"Verry good. Victoria?" the duchess said again, pinning her daughter with a follow me look.
Albert watched them go, uncertain if the duchess had seen all that had transpired after their duet. She must have, or at least said she had heard the music but had intervened when she noticed their closeness.
Damn it, he did not want to get Victoria into a dispute, nor did he want them to leave early due to his carelessness.
He was so untutored in being a rake he did not even remember or think to close the music room door when they had entered.
Idiot.
Victoria closed the door to her mother's bedroom, steeling herself for the coming conversation, which she was sure would have something to do with the near-second-kiss between her and Albert.
Her mother walked over to the window and stared out over the grounds. "Please tell me that I did not almost walk in on you and Lord Melvin kissing just before?" Her mama turned to her, pinning her to the spot.
Victoria winced, wondering if she should lie or tell the truth and admit her mistake. The second one she was just about to make, not the first. Her mama did not need to know everything.
"You know that I am helping his lordship in gaining a wife. I was merely trying to help him navigate around a musical evening, how to woo a lady while helping her play the pianoforte. Be supportive of her as she plays. You caught us close, and I know what it must have looked like. But we were not going to do anything, Mama. Do not be so silly." So, it looked like she was going to lie to her parent. Better that, before they were bundled up in the carriage and returned to Dunsleigh before her instruction on Lord Melvin was complete. Or her finding out the truth of his life.
"If your brother had caught you, he would have demanded that you announce your betrothal. That is how it looked to me. Do not be forward, Victoria. After the dealings we've had settling your sisters, your marriage that I’m sure society will be discussing for years to come, so abominably did Mr. Armstrong behave, I do not think I could withstand another scandal. Please, if you are considering Lord Melvin as a lover, remain above reproach and ensure such trysts cannot be seen or come upon by anyone."
Guilt pricked her conscience, and she went to her mama, clasping her hands. "I promise, Mama I shall not do anything that will put me or the family name at risk. I am a friend of Lord Melvin's, that is all. With friendship comes a little intimacy, I find. I will not be caught in a compromising position." Victoria crossed her fingers behind her back, knowing that she would have to be extra careful after today.
What was worse was that she had done nothing but think about their shared kiss. Of his lips taking hers. What would happen if they did it again?
The sound of the luncheon gong echoed through the halls, and Victoria reached over and kissed her mama's cheeks. "I shall see you at lunch, Mama."
She fled the room, not entirely convinced her mother believed her words. But she would try, no matter how she responded to Lord Melvin when in his presence, to attempt to tame that part of her that wanted to push him a little. To see if he could be a rake with her as well to his preferred future bride. She would be a liar if she were to declare that a little flirtation with a handsome gentleman wasn't a lovely way to spend a day.
After lunch, she would seek Albert out for further lessons. There was under a fortnight to the country dance, and he wasn't yet ready. But he would be. She would make certain of it, even if she had to use herself as his prop for teaching.
Just as long as her mama never caught them again.
Chapter 14
Later that evening, Albert found Victoria alone in the library, a room he allowed guests, when he had them, that was, to use at their own leisure. It was not where he wrote, nor did it hold any identifying manuscripts that guests could see and link to him.
He frowned, thinking of the one page he had misplaced while at Dunsleigh. Had he left it on the desk in the library? The duchess knew that he had used the room. Surely she would know it belonged to him, but would she know what it was that he had left? That he could not say.
He strode into the room, pulling Victoria's consideration from the book she was bent over, a few wisps of her strawberry-blond hair covering her cheek. As he moved closer, he noticed that she not only had hair over her face but was chewing on the end of one curl.
His body hardened at the sight of her lips suckling on the golden lock. Oh dear God, she would kill him before he had a chance to use her instruction against a potential bride.
Not that he wanted anyone but her, but he was still to work on the particular issue. First, he had to learn to be a rake, and then he could use his skills to win her hand.
"Lady Victoria, what are you reading?"
Her eyes went wide, and she started on the settee, looking past him as if to ensure they were alone. "Shut the door and lock it, Lord Melvin. My mama does not know that I am up, she thought I went to bed an hour ago, but I did not. I snuck in here."
Albert did as she bade, coming back to the chair. "What is it that you're reading?" he asked again, sitting.
She lifted the book, and he felt the blood drain out of his face. She had found the erotic etchings his father had purchased
