Lost to the Night (The Brotherhood 1)

“Are you coming to Vauxhall? It would give you a chance to get to know Mr. Hartwood a little better.”

“Thank you, but I think I’ll stay here. Perhaps you should invite Mr. Hartwood to dinner tomorrow.”

“What a wonderful idea.” Aunt Beatrice’s smile faded. “I hope you’re not coming down with a chill after being outdoors for so long last night. No doubt, a good soak in a warm bath tub will do you a power of good.”

“I’m sure it will.” To be held tightly against a warm chest would serve her better, Evelyn thought, as she left the room.

So much for a soak in a hot bath. The water was cold by the time Katie came back in, and Evelyn wished she’d bathed in a chemise.

“Sorry, miss, I know I was supposed to bring the kettle, but there’s a letter come for you,” the maid said from behind the screen. “The boy wouldn’t hand it over, not until we’d given him something to eat. He ate two whole servings of Mrs. Anderson’s broth and still I had to grab it from his mucky fingers.”

Katie’s hand appeared around the screen, waving a linen towel for Evelyn to dry her hands before offering the letter.

Evelyn resisted the urge to snatch it from her grasp. Despite her tummy performing somersaults, she turned it over but found no evidence

of Alexander’s seal pressed into the wax. Not that she’d expected to see it. It would be unwise to reveal his identity when sending such a private missive.

“Did the boy say who sent it?”

“No, miss. Just that a gentleman paid him to deliver it. A nabob he said.”

Her stomach flipped over again as she broke the seal.

Evelyn scanned the elegant script, her eyes racing to the bottom and widening when she noticed it had been signed with one strong, masculine word: Hale. With her heart all aflutter she began to read the contents.

I hope this letter finds you well after the incident in the garden …

Incident! The word sounded so cold and unfeeling. Had he not felt the same burning desire? Could he not have thought of a better way to express it? Perhaps he struggled to convey what he felt in his heart or feared someone else might read it. Thankfully, his tone improved as she read on.

I know how you like to walk outside in the moonlight …

Now he was teasing her.

Perhaps you would care to join me at the Forbes’ exhibition. The gallery is displaying an assortment of paintings and the theme is ‘moonlight’ …

It was rather a romantic gesture, and so she could forgive him for his earlier mishap.

We shall have the gallery to ourselves and may peruse them at our leisure. Discretion is, of course, paramount. I shall send a carriage for you at three. Wait on the corner of Ryder and Bury Street.

No doubt, he would be waiting inside the exhibition. He must have paid Forbes handsomely for the privilege, and it put into question her earlier assumption that he was debt-ridden. He obviously still kept a carriage in Town despite insisting he never rode in one.

“The boy’s waiting for your reply, miss,” Katie said disturbing her reverie.

“Oh, yes.” She glanced down at the water. It would take her an age to get dry. “Just tell the boy that I am in agreement. There’s no need to say anything more.”

“Very well, miss,” the maid said, and Evelyn heard her pad across the floor and leave the room.

Evelyn read the letter again. Had she not been so wet, she would have hugged it to her chest. At least, she would not have to wait until supper to see him and being alone with him would mean more sinful gazes and amorous kisses.

Katie came back to help her out of the tub, and once she was dry, she popped on a wrapper.

“Your aunt said she’s leaving at one and will have luncheon out. Will you be coming down to eat or shall I bring something up?”

That would leave Evelyn two hours to get ready before Alexander’s carriage came. She could say she was going to read in the garden. No one would bother to check on her.

“No. After such a filling breakfast, I couldn’t manage anything else to eat.” Besides, nerves had caused her to lose her appetite.

“Well, just ring if you change your mind.”