“Too long.” He took another sip and gave her another effervescent kiss, the champagne still fizzing in her mouth when he pulled back to skim his knuckles along her cheek. Her skin tingled wherever he touched, and the champagne kisses were making her lightheaded.
When Beatrix began hiccuping, Lily bent to pet her soothingly. A distraction from Rand while she attempted to recover her wits. Looking up at him, she mustered a teasing smile. “Did you bring me in here to show me the renovations or to get me alone?”
“Both,” he replied with a grin. When she straightened, he took another sip and leaned over to meet her lips once again. When his mouth moved to her neck, she sighed dreamily, licking the remnants of champagne off her lips. Delicious. Rand’s kisses were delicious.
Beatrix suddenly began meowing emphatically.
“Ignore her,” they whispered together.
Meow…
Lily felt Rand’s warm hand settle on the small of her back while a chilled goblet touched the nape of her neck, making her shiver—and not from the cold. A thrill of excitement rolled through her, coupled with wonder that he would be hers. Not only today, but forever. Seeing Margery wed Bennett had made it all seem more real.
Her own wedding was next.
Meow, meow…
The mere thought made her giddy, made her heart beat wildly. She pressed closer to Rand, tilting her head until their mouths fit together perfectly.
Meow, meow, meeeooow…
A knock came at the door. “Lily? Rand? Are you in there?”
“Goodness! It’s Mum!” Lily sprung away from Rand, her pulse racing not with excitement now, but with something more akin to panic. “Beatrix was trying to warn us!” she whispered, straightening her neckline where it had drooped down one shoulder.
“Your mother?” Rand looked altogether unruffled.
More knocking. “Lily? Are you in there?”
Amusement lit Rand’s eyes. “I’ll get the door.”
“Not yet!” Her hands patted her coiffed curls. “Is my hair all right?”
“Are you in there, dear?”
“You look fine. Irresistible, in fact.” Apparently proving himself unable to resist, Rand gave her one last kiss before taking her hand and leading her into the sitting room to answer the door. Lily did her best to look composed. As the door swung open, revealing her parents, she plastered on a smile.
Mum’s gaze flicked to Lily’s bodice before settling on her face. “There you are!” she said brightly.
Too brightly.
“I was just showing Lily the rooms we’ll be using when we live here,” Rand said unconvincingly.
“We’d love to see them, too,” her mother said and walked straight into the bedchamber.
As her parents passed, Lily looked down, mortified to find one of her stomacher tabs had somehow come unattached. She whirled away, fastening it surreptitiously before joining them in the other room.
“This entire home is magnificent.” Mum crossed to a wall and ran a hand down the newly stripped paneling. “The grain is lovely.”
“I thought to paint it white for Lily,” Rand said. “But Kit suggested a pale stain might look nicer on this wood.”
Mum nodded her approval. “What kind is it?”
Her husband pulled out his pocket watch and flipped open the lid. “Half past three.”
“Maple,” Rand said, clearly suppressing a laugh.
Joseph snapped the pocket watch shut, nodding vaguely at Rand. “I expect you’ll be staying here the next week or so to supervise finishing this?”
Rand raised his voice. “The house in Oxford needs my attention, too, Lord Trentingham. Perhaps I can bring Lily along—”
“I think not,” Mum interrupted. “The bride-to-be will be at home, busy with wedding plans.”
Lily looked at her mother in surprise, having thought the arrangements more or less complete. “Mum, I think—”
“You’ll be busy,” she repeated. “If you weren’t insisting on marrying so quickly, it might be a different matter. But I’ll need your help. Now, I imagine Margery and Bennett are missing us, so let us end our little house tour here.”
As they all returned to the great hall together, Lily exchanged a frustrated glance with Rand. Were they to be kept apart entirely until their wedding?
“Elizabeth!” Mum cried, waving to a neighbor and dragging Joseph in her direction. “I’ve found the perfect man for your daughter.”
No sooner had her parents walked off than Rand swung Lily to face him. “Margery wasn’t missing us.” He aimed a pointed look to where his baby sister was half entwined with Bennett, blissfully unaware of any of the guests.
Lily nodded. “Mum is trying to keep us apart. I cannot figure why—”
“Does it matter why? She intends to make certain we don’t see each other again until the day of our wedding.”
A maid came by with fresh goblets of champagne. Rand took one and a bottle, too, meeting Lily’s eyes in a way that made her certain he had an idea that involved the sparkling wine.
An idea Mum wouldn’t approve.
Lily’s lips tingled at the thought. She took the goblet from him and downed a bracing swallow.
“If this is to be our last evening together, we must make the most of it,” Rand said, sounding as though he’d just assigned himself a mission. He cast a glance to Lily’s parents and, seeing their backs momentarily turned, grabbed her hand. “Come along.”
He hurried her into the adjoining dining room, where footmen were setting the long gatelegged table with Delftware dishes for the wedding supper. Lily glanced back into the great hall. “They’ll just find us again.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that,” he advised her, taking the empty goblet from her hand and setting it on the leather-topped sideboard. Still carrying the bottle, he led her into the next room.
Having peeked in here once, Lily recognized the tall, heavy oak bed. His father’s bed.
She stopped short and gaped. “We cannot hide in here! What if your father comes in to get something?”
Laughing, Rand leaned a hand on the wall.
Lily was astonished to see a panel swing open. They slipped beyond it, and Rand closed it quietly.
“A secret passage?” she said in wonder.
“Not secret.” Calmer now but no less determined, he guided her through a windowless corridor lit by plain lanterns mounted on walls painted a
