Finally, the headmistress said, “Thank you for sharing your time with us, Sir Aaron. We must return to the school.”
“Oh, but I have one final question for our hero,” came a sweet voice. Aaron turned to face Miss Louisa, and his breath caught. She twirled a finger around a long curl, and he wobbled on legs that threatened to give way at any moment. Then she playfully bit at her lip, which sent his heart to thudding against his sternum in a most delightful way. “You don’t mind, do you, sir?”
Her fluttering eyelashes and pouty lips had Aaron gasping for breath. “Proceed,” he managed to say, glad the effect she had on him was not evident in his voice.
Miss Louisa dropped her hands at her sides and tilted her head ever so slightly. “Our theater has been in Chatsworth for a hundred years.”
“I’m aware of that. What of it?”
“Then why would you wish to turn it into a gentlemen’s club?” she asked, that sweet smile still on her lips. “Surely, a knight would want an establishment where anyone could enter.”
The other girls began to frown. Drat that Mr. Barker for revealing his plans for the place!
He fixed his gaze on Miss Louisa. She was certainly a great beauty and tempting in every way. Frustration washed over him, and a response would not come.
“I’ll do what is in the best interest of my kind, Miss Louisa,” he replied lamely.
Her smile was wicked, yet it sent a thrill down his spine that confused him far more than it should have. With a tempting smile, she said, “And I vow to do what is best in the interest of women.”
Aaron frowned. The best interest of women? Was that a threat? Or a challenge? Either way, this young lady spoke boldly forherkind. He gave Mrs. Rutley an expectant look, but the headmistress made no effort to reprimand her pupil. Instead, she was smiling!
As Mrs. Rutley and her students filed away, Aaron also made a vow—that his and Miss Louisa’s paths would cross again. Then he would see her put in her place.
And be able to admire those pouty lips again.
ChapterThree
Louisa returned the last of her painting tools to their place on the shelf in the morning room. She was not very proficient at painting—her attempts at fruit were dismal—but worse still was her singing, which could make a dog howl in fright. Therefore, she decided the slathers of paint on a canvas were much more palatable to everyone, herself included.
The younger students were at their lessons as she made her way to her bedroom. It had been three days since the visit to the theater, and the image of Sir Aaron Kirkwood had not left her thoughts. That arrogant smile, the way he ran a hand through his thick, dark blond hair. How he stood just so with his arms crossed, making his muscles press up against the fabric of his coat…
It should be a crime for a man that handsome to try to entice a woman as he did!His tantalizing ways had put the most unsavory thoughts in her mind.
How dare he?
To make matters worse, he meant to turn the theater into a den of thieves!
Louisa might be young, but she was well aware of what happened at a gentlemen’s club. It was a place to which men escaped, where they could boast about their conquests of women. Jenny had confided in Louisa just last year that each member of such a club placed their name on a chart. Beside the names, they would add a tally for every woman over whom they had conquered.
They may attempt to hide their depravity in these clubs, but they were no different from the gaming hells, no matter what they called it.Gentlemenin the name simply indicated a higher class of patrons.
There was no better way to say it. Men were vile creatures. Their arrogance, especially that of a certain knight, had angered Louisa no end. If only she had her own money to purchase the theater, she would do so. If only to spite Sir Aaron. The theater was a place of entertainment with a rich history no matter how unverifiable the tales Mr. Barker told. Why did men believe they could simply march into a place and destroy it at will?
That last question had haunted her these past three days. At least she was able to share her frustrations with her Sisters.
As she drew near her bedroom, Louisa slowed at hearing Unity’s soft voice drifting down the corridor.
“Now that Theodosia has been permitted to return home with me, we’ll have plenty of time to plan for our journey to America.”
Louisa entered the room and closed the door behind her. When she turned, three sets of eyes fell on her. “What’s this about America?” she asked.
Theodosia rose from her place beside Ruth. “Next year, Unity and I are leaving for America.”
“But why must you go so far?”
“Because that is where our future husbands live,” Theodosia replied, as if she were teaching a child that mares birth foals.
Louisa smiled. “Why haven’t you told me you’re betrothed?” she asked, wrapping her arms first around Theodosia and then Unity. “Have you met them yet? And how did your parents make such an arrangement?”