A Taste of Temptation (7 page)

But he would take over from here.

Andrew had no intention to alter his bachelor lifestyle and take on the responsibilities of a wife. And a beautiful chit with tempting lips wasn’t going to change his mind about that.

As soon as the ladies were gone Andrew shut the door behind them. He took a deep breath and ran both hands through his hair.

What an evening.

First, a priceless urn had fallen from the shelf where it had been sitting for the better part of fifty years. It landed only inches from him. If it had landed on his head he could have been killed. And now a very appealing miss was trying to leg-shackle him.

What nerve she had to enter his room, pilfer through his things, and set a plan to become his countess.

He’d come close to being forced to marry once before and had managed to escape. He’d find a way to cheat Cu-pid once again.

The only thing he could do right now was to go downstairs and act as if nothing had happened. And on his way down, he would take a vow to never again host a party in his home.

As soon as he entered the crowded room he found a servant and asked that he be brought a brandy. Champagne and wine were not strong enough to get him through the rest of this evening.

The music sounded uncommonly loud and the chattering of his guests was more of a resounding roar in his ears. Light from the hundreds of candles seemed harsh and brassy rather than soft and golden. The strong smells of perfumes, liquor, and flowers mixed heavily in the unseasonably warm air.

He would have liked nothing better than to clear his house of all the richly dressed women and impeccably clothed gentlemen and have the time to reflect on the possible consequences of the past few minutes, but he couldn’t do that. He had to make the best of what was surely to be a long night.

Over the next couple of hours, Andrew made a point of walking from room to room, talking with everyone in attendance. All his guests were having a marvelous time. He discussed horses with the Marquis of Westerland, hunting with Lord Colebrook, and politics with the Duke of Knightington and two other members of Parliament.

Andrew had already danced with three different young ladies who were enjoying their first Season in Society.

And he was gliding across the crowded dance floor with the fourth, but he really didn’t see the lady’s face in front of him at all. His thoughts were on another female—one standing by his dresser, her golden-colored hair bathed in lamplight. He would never forget the look of pure, innocent pleasure on her face as she held his soap to her nose.

Her delicate skin didn’t have the milky white look of so many young ladies he’d admired over the years. Her complexion had more the color found in a piece of expensive parchment.

When she’d offered him permission to search her body he hadn’t been able to deny himself the pleasure of touching her, breathing in her scent, and tasting her lips and mouth. Once his fingertips caressed her silky soft skin it was as if nothing else mattered. He had to kiss her and that had made him want to lay her on his big bed and sink deeply into her.

At the time it didn’t seem so unusual that she was more than willing to allow his forward advance, never once trying to stop him. He should have known she had her own designs when she didn’t admonish him for his forward behavior in any way. He’d been too enchanted by her beauty, her boldness, and her body.

How could he have passed on the challenge she threw out to search her person to prove her innocence?

He couldn’t.

And she knew it.

That thought tightened his stomach with anger. He wasn’t used to being outmaneuvered by a bewitching young lady.

The problem was that he’d been captivated by her before he ever opened his mouth to say a word. Obviously that had been part of her plan.

And it had worked.

Otherwise she would have screamed for help when he touched her or at least slapped his face. Yet, all she had done was melt into his arms as if she had been waiting a lifetime for him to come and awaken her to the wonderful, sensual pleasures of kissing.

She could claim all she wanted that she was really looking for a ghost or merely curious about the contents of his room, but he was convinced what she really wanted was to be the wife of an earl.

He’d stepped right into the middle of her plan.

Andrew shook his head as the young lady he was dancing with twirled under his arm. He couldn’t think about Miss Banning as looking like an angel and feeling like a long-lost lover in his arms, especially when he was in the company of a young lady who was trying desperately to charm him with her smile.

He must remember Miss Banning as the sprite who entered his private chamber without invitation and made herself at home. He must remember her glaring at him with seeming outrage when he had accused her of being a thief.

He must remember she had laid the blame for their being caught on him.

Yes, that was the image of Miss Banning he must remember.

She was obviously drawn to his title and fortune, his connections to London’s most prestigious families, and maybe even his looks. Most young ladies considered him the handsome sort.

She had remained adamant that there was nothing between the two of them during the conversation in his room with the older ladies. But he was sure that was all part of her innocent act to get her way eventually.

Andrew escorted the young lady off the dance floor and returned her to her mother who was bent on regaling him with her daughter’s attributes. She was lovely, with dark hair and light brown eyes. Any other night he might have been tempted to spend more time with her.

But not tonight.

He bid his farewells to the ladies and was heading to get another drink when he saw his good friends John and Chandler standing by the courtyard door. Both were motioning for him to follow them outside.

He had no doubt as to why they wanted to see him alone.

For a moment, he was tempted to ignore them and not to go, but realized he would have to face them sooner or later.

Glancing at the hall clock, he saw it had taken more than two hours for them hear about his misfortune with Miss Banning. That surprised him. If this entire incident hadn’t been so serious, he would have laughed.

Andrew stepped outside into warm night air. It was a clear night, free of fog, clouds, or mist, but only a small slice of a bright moon broke the blackness of the sky.

Andrew couldn’t help but think the endless canopy of darkness matched his mood. He spoke to several people who were also enjoying the nighttime atmosphere before reaching his friends who stood at the far end of the por-tico.

“What the devil is this we hear about you and a young lady being caught in your bedchamber?” John asked as soon as Andrew was close enough to hear them.

“If it’s true, it’s one hell of a story,” Chandler added.

“No kidding,” Andrew said after taking a deep breath.

