Mary had no interest in Lyle. She had no interest in any man. But she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that it felt good to feel wanted. She had no idea why Lyle was paying her such close attention, but his attention reminded her of her womanhood. There were no sparks, no heat, no excitement per se, but an overall comfort and yes, confidence. That’s what it was, she felt her self-confidence being bolstered.
Lyle was a very handsome man, with strong shoulders she could feel by waltzing with him. He was graceful and kind. Contrary to her first impression, there was a warmth that he exuded that was altogether absent in Gregory nowadays. If she were on the hunt for a husband, and she wasn’t, she reminded herself, Lyle was the perfect candidate.
She looked into his eyes to see what truths she might glean from their depths, and although they were kind, warm eyes, there was nothing more.
“Though it despairs me to admit it, I must be off,” Lyle said with his hands still in place on Mary’s body.
Mary nodded and smiled politely.
“What a pity. However, we were able to run through quite a few lines, so all in all I do believe today was a productive day,” Margaret said.
Mary nodded again, “Your contributions were greatly appreciated, Lyle.” Mary demurred. She was still slightly uncomfortable with using his Christian name despite his invitation to do so.
“I’ll see you out. I wanted to ask your opinion on some props, you being the expert and all.” Margaret didn’t even turn her head as she waved her hand dismissively above her shoulders and used her other arm to take Lyle’s crooked elbow. The two headed out of the theater leaving Mary staring at the door. She was wondering what props Margaret was referring to since the two women hadn’t discussed that in too great of detail yet, but then again, whoever really knew how to follow Margaret’s train of thought.
“Woolgathering again, are you Mary?” Gregory had stepped up just slightly behind her, with his left shoulder just behind her right side. The warm breath on her neck burned a trail down her spine and caused the flesh on her arms to tingle. He hadn’t even touched her and nearly her entire body was aflame.
She tipped her chin down in a futile attempt to catch the warmth of his breath and hold it there.
“Are we done for the day then?” The warmth returned. She could not allow herself to be affected so by such an innocuous question. She steeled herself and pushed her chin forward again. She was not wanton. She did not have to give in to carnal desires. She had complete control over her body. It was her own body, dash it all. The tingles flying down the right side of her body disagreed.
“Yes. As Margaret pointed out, we did have quite a productive day.”
“Quite.” Gregory agreed. But then he added, “If you think waltzing around for hours on end is being productive.”
She turned just in time to see a flash of something in his eyes, but she couldn’t identify the meaning. The comment was so unlike him that she was taken aback.
She reminded herself to stay composed, but couldn’t quite achieve her elusive goal, thus she uttered a sophisticated, “Yes, well. There is that.”
She forced herself to continue looking at him straight on. He would not affect her. To her astonishment, for a brief moment it felt as though he were leaning in toward her. She held her ground. She would not, absolutely would not, allow him to affect her.
And then he stopped leaning and blinked. “Is there any other way I could contribute to the productivity of today?”
Was that sarcasm she detected? Regardless, there was nothing she wanted from him. The pause that followed extended so long she forgot who was the last to speak, and then she blurted out, “Well, there is one thing actually.”
Gregory had been relieved to hear the parting words out Lyle’s mouth. However, he did wonder why Lyle’s hands lingered on Mary’s person. There was no more music, the scene had finished. Didn’t the man have any understanding of common decency and propriety?What a pity you have to leaveGregory mocked.Your contributions were greatly appreciated.Argh. Why was he being so petty. This was not like him. He was composed. Nothing rattled him. He wasn’t interested in Mary. He was focused one hundred percent on his estate. And of course he was focused one hundred percent on keeping people, women especially, at arm’s length.
Then he pulled himself to the present and allowed himself to process Mary’s words.
There is one thing.What one thing? Gregory felt his eyes widen and his eyebrows shot up. He quickly composed himself. He couldn’t allow his thoughts to show, for they would certainly out him of the lust that had immediately spawned within him.One thinginstantaneously led him to think of the closet. That one kiss. He could certainly do that again, despite her admonishment that it could never happen again.
If she asked, he would concede, if she asked politely, perhaps on her knees. Or on a bed, strewn with all her layers of clothing.
He was startled out of his fantasy with an unexpected request, “Could you just lead the next scene with me? We never got to it because… of all the waltzing.” She murmured the last four words and a blush stole into her cheeks.
Gregory couldn’t keep the grin from pushing out a half smile. “Yes, all that productivity.”
She glanced up at him behind lowered lashes. Gregory’s heart thumped against his ribcage. He was sure she could hear it.
Her gesture was not a practiced move, but he could certainly comprehend why ladies would spend time in front of the mirror on it.
“The upcoming scene was the one I had the most trouble writing, and I could benefit from… from your opinion,” she rushed to add, “If you don’t mind.”
“Has Margaret taken a look? She has opinions on everything.”
“Yes, she has. But this could benefit from a certain perspective.”
He raised his left eyebrow.
