The Countess Page 0,62

Christiana asked quietly. "How long have you been back in England?"

"Ah." Richard managed a crooked smile. "We arrived in port yesterday morning."

Christiana suddenly moved over to the bed to drop to sit on the edge of it. The action seemed to suggest her legs would no longer hold her up, but he couldn't tel what she was thinking from her expression.

"Daniel and I had decided that the best way to handle the situation was to confront George at the Landon bal . As the season opener, it would be attended by nearly everyone in the ton and the plan was to surprise a confession out of him."

"Except he was dead," she said quietly.

"Yes, and he was married to you, which put a wrinkle in our plans," Richard said quietly.

Christiana blinked at him in surprise. "Why did that put a wrinkle in them?"

"Because George had escaped justice by dying. It was only you and your sisters who would suffer in the scandal that would ensue if I revealed what he'd done, and the three of you are innocents."

Christiana was staring at him now as if he were some exotic creature she'd never encountered before. Uncomfortable under that steady, odd gaze, he added,

"So when Daniel suggested that I simply step back into my life as if George had never stolen it from me . . . wel , the truth is that I hesitated. I didn't wish to hurt you or your sisters, but on the other hand, I didn't know you and didn't wish to be punished further by his actions either. So we decided to remove George and hide him away for a couple of days while I saw if you and I would deal wel together."

Christiana stood up abruptly, her face suddenly florid and Richard realized she'd taken what he'd said the entirely wrong way, thinking he'd meant whether they suited each other in bed. "Not that way," he assured her quickly. "Last night was whol y unexpected. In fact, if you'l recal I was trying to stop you from undressing me. It was you who was so determined to get my clothes off."

"I was trying to see your strawberry," she snapped and then narrowed her eyes.

"Speaking of which, I should like to see it now."

"My strawberry?" he asked blankly and peered down at his groin. It had been his pants she'd been so determined to remove last night as he recal ed, but no one had ever cal ed his manhood a strawberry before. In fact, he thought he might be insulted if that was what she was referring to.

"On your bottom," she said, her irritation of a moment ago seeming to transform into a mix of exasperation and embarrassment. "Richard Fairgrave is supposed to have a strawberry-shaped birthmark on his behind. I should like to see it, please."

"Oh." Richard relaxed and even grinned. "No one has ever said to me that it was strawberry-shaped."

She merely arched an eyebrow, apparently unwil ing to be put off from seeing it.

He supposed he couldn't blame her real y. She'd been married to who she'd thought was Richard Fairgrave this last year and now he was tel ing her it had real y been his brother George. He supposed it was reasonable for her to want proof of who was who. Sighing inwardly, he grimaced, turned his back to her, undid his trousers and dropped them.

Christiana simply stood there gaping at Richard for a moment, completely taken aback. She supposed she shouldn't be so surprised, she'd asked to see his bottom to check for the strawberry, but real y she'd expected something of an argument perhaps, or a little modesty, but the way he'd simply dropped his drawers suggested there was very little modesty in the man.

"Wel ?" Richard asked impatiently.

Swal owing, Christiana took a tentative step closer to him and forced herself to focus on his bare derriere, but then frowned. The man was standing near the door about as far away from the light cast by the window as possible. He also happened to be standing in the bed's shadow. "I . . . erm . . . it's too dark. I can't see."

Richard clucked impatiently and turned around to make his way across the room.

With his pants around his ankles it wasn't a fast maneuver and watching him duck march around the bed toward the window with his family jewels hanging out and swinging to and fro under his frock coat was real y quite the most ridiculous