“Do you see why she enchants me, Reading?” Rohan said. And then his gaze and voice hardened to steel. “You didn’t offer Miss Harriman any insult did you, Cavalle? I should be most displeased if she were not treated with the utmost care and respect. ”
She glanced behind her. The majordomo was the color of parchment, and she could swear she could hear his knees knocking. There was no question that he was terrified.
“Of course he treated me with care and respect,” she said in a crabby voice, taking pity on the man. “He simply wished to announce my presence to give you time to cover yourself like any decent Christian, but I was in too much of a hurry and I ran ahead. ”
“Indeed,” he said, clearly not believing a word she said. “You always run around in torn clothes and your hair halfway down your back? You may go, Cavalle. We’ll discuss this later. ”
“Yes, my lord,” the man said, his voice quaking.
Then Rohan’s dark blue eyes focused on her. “And what in heaven’s name made you think I was a decent Christian, child? I am affronted. ”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “There is always hope, Monsieur le Comte. I wish to speak to you. ”
“And here you are, my precious. Is it a private matter? Reading will be more than happy to leave us. Come sit beside me. ” He patted the snow-white sheets. “If I am to entertain a woman in my bedroom I prefer to keep them in close quarters. ”
“And I prefer you to put clothes on. ”
“Why?” He sounded like the soul of reason.
For the first time she noticed the bandage on his arm. “You’ve been hurt,” she said, momentarily distracted.
“A trifle. ” He dismissed it. “Why do you want me to put clothes on?”
“I will not have a discussion with a…a naked man. It’s distracting. ”
His soft laugh was maddening. “Very well, my sweet. In that case Reading had best take you to my sitting room while I ring for my valet, because I’m afraid that under these covers I’m as naked as the devil made me, and if you aren’t going to join me you should retire before you faint with shock. ”
“Come along, Miss Harriman,” Mr. Reading said, taking her arm. “He’s in one of his moods. It’s wiser not encourage him. We’ll await him in the sitting room. ”
He’d already begun to pull the covers away from his body, and she spun around, hoping the heat in her cheeks wasn’t visible to the sardonic man by her side. The comte’s soft laugh followed her out into the adjoining room.
“Have a seat, Miss Harriman,” her substitute host said. “May I offer you something to drink? We can have Cavalle bring tea, or perhaps something a bit stronger. I fancy he’s not overfond of the stairs, and forcing him to run up and down them would be entertaining. ”
“No, thank you, sir. ” She perched herself on the edge of one slender gilt chair, determined not to show how exhausted she was.
“I trust your…family is well? Nothing untoward has brought you racing out into a snowy night?”
She heard that hesitation, and she repressed an inner sigh. Everyone who saw her sister fell in love with her, and Reading was clearly no exception. “My sister is fine,” she said.
There was a curious sweetness in Reading’s scarred smile. “If I can be of any assistance…?”
“This concerns Lord Rohan and myself,” she said.
He took a seat beside her on one of the little chairs. “You’re clearly an intelligent young woman—you must have realized that his lordship and I are particularly close. You can talk to me about whatever it is that troubles you. ”
She didn’t bother to suppress her skeptical expression. “I’ll await his lordship, thank you. This is between him and me. ”
“Oh, indeed it is. ” Reading smiled faintly. “In which case I’ll take my leave. It’s been weeks since I’ve been in town and there are a number of friends and establishments I wish to revisit. I do realize that it’s completely rude to abandon you like this, and I assure you it has nothing to do with the vast amount of respect I hold for you, but merely because I’m a shallow soul who’s a slave to my appetites. And I strongly suspect Rohan wants to be alone with you. The bonds of friendship, alas, outweigh the duties of polite behavior. ” He rose, took her hand and bowed low over it. She jerked away before he could kiss it, her face flaming as she remembered the last time a man had kissed her hand. And exactly what it had followed.
But Reading merely smiled at her, that peculiar, twisted smile, and was gone.
She had a moment’s panic when he closed the door behind him. Her initial rage had settled enough for her to have the sudden, horrifying thought: What in heaven’s name was she doing?
It wasn’t as if help was coming from any other quarter. Surely she could have accepted Rohan’s charity without offering her sister as virgin sacrifice. As for her own sense of honor, that was long gone. Ending up li
ke her mother might be a step up in the world.
If it were simply a matter of reputation that had been destroyed long ago, and she was worrying for naught. That particular concern had vanished years past due to any number of occurrences, including the fact Lydia’s mother was a whore and her sister…