As if she could forget.“Yes.”
“A man of honor doesn’t run around kissing unfamiliar women if he’s got a wife at home.”
Elizabeth knew nothing about Tom.Not really.Except that he’d put himself at her disposal to save her from getting into trouble and he was willing to risk injury to rescue a less than winsome child.And he was funny and kind and clearly taken with her.Apart from his claims about himself, she was in no position to conclude that he was a man of honor.
“No wife at home?”
“Or gadding about either.I’m as free as a bird.”
How she wished that she could describe herself in those terms.This morning when she’d left the Wetherbys’ charming country house, she’d had no idea of the restrictions about to close in around her life.
“I’m glad,” she said, then felt that cursed blush rise again.
Tom stopped and arched an eyebrow at her.“Are you indeed?”
“I’d hate to think you were playing a wife false.”
“That’s very admirable.”He paused.“I’d hoped you were glad because it meant I could kiss you with a clear conscience.”
She should put him in his place, but the truth was that she also thought about kisses.It would be the height of hypocrisy to berate him for letting his mind follow the same path.Lady Elizabeth Tierney might be a bit of a flirt, but she was never coy.“First, you promised to feed me.”
When he started walking again, his expression indicated satisfaction.Elizabeth suffered a nervous wobble, but that uncertainty came with an undeniable charge of anticipation as well.
Chapter 5
The hot chestnuts were welcome.Elizabeth hadn’t stopped to eat before she left the Lorimer Square house in such a temper.And it was a long time since her bread and cheese in the coach early this morning.Even more welcome was the heat radiating from the chestnut seller’s cart.Elizabeth was dressed for the weather, but that didn’t mean she said no to extending her hands toward a nice warm brazier.
“That was lovely.Thank you.”She stretched her booted feet out on the snow in front of her, appreciating her thick woolen stockings.They’d finished their chestnuts sitting on a bench in a sheltered corner of the park.Tom had cleared the snow from the seat and dried it off with his handkerchief.Elizabeth’s cape, gown and petticoats saved her from feeling the chill of the wood beneath her.
“I’ve become a regular customer since I came back to London a few days ago.”Tom plucked the crumpled paper from her fingers and crushed it into the pocket of his greatcoat.He took off his hat and set it on the bench beside him.The gesture expressed a purposefulness that she couldn’t mistake.A thrill coiled down her backbone.
“You’ve been away?”she asked, before she remembered that if she refused to tell him about herself, it hardly seemed fair to interrogate him.
“Yes,” he said with a contented sigh, sliding his arm around her as if he’d been doing it for years.“I’d forgotten how charming old England can be.Or at least some of its citizens.”
Elizabeth tried to tell herself that she relaxed back into his embrace because it was cold and he was alluringly warm.But that explanation smacked of odious coyness.She snuggled up to Tom because she wanted to be close to him.Odd that a stranger should make her feel so safe and cherished.
“This has turned out to be a lovely Christmas,” he murmured.
“Yes, it has.”Which was something that she hadn’t expected to be saying a couple of hours ago.
For a delightful interval, they sat in silence.This secluded bower provided appealing privacy, as if they inhabited a magic bubble separate from the world and its concerns.While that might be an illusion, it was a devilish appealing one.Every so often, people passed behind the holly hedge that concealed them from the rest of the park.A robin in search of lunch fluttered around them.
She released a sigh even more extended than Tom’s.Was her situation quite as dire as her initial panic made it seem?She wasn’t beaten yet.Life offered Elizabeth Tierney more than inept suitors and temperamental great-aunts.In fact, right now, life was overflowing with tantalizing possibilities.
“Feeling better?”Tom asked softly.
She turned to regard him.When they’d met, he’d noticed how upset she was, but he’d been tactful enough not to pry after she’d brushed off his questions.“Yes, I do.”
He ran one gloved finger down the side of her face.The gesture conveyed tenderness rather than predatory intentions.That vulnerable place inside her went squidgy with delight.He really had the most bizarre effect on her internal organs.
“When we met, you looked ready to pitch yourself headfirst into the Serpentine.”
So far, they hadn’t ventured toward the lake in that part of the park.“I suspect it’s frozen over.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I’d just had some unwelcome news.”What a wishy-washy way to describe a letter that threatened to turn her life upside down.
