The Passion (Notorious 2)

Still, she didn't like it that Nicholas was aiding and abetting Harry's rebellion.

The final straw was Burford's Panorama in Castle Street, which offered murals of, among other things, the naval victories of Admiral Nelson on the Nile. All Harry could talk about afterward was going to sea.

"I think perhaps it's best if you cease taking him to any more entertainments," Aurora told Nicholas during their morning ride the following day.

"Why?"

"Because Harry is an impressionable young boy. I dread to think what wild notions he is picking up from you."

"I would hardly call an exhibit of Egyptian hieroglyphics wild."

"It is not the entertainment but your company that concerns me. You are scarcely the best influence, Nicholas."

"Brandon, please, my love."

Aurora raised her eyes to the sky. "It disturbs me that Harry is becoming so attached to you. I don't like to consider how disappointed he will be when you must leave." Or how she herself would feel. "He sees you as a hero because of all your adventures."

"From all reports, I don't hold a candle to his late brother for adventures. According to Harry, your Geoffrey was a spy."

Aurora shook her head. "Harry is quite mistaken. Geoffrey was the last man who would ever become involved in spying."

"Why do you say so?"

"He was far too intellectual. He always had his nose in a book."

"He sounds deadly dull."

The accusation irked her, yet Aurora found herself averting her gaze in chagrin. She had scarcely thought of Geoffrey in the fortnight since Nicholas's arrival in England.

A sharp ache filled her at the realization, along with a profound surge of guilt. How could she be so disloyal to Geoffrey's memory? She had known him all her life, but she could barely remember him now, his image was so eclipsed by Nicholas's vital presence.

Compared to Nicholas, he was only a shadow.

Aurora pressed her lips together, determined to conquer her disloyalty. "Geoffrey was a proper gentleman, yes," she replied curtly, "and a gentle man. He would never leave his home and family and risk his life simply for the thrill of it. Unlike some others I know," she added pointedly.

"Like I said… dull."

When Aurora bristled, Nicholas only grinned and gestured with his head toward a grove of trees beside the Serpentine. "I'll wager your dear Geoffrey would never have thought of bringing you here, or that you would ever have serviced him so delightfully if he had."

She realized they were passing the spot where Nicholas had brought her for a moonlit interlude, and she flushed. When she looked at him, though, the devilish light in his eyes faded, and so did the rest of the world.

Aurora froze, ensnared by the silent intensity of Nicholas's gaze. The raw tension that had lain simmering beneath the surface had returned in a heartbeat with the force of a blow… along with another dangerous emotion.

Desire. It flared up in her, swiftly, uncontrollably, at a single glance.

For the past two weeks she'd done her utmost to pretend indifference, to ignore the fierce longing Nicholas roused in her, but it was still keenly alive, smoldering between them.

At some point she would have to face it, Aurora realized. Unwilling, however, to deal with the issue just then, she forced her gaze away.

Yet she knew the volatile situation between them could not continue very much longer.

Even with Harry to shield her, Nicholas's pursuit of her showed no sign of abating, and it kept Aurora in a constant state of conflict. He was turning her life upside down, just as she feared, destroying her hard-won equanimity. It dismayed her, how vulnerable she was to him.

It was more dismaying to remember the danger he faced. The following afternoon, Aurora was rudely reminded just how precarious Nicholas's situation was: she received a letter from her cousin Percy in St. Kitts, wondering if she had heard from Nicholas.

Aurora feverishly devoured the contents, which implied that at least one earlier missive had gone astray.

Since I last wrote you, I have concluded that the rumors of Nicholas's survival must be true. Not only are there reports he was seen in the Caribbean since his presumed drowning, but yesterday I was questioned by naval officers searching for the pirate Captain Saber.