Kisses and Scandal (A Survivors Series Anthology ) - Shana Galen Page 0,21
some lines and confirmation of an order of a Catarina lace fichu.
“Do you see here?” She pointed to a spot on the paper where no words were written. James obediently leaned closer.
“Meet me in the garden at eleven,” Phil whispered.
“I’m not sure, me lady,” he said, pretending to refer to the paper. He glanced at her, a warning in his eyes.
“I am,” she said. “Please?”
How could he refuse her, especially when a few stolen moments were exactly what he wanted as well? But it would mean he could not risk telling Sean and Patrick about her outing. He couldn’t take the chance that they would appear when he was in the garden with her.
“I’ll be there,” he said quietly.
“In the gazebo,” she murmured, then louder, “Oh, I see now. Yes, that is helpful, James.”
He shook his head, willing himself not to smile at her. If she hadn’t been the daughter of a duke, she might have had a knack for the stage. “If that is all, me lady.”
“That’s all for now,” she said, lifting her book again. “Thank you, James.”
He bowed and when he closed the drawing room doors behind him, he couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t made the biggest mistake of his life.
Six
Phil dressed far more carefully than she would have if she’d just been attending a card party. She enjoyed card parties as she liked most of the games and usually won more than she lost. But the card party was no more than an event that would take place between now and eleven. Then she’d be in James’s arms again. She didn’t know how he did it, but he managed to look even more handsome here than in the country. She’d heard several of the maids discussing how they wouldn’t mind if he tried to steal a kiss, but from what she’d overheard, he hadn’t looked at them twice.
Did that mean he really did care for her? Was she willing to risk telling him how she felt? She thought she might be ready to risk it. By eleven she could slip away from the games. The play would be quite competitive by then, and she could claim she had a headache and needed some air. No one would want to leave the games to escort her. If she was careful with her timing, she would ensure that no one but she could leave without interrupting a game.
She wore one of her ubiquitous white evening gowns but asked Dawson to do something special with her hair and jewelry. Dawson always shone in moments like this and pinned a red rose in her hair, pairing it with rubies at her neck and ears. A touch of rouge made her cheeks look less pale and a bit of kohl darkened her lashes and made her eyes more prominent. She turned to Dawson. “Do I look terribly wanton?”
“I might wonder if you had used cosmetics, my lady, but I’d never be able to prove it.”
Phil studied her face in the mirror again. “You do have a way with them, Dawson. What about my lips?”
“Best not risk it, my lady. You can bite them in the carriage.”
“Very well then, I’m ready.”
James didn’t hand her into the carriage, but she caught his eye when she stepped inside. He looked tall and noble in his livery. If someone put him in a coat of superfine and a silk waistcoat, he’d look as pedigreed as any earl or viscount.
Her mother prattled on in the carriage, mainly advice to Phil for what to say and how to react if someone mentioned Phineas’s marriage. “You can say you haven’t even met her, dear. Not yet, at any rate.”
“Don’t you think that will cause more speculation rather than less, Mama? Why don’t we just say Phin made a love match and we’re deliriously happy for him?”
Her mother frowned at her. “Have you been drinking, Philomena?”
“No, Mama.”
“Then I think you had better allow me to speak tonight. You don’t seem to have all your wits about you.”
Phil sighed. “I just don’t understand why the ton should care so much about who Phin married. Yes, she has something of a reputation, but whatever she did happened long before I was out. Who can even remember at this point?”
“People always remember a scandal, Philomena. Mark my words.”
But Phil didn’t want to mark those words. “It’s not as though she is a commoner. She’s a countess.”