Isabel rolled her eyes. “Thomas Rhys Townsend.”

“Yes, what was that first one?”

---