Her expression soured. “You’re no different. You used your body to protect me from the crowd.”
“We are very different,” he pointed out.
She ran her gaze up and down him and he didn’t know what sort of conclusion she’d come to, but it could not be much dissimilar from his. They were complete opposites and no shared jokes about Sir Teddy’s pomade or admiration for her courage could change that.
He’d do well to remember that next time she smiled at one of his few jokes.
Chapter Nine
When Clementine pushed her chair back, the screech of the wooden legs upon the floorboards drew the attention of everyone in the room. Even Caroline Herschel paused to eye her. The last thing Clementine wanted to do was disrespect a woman who had given so much to the world of astronomy, but she needed to go. Immediately.
Diana Parker gripped Clem’s wrist. “Where are you going?” she hissed.
“Something just occurred to me,” she explained in hushed tones to her friend.
Diana rolled her eyes and glanced about the room. “We came here together,” she reminded Clem.
“Your cousin is here.”
“Yes, butyouare unaccompanied since Ivy is unwell.”
Clem waved her free hand and extracted her wrist from her friend’s surprisingly strong grasp. “Just do not tell Mama.”
“Whereareyou going?”
“I need to prove someone wrong.”
Her friend rolled her eyes again and gave a resigned shake of her head. It would not be the first time Clem had slipped away nor would it be the last, and thankfully Diana was such a darling, she would ensure no one discovered Clem’s unaccompanied escapades. Of course, Clem would have to return the favor soon, no doubt.
“So sorry.” She held up both hands as she squeezed through the gap of knees and chairs, issuing further apologies when she knocked into said knees, receiving a few mutterings of annoyance before Miss Herschel continued her talk.
She emerged from the assembly hall and stopped. Mary had mentioned in passing where Lord Rochdale had taken lodgings—at least she thought it was Mary. The marquis naturally created gossip by way of his rank and Clem had heard murmurings of gossip amongst several groups of women. It was impossible to remember from whom the information had come. Worst of all, she could not recall the address. Was it Church Street? She shook her head. No, the houses there were not nearly grand enough for a man so arrogant and uptight. Heaven forbid he might rub shoulders with someone inappropriate.
“I swear it began with ach,” she murmured to herself.
A passing couple paused to give her an odd look and she smiled brightly at them. “Good afternoon,” she trilled, and they continued on swiftly. She overheard the lady muttering something about one of those awful Musgraves. Clem didn’t have time to dwell on anyone’s opinion of her or her family. She needed to tell Lord Rochdale she was right, and such a boast could not wait.
Or, in actual fact, that his aunt was right. As she had said.
“Chapel Road!” she declared, receiving another odd look from a passerby.
She stuck out her tongue at his back and hastened toward Chapel Road. Who knew what house number he resided in, but that was something she could worry about when she arrived. All she would have to do was ask a neighbor where the stuffy lord who walked like he had a stick shoved up the back of his jacket lived.
You could also mention his good looks and excellent build...
Shaking her head, she marched on. Thank goodness she’d chosen her practical boots for the talk today and thank goodness her sisters and mother had been too busy to accompany her. Even though Ivy had promised to accompany her in exchange for that bore Sir Teddy, Clem had been unable to argue with a head cold.
As she turned the corner to Chapel Road, Clem collided with a wall. She staggered back a few steps and hands curled around her elbows to steady her. Blinking rapidly, she glanced up and sucked in a breath. This was no wall, though it might as well have been. Admittedly, a man obstructing her path made more sense than a wall; however, she might have preferred to have connected with brick than the broad chest of Lord Rochdale.
She rubbed the end of her nose as he kept a hold of her. “I need you,” he said.
“I want you,” she uttered at the same time.
He dropped his hands from her as though she were aflame. Clem took a deep breath and tried to ignore the strange sensation lingering on her skin where he’d touched her.
“That is—” she started.
“What I meant—” He stopped and held up a hand. “You go first.”