The Countess Page 0,40

sit on it. Peering at him then, she frowned. "Wasn't there something I was shupposed to do?"

Richard cleared his throat. "Sleep. You are to sleep, and I am to go to my own room now."

But he just stood there and stared at her sitting in the center of her bed, one strap of the nightgown half off her shoulder, so that the bodice sagged, revealing the top curve of one breast. Had he real y thought her unattractive? He must have been stressed at the idea of confronting his brother and not thinking clearly. She seemed to grow more attractive every time he saw the damned woman.

"I'm sure there was something I was supposed to do."

Her fretful words stirred him from his contemplation of what he could and could not see of her bosom, and Richard forced himself to turn and head for the connecting door. "Nothing important, I am sure. Good night."

He stepped into the bedroom, pushed the door closed and then simply leaned weakly back against it.

"Can I see your bottom now?" he murmured her words with disbelief.

Good Lord, the woman was certainly ful of surprises. From what he'd seen so far, life with her would never be boring. She'd packed her dead husband in ice and gone off to a bal for heaven's sake. Of course, that had been to help her sisters escape ruin. It wasn't as if the scandal would have troubled her much. Christiana had said tonight's bal was her first, and Daniel had verified it in the carriage on the way to the townhouse. It seemed George and Christiana had not been out in society at al this last year. No bal s, teas, no soirees, dinners or plays. And Richard knew why: George had been avoiding society to avoid anyone's twigging to the possibility that he might not be Richard. He supposed the man had planned to avoid society for a year or two and then return after memories had had a chance to fade and the possibility of being caught out was lessened. Which meant Christiana had been forced into seclusion with him, relying on only George for her social outlet.

"Poor woman," he muttered stepping away from the door and then pausing as he realized he was neatly trapped in the locked master bedroom . . . and he'd done it to himself.

"Wel hel ." He glanced back to the door he'd just closed. Going that way was out.

Christiana was wide awake and would just insist on getting the key for him and in so doing discover Daniel in Suzette's room. He didn't want his friend trapped into a marriage to save Suzette's reputation. One of them possibly being stuck in an unwanted marriage was enough. Richard looked around the room for an alternate escape. He could try to pick the lock of the door to the hal , but suspected there wouldn't be anything in the room to accomplish the task.

His gaze final y turned to the window and he grimaced. It looked like if he wanted to meet up with Daniel and take care of George's body, he would be leaving the room the same way he'd first entered it on arriving here tonight, through the window. Shaking his head at the tricks fate seemed to like to play, Richard walked quickly to the bedroom window. Someone had closed it since he and Daniel had snuck George's body out of the room. Richard now reopened it and leaned out to peer about, then straightened abruptly at the sound of the connecting door opening behind him. The abrupt movement had him slamming his head into the window he'd just raised. Cursing, Richard grabbed the back of his head and rubbed it to relieve some of the pain as he turned to see Christiana crossing the room toward him.

"I just remembered! Your valet is sick. I shal have to help you undress," she announced sounding very cheerful as she walked unsteadily toward him.

"My valet?" Richard asked with confusion.

"Is sick." She grinned widely as if the man's being il were quite the most wonderful thing.

"Oh, yes, of course," he murmured as if just recal ing it, and realized he had to be much more careful about such things. There would be much that had happened this last year that he knew nothing about. People he should know that he didn't, conversations he should recal but wouldn't. He would have to be very careful and

- Richard's thoughts died abruptly as he felt