To Tempt an Earl (27 page)

Lord Graham nodded and continued to lead them
on in silence. Carlotta's echoing footsteps were the only noise in
the deserted area.

Forget awkward, this is miserable
!
Bethanny lamented. In all her dreams, in all the hopes she had over
the past weeks and especially today, this was
not
how she'd
imagined their reunion. Stilted conversation, silence, and an
eagle-eyed chaperone.

This
is what she was counting the
hours for? Yet there was a bright star in the sky, radiating hope.
He had said he had been waiting for her all day; surely he wouldn't
let this pathetic conversation be the end of it all.

Surely he'd do something… more.

Because it would have to be him. He would
need to initiate it; he would have to chase.

And Bethanny would make sure she was easy to
catch.

Just not
too
easy.

Lord Graham was
close
to his breaking point. It was sheer willpower that kept him from
growling in frustration.

With his luck, Bethanny would think he was
growling at
her
.

That would be bloody brilliant.

And the perfect end to a miserable day.

She was so beautiful, so tempting. From the
top of her glorious mane of hair to the pale blue slippers peeking
from her gown, she was a lethal threat to his self-control.

Damn Carlotta for insisting on
chaperoning.

Though it was probably her presence that was
saving his life. Goodness only knew how he'd stop short of ruining
the girl if he had her alone. And only hell knew what torture he'd
endure at the duke's hand if he were to do such a thing.

Also, he was assuming she was half as in love
with him as he was mad for her.

A chill ran down his spine. She
did
hold affection for him, didn't she? It was hard to tell, her
normally warm demeanor was cooler, aloof.

Distrusting.

He hated that he was the cause. He had many
sins to make up for.

And he'd start making up for them now.

It just would be hell of lot easier if he
didn't have to proper about it.

He shifted his gaze toward her. The graceful
arch of her neck invited is kiss; he could almost taste the soft
creamy texture of her skin. Her form was intoxicating, alluring in
its perfection, and his hands nearly trembled with restraint as he
wanted to pull her into a tight embrace.

And more.

So much more.

Clenching his teeth against his raging
desire, he glanced back to her face, to find her watching him with
an openly curious expression. Unable to hide his emotions, he knew
that his expression was one of fierce desire.

Of passionate love.

The dawn of understanding illuminated her
bottomless eyes, and her gaze widened as her lips parted, then a
slight smile began at her lips, traveling upward till it was
reflected in her eyes. The guarded expression that had prevented
him from reading her expression fell away, giving light to the
desire mirrored in his own.

"I don't mean to interrupt…" Carlotta spoke,
her tone hesitant.

Graham refused to glance away from Bethanny,
even for a moment.

"Supper will be served momentarily. We should
return," Carlotta finished, her tone more resolute.

Bethanny was first to break their gaze, her
brown eyes turning to her beloved guardian, her head nodding in
understanding.

Bethanny began following Carlotta to the
house but paused when Graham placed his hand atop of hers. Gently,
he removed her hand and held it within both of his. Without
breaking his gaze, he lifted it and kissed it softly. He closed his
eyes, inhaling the rich alluring scent of her skin to overwhelm his
senses, and teased her gloved flesh with the end of his nose,
before placing another lingering kiss, this one on her wrist.

Her sharp intake of breath caused him to
glance back up. Her eyes were wide and excited as she bit her lower
lip.

"Bethanny," Carlotta warned.

Bethanny glanced heavenward, as if praying
for deliverance… or for Carlotta to disappear, and waited as Graham
straightened and pulled her in closer as they walked toward the
house.

To think, all day he'd been waiting for
supper.

Now all he wanted was for the bloody thing to
be over with so he could steal her away.

Because that's exactly what he was going to
do. If he could only think of a way to go about it without risking
his life.

Supper was an acute form of torture, Bethanny
decided. Lord Graham was seated beside the duke, and thus was
across the table and up three spaces from where she was seated.
Upon seeing the seating assignments, her eyes narrowed at the duke,
not certain if he had placed Lord Graham beside him simply to keep
him away from her, and in agony longer, or if he was placing him
there because of his rank and connection with the family.

She rather suspected it was the first
reason.

Miserable man.

Lord Neville was seated to her left, and Lord
Bruxton to her right. Lord Bruxton was nearing fifty and was a
business associate of the duke's from Bath. The only conversation
he offered was the occasional "This is delightful!" as he continued
to feed himself with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Lord Neville, have you had a pleasant day?"
Bethanny asked, trying to start up any semblance of conversation in
efforts to move the night along quicker than the snail's pace it
seemed to be currently.

"Er, yes," he answered with a slight
smile.

Bethanny felt her brow furrow. Was Lord
Neville
blushing?
It certainly seemed so!

He cleared his throat awkwardly and cast a
furtive glance down to the end of the table.

Bethanny followed his gaze.

Beatrix?

Acting on an instinct, Bethanny turned back
to Lord Neville. "Tell me, Lord Neville, have you seen our library
here at Greenford Waters?"

Lord Neville paled slightly but nodded,
reaching for his wine glass.

