Scandalously Yours (Hellions of High Street 1)

Caro made a face. “I don’t like chess. It’s far too complicated and confusing.”

“To each his own,” murmured Olivia, snagging an errant curl and securing it with a hairpin. She threaded a narrow ribbon through her topknot. “The game requires focus, imagination, and a willingness to take risks. I like the challenge, for it keeps me mentally sharp.”

“One small mistake can be the difference between victory and defeat,” pointed out Anna. “Which is, of course, a metaphor for the game you are playing in real life.”

“I’m well aware of that,” replied Olivia, taking care to avoid the reflection of her sister’s gaze in the looking glass. “Trust me, I am being exceedingly cautious with my own moves. In another two weeks this will all be over…”

Over, over, over.

“And Lord Wrexham and I will go our separate ways. So the worst of the danger has passed.”

Their carefully choreographed strategy for entering and leaving the walled garden on their own had worked without a hitch. We work well together, she mused. Strangely enough, despite all our differences, our strengths seem to complement one another.

“Trust me, we are both extremely cautious. Unlike you two, the earl and I are ruled by cold logic, not fiery emotion.”

“And yet, you can’t deny that you’ve plenty of passion burning inside your breast,” murmured Anna.

“That’s different,” replied Olivia quickly. “The fact is, it burns inside my head, not my breast—or any other part of my anatomy.”

“Ha! Some hero will light a flame in your heart,” said Caro. “After all, love is the most elemental of human emotions.”

Anna choked down a burble of mirth.

“You’ve been reading too many of Anna’s books.” After spearing a last hairpin into place, Olivia glanced at the mantel clock. “Time to be off.”

The long walk helped her gather her thoughts—for some reason they seemed to be straying far off the beaten path today. Using her key to unlock the garden gate, she slipped into the coolness of the shaded enclave and slid the bolt back in place. The fragrance of lavender and the grassy scents of the leafy foliage helped further calm her nerves.

Save for the twitter of a linnet, no sounds disturbed the stillness. Winding her way along the narrow pathway, she eased through an opening in the rhododendron bushes and entered the small cottage.

It had been the earl’s turn to arrive early. He was seated at the desk in the far corner of the main sitting room and was already at work. Sunlight from the bank of diamond-paned leaded windows behind him played over his bent head. She could hear the scratch-scratch of his pen and the rustle of foolscap.

He had removed his coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves, for early on, they had agreed to shed the formal restrictions of Polite Society during these sessions. As Olivia unknotted her bonnet strings, she watched the rippling of his back muscles beneath the stretch of linen. Oddly enough, he seemed even bigger and broader…

With a small cough, she set her headcovering and gloves on the entrance table, followed by her shawl.

John turned around. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.” A smudge of ink streaked his forehead just above his left eyebrow and several clumps of dark hair were standing up in spiky tufts.

Repressing a smile, Olivia replied, “Your concentration was on your work, which is all for the good.”

Concentrate, concentrate.

He had also removed his cravat and unfastened the top two buttons beneath his collar. Swallowing hard, she forced herself not to look at the intriguing “V” of bronzed flesh peppered with coarse curls.

“How is the new section coming?” she asked brusquely.

“Slowly,” he replied, raking impatient fingers through his hair. “I can’t seem to get it right.”

Moving to the work table in the middle of the room, Olivia perched a hip on the corner and began perusing one of the reference books that lay open on the blotter. “Have you looked at Jefferson’s collection of essays?”

“Yes, and I have to say that I disagree with some of his points. And that’s what’s bedeviling me. I feel I should change my reasoning on several of the secondary issues. Let me explain why…”

The earl was growing more confident, she noted as they debated the merits of the American thinker’s ideas.

“You have convinced me, Wrexham,” she finally acknowledged. “I believe that all things considered, your point of view is better than the one I originally suggested.”

“You do?” John looked a little surprised. “Truly?”

“Truly.”