A slow, devastating smile creased his face, and a bolt of heat shot through her. 'Of course. I always play to win.'
It suddenly felt as if the room had grown ten degrees warmer, and Allie barely resisted the urge to dab at her heated face with her linen napkin. 'And after defeating your brother at billiards, then what would you do?'
'Well, assuming that the new babe had not yet made his or her appearance, I suppose I'd round up Lady Giggles, Lord Mischief-Maker, and Miss Tickles for a quick game of 'Guess the Number' before their governesses whisked them off to the nursery.'
'I take it you're referring to your nieces and nephew?'
'Indeed.' His grin widened. 'My mother, brothers, and sister are hardly ever whisked away by their governesses anymore.'
'And do you assign these nicknames to everyone?'
'I'm afraid so. Bad habit of mine. I'm sure I'll come up with one for you before long. So you'd better be on your best behavior.'
'Indeed. I'd hate to end up Miss Falls-in-Mud. Or Lady Trips-over-Tables.'
He chuckled, and she very nearly smiled in return, a fact that disturbed her. Dear Lord, it was not easy keeping this man at a distance. After his laughter tapered off, he remarked, 'Carters mentioned you ventured to Mr. Fitzmoreland's shop this afternoon. I hope you were able to find what you were looking for.'
His casual statement returned reality with a jarring thump, snuffing out her frivolity like water to a flame. She studied his face for signs of a hidden meaning behind his casual comment, but saw nothing save mild curiosity. 'Mr. Fitzmoreland was quite helpful.'
'You know, you really shouldn't travel about the city in a hired hack, even with a footman in attendance.'
She lifted her chin. 'As I told you, I have business I need to conduct here.'
'Yes, but you must have proper transportation. I shall arrange for a carriage to be at your disposal starting tomorrow morning. And I shall be happy to accompany you on any errands you need to run.'
She clenched her hands in her lap. 'That is unnecessary. I'm quite accustomed to fending for myself.'
His gaze drifted to her black attire, and his eyes filled with sympathy. 'I'm only doing what I know Elizabeth would do if she were here. In the note I sent her this afternoon, I gave her my solemn promise to look after you until we reach Bradford Hall.' He shook with an exaggerated shiver. 'Please accept the carriage. I've no desire for Elizabeth to scold me for the rest of eternity for allowing you to travel about without proper transportation.'
Silence stretched between them for several seconds while Allie struggled with the desire to refuse his offer, and the knowledge that not having to pay for hacks would help preserve her meager resources. Finally, practicality won out.
Pushing back her chair, she stood. 'In that case, I thank you. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to retire. It's been a long and exhausting day.'
He instantly rose, his eyes reflecting concern. 'Of course. I shall see you tomorrow.'
She inclined her head in reply, then strode swiftly from the room, overwhelmed with the need to escape his disturbing presence. She made her way quickly up the stairs, yet even after she'd closed her bedchamber door firmly behind her, she still did not relax.
Pacing around the room, she tried to collect her scattered thoughts. Lord Robert had unsettled her. For a brief moment she'd lowered her guard, and he'd managed to burrow beneath the carefully built fence she'd constructed around herself. And she did not like it one bit. Her defenses were hard-earned, her independence hard-won. She did not require a man to look after her, to arrange transportation for her, to escort her on errands. And she most emphatically did not need a man to smile at her, or play silly duets with her, or look at her in a way that resurrected long-buried feminine yearnings.
She wrapped her arms around her midriff and continued to pace. Dear God, the man was even
Just like David. And everything with David had been lies.
But she was no longer a naive miss. She would not make the same mistakes again.
She stopped pacing and pressed her fingertips to her temples, where a headache was rapidly forming. Her glance wandered to the large bed, but she instantly rejected the idea of retiring. In spite of the fact that her body ached with weariness, sleep was nowhere in her immediate future. And as she well knew, the only thing to cure this restlessness was fresh air.
Crossing the room, she pushed aside the forest-green velvet draperies and looked down at a small, square garden surrounded by a tall stone wall. Taking her shawl, but forgoing a bonnet, she slipped from her bedchamber, quickly exiting the dark, quiet house through the rear door.
The instant Allie's lungs filled with the cool night air, her shoulders relaxed. Staying close to the stone wall, she slowly walked around the garden, enjoying the nighttime chirping song of the crickets, the silver slash of moonlight upon the grass, the smell of burning fireplaces mixed with the pungent scent of garden soil. By her third trip about the perimeter, she'd firmly rebuilt her teetering defenses. Thanks to David, she'd learned, albeit too late, about the inner ugliness a handsome exterior could hide. Of course, it was just as possible for an unattractive man to be evil, but unfortunately, she clearly harbored a distressing weakness for beautiful men, a character flaw she refused to fall victim to again. She'd discovered the hard way that the more beautiful they were, the worse they were.
In which case, she needed to avoid Lord Robert as if he harbored the plague.
That decided, she turned to cross the grass to return to the house. Before she'd taken a step, however, strong arms grabbed her from behind. She gasped, and a beefy hand clapped over her mouth.
'Keep quiet,' a guttural voice growled in her ear.
Panic along with fury raced through her. She fought against her captor, kicking her legs, trying to disengage his hand from her mouth. She managed to get out a half-cry before he stuffed a foul-smelling rag between her lips. Twisting around, she freed one hand and slashed it down his face, her nails raking his skin. Before she could enjoy her triumph, however, something hard smashed down on her head and her world faded to black.
Robert was halfway back to his rooms when he realized he'd left his walking stick at the town house. He debated whether to return for it, or simply fetch it tomorrow, but decided that as the weather was cool, and the fog had yet to engulf the streets, he could use the extra walk. He certainly had no desire to return to his empty rooms and lie in his empty bed, for he knew damn well that sleep would not come. No, all he would think about was
And that was the last thing he wanted to think about.
Her and her big golden-brown eyes. And her silky hair. And the teasing hint of her smile. And what appeared to be an utterly lush figure underneath…
Her mourning clothes.
Disgusted with himself, he purposely turned his thoughts to the tasks he planned to perform tomorrow before calling upon her. The visit to his solicitor. Then perhaps a quick stop at his club.
Taking a shortcut, he slipped into the mews behind the row of Park Lane town houses. His footsteps faltered when what sounded like a muffled cry echoed in the air. Before he could decide if the noise had been a sound of passion or one of distress, or even made by a human, he spied a man with a sack flung over his back entering the mews from-he leaned forward and squinted into the darkness-damn it, from what very well could be Austin 's garden. Bloody hell, what was this about?
Keeping to the shadows, he hunched over and ran swiftly through the mews. The man dashed to a waiting hack, tossed his bundle inside, then clambered in himself. The hack instantly took off, moving swiftly into the darkness.
Straightening, Robert took off at a dead run. He arrived at Austin 's gate several seconds later. His lips tightened into a grim line. The gate was ajar. After assuring himself that his knife was secured in his boot, he ran after the hack. When it slowed at the corner, he jumped onto the back.
The hack left the fashionable West End, moving east toward the docks. Robert held on tight, deciding that he would avoid confrontation with the bastard who'd stolen from Austin, if possible, but if it were necessary to pound
