Scandalous Deception (Russian Connection 1)

Crossing the room with long, impatient strides, Edmond was at her side and lifting her fingers to press them to his lips.

“Good morning, moya duska,” he said huskily, his voice tingling down her spine and making her toes curl in her slippers. With a last, lingering glance at the low bodice of her lavender silk gown, he turned to flash his aunt a questioning smile. “Hmm. Why do I feel as if I have just been dissected over the eggs and kippers?”

Much to her credit, Letty did not so much as bat an eye. “Tea, Edmond?”

“No, I thank you.” His attention returned to a blushing Brianna. “I have actually come to invite Miss Quinn for a drive.”

“It is rather early for a turn in the park,” Letty pointed out before Brianna could reply.

“Then it is fortunate that we are not headed for the park.”

“Where are we going?” Brianna demanded.

“It is a surprise.”

She gave a lift of her brows, thinking of the magnificent ring now hidden in her pocket.

“I think there have been enough surprises for one day, my lord.”

A slow smile of sheer temptation curved his lips. “Come, Brianna, I promise you will like this one.”

“It does not include anything from the Crown Jewels, does it?”

His eyes twinkled with amusement. They seemed to do that a great deal over the past weeks. Something she would never have believed possible in the remote, fiercely grim gentleman she had first encountered at that Courtesan Ball.

&n

bsp; “I fear not, the King is rather clutch-fisted with his family trinkets. It is well-known he would not even share them with his Queen.”

“Good heavens, I would hope not,” Letty said with a snort, her own lips twitching with humor. “That ugly little foreigner would have sullied them beyond repair.”

“Spoken like a true Englishwoman, Aunt Letty. However, that ugly little foreigner did ensure that William Pitt increased the Prince’s allowance and George was most anxious to get his hands upon the fortune.”

“A pity he was not equally willing to get his hands upon her, or there might have been more than one child.”

“Mon dieu, I brought Brianna here because I was convinced that you would be a proper chaperone, Letitia,” Edmond chided, feigning shock at his aunt’s words. “Obviously, I would have been better served to dump her in the stews.”

Letty shrugged. “I merely say what everyone else is thinking.”

“Yes, and you do so with such an innocent bat of your lashes that you are never given a proper set-down. ’Tis a talent that I have long admired.”

The older woman gave one of the twittering laughs that so easily convinced others she was a bit of fluff.

“Really, Edmond, I haven’t the least notion what you are speaking of.”

“You know precisely what I speak of, you sly old fox.” Edmond shook his head, but there was no mistaking his deep fondness for his aunt. “I can only pray that Brianna has not been entirely corrupted.”

Letty turned her shrewd gaze toward the silent woman across from her.

“Oh, I believe Brianna possesses the spirit to decide whether she wishes to be corrupted or not.”

“She does indeed,” Edmond readily agreed, holding out a hand. “Well, my dear, will you join me?”

“I…” With a small nod, Brianna rose to her feet. For all her fears of the future, she did not want to end up like Vanya Petrova, bitterly regretting the decisions of her past. She wanted to reach out and grasp the happiness that was offered. “Very well.”

EDMOND WATCHED IN SILENCE as Brianna slipped on her light cloak and charming bonnet decorated with satin ribbons and cherry blossoms. His heart clenched with a familiar ache at the sight of the early morning sunlight glinting off her fiery curls and brushing her ivory skin with a golden glow.

Just being near her was enough to lighten his mood and make the day seem a bit brighter, but for all his pleasure in being in her company, there was a part of him that felt growingly frustrated at the distance she kept between them.