'Exactly.'
The two men were at the top of the staircase about to descend to the entrance hall and dispose of their vases when the front door opened and Isabella stepped into the grand marble entrance hall.
Dermott swore at the bad timing.
She looked up.
The butler looked up as well and, wide-eyed, surveyed his employer with a large vase of lilies in his hand.
'Are those for me?' Isabella sweetly inquired.
Dermott grinned. 'If you want 'em. Although I warn you, they smell,' he said, moving down the stairs.
'I'd be surprised if they didn't. Don't you like Mies?'
'Not this many.' Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he offered them to her with a bow. 'For your pleasure, my lady.'
'One of many tonight, I presume.' Her warm gaze met his over the lilies.
'Your wish is my command,' he murmured.
'What a charming concept. I do look forward to the evening.'
'As do I, Miss Leslie.' He handed the vase to Pomeroy and reached for the ties on her cloak, a possessive gesture, symbolic perhaps of the fact he was the taker and she the takee. Standing very close as he untied the velvet ribbon, he said so low the words were for her alone, 'I've waited a long time.'
'I pray you won't be disappointed.' But her tone was playful rather than conciliatory, and his gaze came up from the tangled knot.
'No chance of that,' he whispered. And slipping the bow open, he slowly undraped the cloak from her shoulders as though he were unwrapping a personal gift.
The young footmen audibly gasped, but none received a reproach from their superiors, for all eyes were trained on the young lady. Isabella's white lace gown was so sheer, the shadow of her body was only partially concealed, the risque decolletage more in the nature of a tenuous support for the plump mounds of her breasts, the entire garment held in place with two small silver shoulder bows, the imminent threat of gravity adding a delicious element of suspense to the ensemble.
'My compliments, Miss Leslie,' Dermott murmured. 'You have taken all our breaths away.'
'As do you, my lord. You quite turn my head.' He looked large and powerful dressed in perfectly tailored black superfine, his tall, rangy form shown to advantage, his linen, crisp and white, gleaming in the candlelight, the diamond at his throat so large, it could have come only from India.
'Might I offer you'-the heat fairly crackled in the air-'a glass of champagne?'
'That would be very nice,' she purred, 'for now…'
He acknowledged the delectable purr with an appreciative smile and offered his arm. 'Miss Leslie.'
'My lord Bathurst.' Dipping a small curtsy, she placed her hand on his strong wrist and they both felt the heated jolt.
Inhaling deeply, Dermott wondered how in the world he was going to repress his carnal urges when his hard-on was embarrassing him in front of his staff and the little minx was deliberately leaning into him so her breasts were almost spilling out of her gown. Dinner, he thought. 'Dinner,' he said to Pomeroy. 'We'll have dinner now.'
'Now, my lord?' The schedule had been specific. Champagne and brandy first, then dinner at nine.
'Now.'
'Yes, my lord.' Pomeroy moved forward to escort them to the dining room, knowing the chef was going to tear his hair out with dinner pushed up two hours. On the other hand, he reflected, the earl and his lady seemed oblivious of all but each other. There was a good possibility they wouldn't notice what they were eating.
The dining room positively gleamed, Isabella thought as they entered the large chamber-the polished cherry- wood walls, the massive silver plate on the sideboard and table, the crystal goblets marching in a row beside the two services set on the polished mahogany table, the gilt frames on the paintings adorning the walls, the twin chandeliers of Russian crystal that dripped from the high coffered ceiling. She felt as though she'd entered a shining Aladdin's cave.
'Do you always eat in such splendor?' she asked, slightly in awe of such magnificence.
It took him a moment to answer because he rarely ate at home, and when he did, he generally shared a tray with Shelby in his study. 'Actually no.' In fact, he couldn't remember when last he'd eaten in this room. 'Would you rather have dinner somewhere else?'
In bed with you, she thought, still trembling from his touch, but it wouldn't do to be so forward. Bess had said men never liked women to give orders. 'This is very nice. Really.'
'Would you like a glass of champagne?' he asked because he badly needed a drink.
'Oh, I would very much. Thank you.'
With a nod, he indicated Pomeroy serve them. 'The room seems warm, or I'd suggest we sit by the fire, although you're probably not warm,' he added with a smile, surveying her scantily dressed form.
'Actually I am… dreadfully warm, I mean-the room is indeed warm…'
Her stammering innocence was charming. 'So we'll sit away from the fire.'
'Yes, please, I'd like that.'
Suddenly she seemed very young, very different from the seductive minx in the entrance hall, and he felt an odd disquiet. 'How old are you?'
'Twenty-two.'
His sigh of relief brought a smile to her face.
'I didn't realize age mattered.'
'It's bad enough-just set the tray down, Pomeroy, we'll serve ourselves.' As the butler walked away, Dermott said, 'It's bad enough you're a virgin; I'm not, however, about to bed some adolescent child.' A grin broke across his face. 'Although you definitely don't have the look of a child, Miss Leslie. And I mean it in the most complimentary way.' He handed Isabella a stemmed goblet of champagne.
'Molly thought you'd like the gown,' Isabella said, a half-smile lifting the corners of her mouth. 'Do I look sufficiently seductive?'
'In that dress? Completely, wholly, exuberantly. And white-interesting,' he murmured over the rim of his glass.
'A metaphor, I believe.' Her blue eyes sparkled. 'Molly's idea again.'
'She sets the stage well.'
'I am also well trained, sir,' she sportively noted. 'Although not to your standards perhaps. Your reputation is formidable.'
He slid lower in his chair, his gaze taking on a faintly disgruntled expression at the reminder of their disparate lives. 'I wish you weren't a virgin.'
'I could relinquish my virginity to someone else first if you like.'
'No,' he snapped.
'You could watch,' she suggested, innuendo in her tone.
'Not likely,' he growled.
'Or we could get this over as quickly as possible.'
'You have a sense of humor, Miss Leslie.'
'I watched
He glared at her. 'Damned Molly should have kept you in your room.'
'Don't blame her. I was quite alone, and what better teacher than you, after all. Although you were selfish. I'm not sure the lady enjoyed herself.'
He relaxed marginally. Obviously, she hadn't stayed long. He was grateful for that. 'I'll try not to be selfish with you.'
'Molly says I'm allowed to be as selfish as I wish because you can take care of yourself.'
'Meaning?' he asked, grinning.
'Meaning you are an accomplished libertine.'
'I can't argue with you there.'
'Why?'
'Why?'