“You look like you need a drink,” John said, offering Andrew the glass he held in his hand.

He needed more than just a drink. A beautiful enchantress was trying to upset the contented balance he’d just achieved in his life. He feared it would be a battle of wills between the two of them.

“My finest brandy hasn’t begun to dull my senses tonight.”

“Maybe that’s just as well. Tell us what happened.” Andrew gazed out over his garden. The greenery was lush from rain and dotted with splashes of color from the spring blossoms. The entire back area glowed from lamps that lit the limestone walkways.

He shook his head and laughed. “It is so unbelievable, my friends, that it’s downright laughable.”

“Speak, man. Tell us, what were you thinking to arrange an interlude with a young lady in your room?”

“And while you had one hundred guests in your house?

It’s absurd.” John added.

“You’ve done some wild things, Andrew, we all have, but this goes beyond them all.”

Andrew looked from one friend to the other. He knew they thought him mad. “That’s the hell of it, fellows. I didn’t arrange to meet her. I had never even met her. I went up to my room and there she was.”

“Who?” John questioned.

“The lady’s name is Miss Olivia Banning.”

“You’ll have to point her out to us.”

“I’ve looked the house over,” Andrew answered. “She’s already left the party.”

“So who is this Miss Olivia Banning?” John asked.

“And what was she doing in your room if you didn’t invite her?”

Andrew hesitated. He hadn’t kept much from them in all the years they’d been friends, but he didn’t want to tell them how Miss Banning had looked shadowed by lamplight, standing by his dressing table, holding his shaving soap to her nose, eyes closed and inhaling the scent.

Even now the remembrance did strange things to his insides.

“I’m not sure. She was just standing near the looking glass.”

“Well, surely you asked her. What did she have to say for herself?”

Should he tell them what she said? That she was looking for a ghost and became curious once she entered his room? He was tempted, but no, that, too, he would keep to himself, for now anyway. He would stay with the story that she found his room by accident and she had something in her eye.

“Not much,” he lied without compunction. She’d had plenty to say and she wasn’t shy about it, but his friends would never know that, either. “I thought at first maybe she was going to steal something. I had some coins on the dressing table.”

“How did she get into your bedchamber? It wasn’t locked?”

“No. I—she said something about getting lost while going to the ladies’ retiring room. While I was trying to find out who she was and what she was doing there Aunt Claude, the young lady’s aunt, and the Lord Mayor’s wife saw the door to my room ajar and came to investigate. Before I could get everyone out, Lady Lynette came in asking questions.”

“Damnation,” Chandler whispered. “That many people saw her in your room? What a hell of a mess.” Andrew took a deep breath and shook his head as he remembered the bickering of the three older ladies. God save him from a scene like that again.

“It was lunacy,” Andrew said.

“Bloody hell. It sounds like it,” John said.

A short unexpected laugh escaped past Andrew’s lips.

“This party has been a disaster right from the beginning of the evening.”

“Yes, we heard about the urn falling from the landing at the top of the stairs before we arrived. How the hell did something like that happen?”

“I don’t know, but I’m beginning to think fate has decided to play a few cruel jokes on me.”

“So what happens with the young lady now?” Chandler asked.

“I’m going to call on Miss Banning and her aunt tomorrow afternoon and settle this. No doubt it will get out and the tittle-tattle sheets will chew on it for a few days, but with a little luck it will eventually die away as all scandals do.”

“Yes, but how will you settle it? Marriage could be demanded of you.”

Not in this lifetime.

“Don’t worry, my dear friends. I have a few ideas. After all these years of spurning the pushy mamas and irate fathers, not even giving in to marriage when a financial match would have been so easy and welcomed, I’m not about to be caught in parson’s mousetrap now.”

“For your sake, I hope it will be as easy for you to ditch the fortune seeker as you think.”

“I don’t foresee a problem. I can be very persuasive.

Now, I’m going back to the party.”

“We’re here, if you need us,” Chandler said and clapped Andrew on the arm.

“I know that.”

It was strangely comforting to know that his friends, who had made it clear that they preferred their wives’ company to his, were still there for him when trouble came knocking.

Andrew turned and walked away.

Immediately his thoughts went deep. Perhaps all he had to do was mention to Miss Loudermilk that her niece said she was looking for a ghost. That wasn’t something intelligent young ladies did. Surely no one would expect him to marry a young lady whose mind wasn’t as it should be.

That was a shame, too. She was really very tempting.

He could always say he had to think of the title. Whenever he married it would have to be to a woman of sound mind. His sons would need to be strong and intelligent.

Suddenly his stomach twisted. He didn’t like using Miss Banning’s own words about her pursuit of a ghost to save himself from the gallows called matrimony, but in this instance he might have to.

If her stern-looking aunt didn’t already know about her queer searchings for members of the afterlife, she would by the end of tomorrow afternoon.

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Five

8

“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us,”might be Lord Dugdale’s plea after a frightful incident in his home last night, where a family heirloom mysteriously fell from a ledge and nearly landed on his head. But even more intriguing than an unexplained mishap is the tittle-tattle that he was seen in his bedchamber with a young lady new to the
ton
. Is it possible we will see the bans posted for the last of the Terrible Threesome?

Lord Truefitt

Society’s Daily Column

O
livia tossed her
embroidery aside and jumped up from the settee where she’d been sitting for all of three minutes. She wasn’t in the mood to take her time with the tedious stitches on the intricate floral pattern. And reading had been impossible for her to concentrate on, too. She didn’t know if she had ever felt so restless.