“Find the Watch.”
Cutting the last thread upon the hem, Simone held up the shimmering lilac gown that she had just completed.
“Oh, ’tis beautiful, my lady.” The maid sighed as she ran her hands over the smooth satin skirt.
Simone could not deny a measure of pride.
The floating concoction of satin and lace was indeed beautiful and highly unusual with its clever flounced hem that revealed the ivory underskirt and the bodice of spidery lace. As with all of her gowns, however, it possessed a high back that cupped the back of her neck. She could not afford to allow a sudden shift in the shimmering material to reveal the scars that she hid.
“Yes, I am quite pleased with the material,” she murmured in satisfaction. “No doubt it has been smuggled into London, but it is far too lovely to go to waste.”
“Will you trim it with the satin roses you purchased last week?” the maid demanded.
Simone briefly considered the delicate gown, then gave a firm shake of her head.
“No, they are too heavy for such a gown. I believe the seed pearls will be the best.”
“A wise choice, my dear,” a darkly familiar voice complimented from the open French doors.
Spinning about, Simone confronted the intruder with an exasperated frown. Attired yet again in black with a smoke-gray waistcoat and snowy white cravat and with his ebony hair tied at the nape of his neck he appeared annoyingly refreshed—while she knew that she was pale and her eyes shadowed from a sleepless night.
The disturbance of having Mr. Soltern in her home, combined with Gideon’s abrupt departure had been unnerving enough without risking a return of the nightmares that had begun to plague her. She had spent most of the long night pacing the floor of her chamber, or peering out of her window with a disturbing sense that she was being watched by unseen eyes.
She had hoped that a morning spent finishing the lovely ball gown would ease the tension that gripped her. There was something very relaxing in simply working with her hands. Now, she felt that foreboding returning.
Gideon was trouble walking.
Whenever he appeared her nerves were certain to be shredded and left raw. Not to mention the vague sense of danger he carried with him.
And yet ...
Yet, she could not deny a swirl of sheer excitement that raced through her as she met that midnight gaze. She suddenly felt more alive, more vibrantly aware of being a woman in his presence.
He might be trouble, but she could not deny a burning desire to brand him as her own. She wanted to ensnare him to her will, and ensure he was incapable of walking away.
It was all vastly confusing.
“Gideon,” she forced herself to greet him as he calmly stepped into the room and regarded the piles of discarded material and scraps of lace. “It is customary to arrive at the front door and await to have yourself announced. Do you possess no sense of gentlemanly behavior at all?”
He shrugged as he lifted his head to offer her a faint smile. “Very few.”
Knowing it was impossible to shame him into leaving, Simone waved a hand toward the curious maid. She did not wish her servants to realize she was nearly always at the mercy of this arrogant gentleman.
“That will be all, Daisy.”
With a longing glance toward the fiercely handsome gentleman the maid gave a swift curtsy.
“Yes, my lady.”
Waiting until they were alone, Simone folded her arms around her waist.
“Well, now that you are here, what do you want?”
Rather than answering her question Gideon reached out pale fingers to lightly stroke the satin of her ball gown.
“Quite striking. You will be breathtaking in this, of course. The obvious question is why.”
She frowned at his low words. “What?”