“I’ll get my sister to come. To chaperone. So it all appears aboveboard.”
“She would do that?”
“She loves the country. Horses and dogs and wide-open moors are her particular idea of heaven. And it will allow you to spend more time with Celeste. To establish a bond with her and to provide the support and guidance and, indeed, the female companionship she’s been missing so desperately.” Dominic was aware he was unfairly spinning things out, snaring Artemis in a web of obligation when she’d already done what he’d asked her to do—by all accounts, she’d discovered who “T” was in less than an hour. If she wanted to, she could end their engagement right now and ask him to provide the funds for her college.
Though he rather wished that she wouldn’t.
She dropped her gaze to his neckcloth and her fingers flirted with the black silk folds. “At this stage, I’m not sure if I will help or hinder.”
“You’ve said that before, yet you’ve already done so much. I have no doubt at all that you’ll continue to help Celeste. She may not recognize that now, but she will.”
“I’m glad you think so. She probably thinks I’m as monstrous as Cinderella’s stepmother.”
“I’m sure she doesn’t. Give her time.” Dominic’s gaze dropped to Artemis’s delectable ripe-as-a-summer-plum mouth. The desire to kiss her was an insistent tattoo in his blood. He slid his hand about her slender torso and flexed his fingers, wishing he could explore what lay beneath the confines of her bodice and corset. “I’d ask you to stay and dine with me, but I have mountains of work to get through before I depart tomorrow.” He wanted to spend the entire evening with her, so very much. The urge to spirit her up to his bedroom, to get lost in her for a few blissful hours, was strong. An irresistible force.
A bone-deep ache.
But he couldn’t. As always, duty called.
“I understand you’re busy.” She stroked the hair off his forehead. “No rest for the wicked?”
His mouth twitched with a wry smile. “Something like that.” He stroked his fingers up the long, elegant line of her back, then curled them around her nape. A thick, silken curl that had escaped the confines of pins and combs brushed his skin. Even her goddamn hair was tormenting him. “You still haven’t answered me, Artemis. Will you come? To Ashburn?”
His eyes searched hers, hoping to find a need as strong as his. If she said no…
She smiled. “I would love to, Dominic.”
He couldn’t suppress a grin of triumph. “Excellent. I’ll have Horatia pick you up in her carriage to ferry you to Paddington Station. I have a private railway car that will take us to Newton via Exeter. Ashburn Abbey is only an hour’s carriage ride away from there. I hope eight o’clock isn’t too early?”
“No, that will be quite—”
The door to the library burst open, and Morton charged in as though the British cavalry were on his heels. “Your Grace, you said to let you know when these documents from the Home Office arrived. Oh…” Dominic’s private secretary halted in the middle of the Persian rug. Behind his spectacles, his face had turned as red as the decanter of claret on the sideboard. “I humbly beg your pardon, Your Grace. Miss Jones. I–I had no idea Miss Jones was still here.”
Artemis slid off Dominic’s lap and smoothed her slightly rumpled skirts. “That’s quite all right, Mr. Morton,” she said, her manner cooler than a cucumber. “I was just leaving anyway.”
No, it wasn’t all bloody right, but at least Artemis had handled the situation with her usual aplomb. Dominic rose too. “Morton, will you send for an unmarked carriage to take Miss Jones home?” Horatia’s coach had already gone back to Northam House.
Artemis waved a hand. “There’s no need. I’ll walk.”
“Walk?”
She laughed. “You know, to amble, to stroll, to saunter. That thing we do when we put one foot in front of the other and we’re carried forward. Cadogan Square isn’t far. A mere half mile. I’m certain I can manage it.”
Cheeky wench.“I’m sure you can, but are you sure? It’s no trouble at all.”
“I’m positive.”
“I’ll send a footman with you.”
“Honestly, Dominic,” she chided gently. “I’ll be fine. I’ve managed to walk about London and elsewhere on my own for more than a decade. And if anyone notices me leaving here unaccompanied, it won’t bother me. Weareengaged so I’m sure a degree of latitude is permitted.”
He sighed. “Very well.”
She leaned in to kiss his cheek. “I’ll see myself out. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Minx.Dominic could hardly wait.
***