Caroline stared after her sister as she sauntered off toward the card table. Kate was almost of age. And Caroline hadn’t missed her interactions with the Bow Street Runner, Mr. Hunt. Perhaps Kate would soon leave the nest.
Kate was right. Shewasstruggling. And it wasn’t even a matter of discovering what she wanted. She already knew. She wanted Lonsdale. She wanted him with every fiber of her being. It was just that she didn’t know what to do about all this want inside her. She hadn’t had any time to process the cauldron of emotions swirling inside her.
But the baron’s sharp words had cut deep. They spoke to the darkest parts of her heart. Parts that whispered scathing retorts about lowliness and worth. Parts she wanted to cut from her chest with a sharp-edged knife.
A shadow fell over her, and Caroline looked up to find Lonsdale smiling down at her. “So, you pick pockets, and Kate shoots pistols. What, pray tell, are little Clair’s talents?”
Caroline smiled. “She picks locks.”
Lonsdale laughed. “So even if I were to lock your sister’s pistols away, you could swipe the key or Clair could pick the lock?”
“Something to that affect.”
Lonsdale settled in beside her on the sofa. “You are quite the trio.”
“Just short of a handful,” Caroline agreed.
He leaned in close to whisper, “I’ll give a thousand pounds if you share what you were thinking about before I interrupted you.”
Caroline’s heart sped up. “Only a thousand pounds?”
“A hundred thousand, then.”
“You are so eager to learn the inner workings of my mind?”
“I’m obsessed.” He smile turned wolf-ish. “As my future wife, I must know everything about you.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Very well, I shall drop the future when you become my wife.”
Caroline laughed despite wanting to scold the beast. “In any event, I’m not in a habit of selling my thoughts.”
“They’re about me, aren’t they?” His voice dropped another octave. “I’m quite happy to be the object of all your thoughts, Caroline.”
If you want the viscount, just take him.
Caroline’s pulse leaped. “If I weren’t so certain you’d become more incorrigible, I might have considered sharing some of them.”
He laughed. “It seems I’m not the only one who can be incorrigible, Caroline. Tell me are theyintimatedesires about me?”
She sucked in a breath at his forwardness. What a roguish man! “For all you know, you might expire on the spot if you knew,” Caroline retorted.
“Would I expire a happy man or a shocked man?” he teased.
Her cheeks warmed. “An arrogant one, I’m sure.”
“You know,” he said lightly, “You are the first woman to find me incorrigible. My sister claims I’m the most tedious man alive.”
“That is hardly a comparison.”
His gaze burned into hers. “I only care what you think.”
That silver-tongue. Truly lethal to her heart.
If you want the viscount, just take him.
Yes, she would take him. Even if it was just once—one night—she would grab onto him tightly.
