every discussion of every decision. She tried to escape for a walk about mid-afternoon, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. Not that she would have been able to meet James anyway. She hadn’t seen him all day. Perhaps that was for the best. It was mortifying to know that he’d witnessed her humiliation last night.
Despite her embarrassment, Phil looked forward to dinner, hoping James would serve. But as it was just her mother and herself, only Caffold and Balcolm were required. Phil found she had no appetite. She did manage to escape somewhat early, claiming she wanted to go to bed so she would not be tired when they left in the morning. She started for the stairs, then changed course and stepped into the parlor. Her mother had not mentioned the missing Sevres piece. There was no sign of the shattered porcelain on the carpet and a figure of a shepherd boy now stood where the cow had. She couldn’t remember ever seeing that shepherd boy, but it was just the sort of thing her mother would buy.
The door closed behind her and she spun around, hope making her heart pound. Her hope soared when she saw James standing with his back against the door. “I wanted to say something before ye left.”
“Where have you been all day?” she asked. “I looked for you everywhere.”
“Helping to ready the carriages and the items yer ma wants to take with her. But I don’t have much time to say what I want.”
She nodded. He might have closed the door, but the parlor opened to her father’s library on one side and the morning room on the other. They would surely be found any moment.
“What do you wish to say?”
“Only this.” He stepped away from the door and toward her. “Knoxwood is a fool.” He moved another step closer. “Any man would be lucky to have ye.” He moved another step closer so that he was within reach. “And if he can’t see that, then the man is doubly a fool.”
For some reason she couldn’t quite fathom, Phil felt a lump rise in her throat. She almost never cried. Why should she feel the urge now? “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Ye don’t need to thank me for telling ye the truth. And ye certainly shouldn’t thank me before I do this.”
“Do wh—?”
She was caught up in his strong arms before she could even finish her words. He pulled her hard against him, and she gasped with surprise and from the zing of pleasure that raced through her at the way he held her. He wasn’t wearing his gloves, and his bare hands cupped her face. One thumb slid over her mouth, tugging her lower lip down. His dark eyes turned even blacker as he stared at her mouth.
“That mouth of yers will be the end of me yet, lass.”
She pressed her lips together, kissing his thumb. And then his mouth was on hers, gentle but insistent. She sank into the kiss, melting into his arms, and the feel of his warm, strong hands sliding over her cheeks and into her hair. He freed it from its confines, and it tumbled down about her shoulders. His hands on her scalp made her head tingle from pleasure and the release of the heavy hair.
Phil wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself closer. How could she go upstairs in a few minutes and leave him behind? How could she go to London and not see him for days? She’d barely made it through one day without missing him. Desperate to have as much of him in that moment as she could, she kissed him deeper, teasing his mouth with her tongue until he opened for her. The kiss deepened, and she sank further into sensation. His hands slid over her shoulders and down her sides. A flash of heat startled her as his thumb brushed over her breast then cupped it.
Immediately, James released her and stepped back. “I beg yer pardon, me lady. I forgot meself.” He held his hands up as though to prove he was no threat. Jarred at the sudden loss of his touch, Phil groped for a chair. She clutched the back of one, digging her nails into the fabric.
“I should say goodnight,” James continued. “I overstepped.” He moved back again and toward the door.
“No,” Phil said.
James halted. “No?”
“Don’t leave.”
“But, me lady, I insulted ye—”
“I liked it.” She felt her cheeks flame hot. “I want you to do it again.”
He shook