For a moment he looked annoyed. “I fail to see what that’s got to do with anything. Reading assures me that anyone who’s ever met me would have reason to shoot me, so I must admit with all candor that I have no idea. Was it you?”
“If I’d shot you I wouldn’t have missed,” she said.
“Was that wishful thinking or are you in fact a practiced shot?”
“Desire would have made up for lack of expertise. ”
There was silence for a moment as she realized what her words might suggest. And then he simply smiled at her. “Oh, no,” he said. “That’s much too easy. ”
She ducked her head, refusing to meet his gaze, and continued to work her way through the pile of eggs on her plate that had somehow gotten replenished. She could feel the flush in her cheekbones again, and she silently cursed. Her skin, apart from the despised freckles, was much too pale and prone to showing her slightest agitation.
“In fact, I’m pleased you chose such a delightfully inappropriate time to visit, Miss Harriman,” he said after a long moment of silence. “I have an idea that might solve both your problem and mine. A way for me to happily endow your family with worldly goods without society looking askance, and to chase away any slight stain on your name. ”
She almost choked on the eggs. She looked up at him, horrified. “What do you mean by that?”
“What a curious reaction, child. Why, nothing more than that your extended time in my presence is likely to tarnish your reputation. Not past repair, I would hope, since I have nothing to show for it, but still…So I have fixed things most admirably. ”
The eggs stayed down. “And how have you done that, my lord?”
“I’ve found you a husband. ”
She was too astonished to react. “I hadn’t realized I
was in need of one. ”
“Of course you are. It’s only with a husband that you’ll have true freedom to explore the pleasures life can bring you. ”
“How exceedingly kind of you to worry about such things,” she said icily. “And you’ve found a husband who’ll provide me such pleasures?”
“It’s seldom the husband who provides the pleasure, Miss Harriman. It’s the lover. ”
“So you’ve found me a husband in order for me to take a lover? Forgive me for saying this doesn’t make sense. And I would think a husband would object to acts of charity on your part. ”
“That’s where you underestimate me. I have a cousin, a stern young man who disapproves of me thoroughly. He’s a doctor, and I’ve decided he’s in need of a wife to assist him in his practice. Someone who’s unafraid of life. He also happens to be my heir, since I’ve done my level best not to procreate, and he’ll inherit my French estates. I’ve been supporting him for the last decade or so. It would seem entirely logical that I support his wife. Which I propose to be you. ”
“I think, my lord, that you must be mad,” she breathed. “What could you possibly gain from such an arrangement?”
“Why, Miss Harriman, I thought that would be completely obvious. ”
“Not to me, Monsieur le Comte. ” The eggs suddenly felt cold and leaden in her stomach. His ridiculous plan would give him access to Lydia, all under the guise of familial affection.
“Then, my dear Miss Harriman, I would gain you. ” And he handed her a cup of tea.
10
Elinor took the last careful bite of eggs, setting her fork down beside the gilt plate that had held them. She considered retaining it as some sort of weapon, but the Viscount Rohan was hardly the sort of man to use force. Besides, despite his words, she wasn’t fool enough to believe him.
“You’re an accomplished liar, are you not?” she said.
Author: Anne Stuart He was lounging on the settee opposite her, the very picture of indolence. Lace dripped down over his strong hands and flowed from the throat of his waistcoat. The sight should have been reassuring, after that unsettling glimpse of his bare chest, but she couldn’t stop thinking of what lay beneath all those layers of silk and wool.
“How could I possibly confess to that? If I’m a liar then anything I tell you will be untrue. It’s a waste of time asking me such things. Now, when it comes to lovemaking it’s an entirely different matter. I can assure you when it comes to matters of the flesh I am quite simply unparalleled. ”
She gave him her most disagreeable look. “That is of no interest to me. ”
“Don’t lie, precious. You’re secretly fascinated at the thought of it. You’re wondering what your own body is capable of, after the brief taste you had in the carriage, and who would be the one to give you that kind of knowledge. And you know, deep in your heart, that I’m the one man capable of—”
“Oh, stop it!” she snapped. “You’re being quite tiresome. Don’t look at me with hooded eyes and pretend I’m the object of your undying lust. I’m a little too old to fall for such fantasies. ”