"It's quite extensive. I'd show you myself,
but I'll not have a spare moment tomorrow." Or so she hoped! "My
dear sister, Beatrix, loves the library. She would be a wonderful
candidate to show you." Bethanny offered her most innocent
smile.

Lord Neville gave her his full attention, his
eyes narrowing slightly as he seemed to debate whether she was
innocent or simply fishing for information.

Bethanny held her guiltless smile firmly,
adding a slight arch to her brow as she waited.

"I believe I'm leaving in the morning," he
replied after a moment.

"Oh? Why so soon?"

"I… am needed elsewhere." He gave her a curt
smile and turned his attention to his food.

Throughout the rest of the course, Bethanny
watched his gaze continually falter as it would shift toward
Beatrix.

Could it be? Had Beatrix somehow captured the
interest of the reclusive lord?

Bethanny moved the roast pigeon about on her
plate, her mind wandering, till she felt a slight prickle of
awareness on the back of her neck. Immediately she glanced up
toward Lord Graham, instinctively knowing it was he who'd caused
the tingling sensation. Indeed he was gazing at her, boldly, not
caring that the other guests could easily see his intentions.

It was delicious.

And Bethanny allowed herself to return the
gaze, basking in the glow.

His lips twitched, softening the desire on
his face and phasing into an expression of amusement, one of secret
delight as he glanced at the duke, who then cleared his throat
meaningfully.

Bethanny felt a soft smile tease her lips;
then she gasped as Lord Graham winked scandalously at her. Glancing
about, she wondered if anyone had seen it. Beatrix met her gaze
with a knowing grin and a raised eyebrow, her expression one of
mischief and delight.

Thankfully, it seemed as if Beatrix was the
only one who'd noticed.

And Carlotta, but she was glancing down at
her plate, her face pinched as if trying to restrain a giggle at
Bethanny's expense.

All too slowly, the final course was cleared.
Blessedly, the duke stood and asked the gentlemen to accompany him
to the retiring room for a brandy.

Like sheep, the other two gentlemen followed,
but Lord Graham lingered last. He glanced to where the duke had
exited, and back to Bethanny, but in truth, his hands were tied in
such matters. With a reluctant grin, he bowed and left, following
the other gentlemen.

"Ladies? Shall we retire as well for sherry?
Then I have some lovely games planned for later, once the gentlemen
join us." Carlotta spoke brightly as she stood and led them into
the light blue sitting room, the one with the pianoforte. However
the room was arranged differently than usual. The furniture lined
the walls, allowing a wide-open space in the center of the large
room. Curious, Bethanny glanced to Carlotta.

Carlotta simply winked and sat along the
wall.

Bethanny followed suit, choosing a seat
beside her sister, and waited.

The gentlemen hopefully would finish their
brandy quickly.

One could pray at least.

One day, the Duke of Clairmont was going to
pay dearly for his misdeeds.

Dearly.

Perhaps he'd have an heir that was just as
stubborn as he, causing him to want to pull out his legendary
black-as-sin hair.

Better yet, he'd go grey all at once.

Or lose his hair.

Yes!
Graham thought. And gain weight.
Like a potbellied stallion. Truly it would be glorious.

Damn the man, he was playing Graham like a
concerto violin, and Graham wasn't appreciating it, especially
since he had to play by the duke's rules.

Wanting to preserve his life and all.

But most importantly, have Bethanny.

Assuming she was amicable to the idea… but he
was quite certain she would be; if her earlier behavior was any
indication.

But who could understand the mind of a
woman?

Not he, and he'd grown up with one constantly
bossing him around.

Granted, he should put his sister in an
entirely different category… but still. She was a woman.

As he considered it, he realized that he
hadn't seen his sister at dinner.

She was never one to miss out on food.

This couldn't be good.

To think that she once thought that
he
was the one who should never be left unattended.

Ha!

Nervous, Graham had the intense desire to
begin checking behind curtains or around corners for her.

Women like Lady Southridge could never be
underestimated.

He'd have to check on her whereabouts
later.

"Gentlemen, I believe my lovely wife has a
few diverting games for us to take part in. Shall we join the
ladies?" The duke rose with his crystal brandy glass still in hand,
raising it highly as if toasting his own brilliant idea.

"About bloody time," Graham spoke softly.

"Yes, Graham?" The duke turned toward him,
his eyebrow arched in challenge.

"Ah, just affirming the validity of your
decision, Your Grace." Graham replied with a hint of sarcasm.

To his left, Lord Neville snickered, trying
to cover up his amusement with a cough.

Graham shot him a glare, but he couldn't seem
to muster any venom for the expression, not after he had determined
that Neville wasn't a threat to his pursuit of Bethanny.

The younger sister, however, was a different
matter. One he'd keep in the back of his mind for later.

"You always were smarter than your looked,
Graham," the duke shot back, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Indeed." He nodded and waited as the
gentlemen filed out of the room, the duke lingering behind. Graham
approached him quietly. "Being I'm so intelligent and all, I had
hoped I might have some sort of semblance of privacy for Bethanny
that I might…" he glanced to the final gentleman as he left the
room, "ask her an important question."