Cast in Ice (8 page)

Winnie sat in the large receiving room at Townsend House and tried to pay attention to the conversation going on around her. The Earl of Montroy had come to call on her sister, Anne. Having him call wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. He was a frequent guest, and Winnie knew that before the Season ended, her father would announce his youngest daughter’s betrothal.

The match would be perfect. And it couldn’t happen soon enough.

Then…

Winnie tried to think what would happen then, but she couldn’t think of anything except the kiss she and Nick Stillman had shared three nights ago. She’d tried to forget it, but that was like trying to forget that the sun would come up in the morning, or the moon would shine at night.

She tried to think of a reason as to why he might have kissed her, but she couldn’t come up with one excuse that she could believe except that he’d had a momentary lapse of sanity. Or that anger had driven him to do something so reckless. Except nothing hinted that anger had anything to do with the way his mouth had possessed hers.

Then, she tried to convince herself that he’d meant nothing by kissing her. But the words that came to mind when she remembered the emotions that surged through her weren’t words that indicated no feelings had been involved. They said much more.

Words like desperation. Or hunger. Or intimacy came to mind. Even passionate, searing, and intense. But not anger.

Except, when the kiss ended, he’d pulled away from her as if touching her burned him, repulsed him. As if he regretted what he’d done. As if what he’d experienced kissing her wasn’t anywhere near what she’d felt.

Her cheeks burned. She wanted to say she regretted their kiss, but she didn’t. It was an experience she’d remember her whole life. If she had the memory of only one kiss to cherish for the rest if her life, she wanted this special kiss to be it. She’d want Nick Stillman to be the man who’d given her that experience.

She lifted her fingers to her lips and touched them as if she could still recall the feel of his mouth against hers. As if she could still feel the pressure of his—

“Winnie,” Anne said in a loud voice.

“I’m sorry, Anne,” Winnie said, realizing Anne had probably called out to her several times. “I was woolgathering.”

“You were more than woolgathering. You’ve been staring out the window forever, yet I’ll wager you haven’t noticed that it’s stopped raining and now the sun is shining.”

“It is?” Winnie said, glancing back out the window. The sun was indeed shining and it had turned into a beautiful day.

“Yes, it is. And Lord Montroy has offered to accompany us on a walk. Please say you’ll go with us so we don’t have to ask Ruby or Tilly.”

Winnie wanted to decline, but the pleading expression on Anne’s face made refusing impossible. Besides, getting out might be exactly what she needed. Clearing her head of Nick Stillman and the kiss they’d shared was something she had to do.

“Of course, I’ll accompany you. The rain has kept us indoors for three days. It’s time we took some air.”

“Oh, thank you, Winnie,” Anne said, rising to her feet. “We’ll get our wraps and meet you in the foyer,” she said to Lord Montroy, then she and Winnie left to get their cloaks.

They returned a few minutes later and the three of them left Townsend House and headed for Hyde Park, which was only a few blocks away.

Winnie let Anne and Lord Montroy lead the way and she followed a discreet distance behind. Her role was as chaperone, not as a conversational companion. She was hardly needed for that. Anne and her beau were capable of carrying on a conversation without any help from her. This gave her time to consider what, if anything, Nick Stillman meant to her.

Of course he meant nothing, she told herself. She couldn’t allow him to. And the kiss they’d shared meant nothing. If not for the fact that it was her first kiss, she probably wouldn’t give it another thought. Just as Nick Stillman hadn’t. No doubt he’d kissed so many females in his life, this kiss was insignificant compared to the ones before this kiss. And the ones that would come after. She for sure wasn’t the most skilled female he’d ever kissed. That was probably why he’d turned from her as abruptly as he had. He’d been repulsed by her inexperience.

Now that she thought on it, she realized she’d probably over-exaggerated everything about the kiss. Her heart had no doubt pounded in her chest because she’d never been kissed before and being kissed was a new experience. Her body no doubt reacted to Nick Stillman only because he’d been the first man who’d ever kissed her. Now that she’d experienced her first kiss, she doubted she’d react at all the next time she saw him. Of course not. Why ever would she?

Except when she looked ahead of her to make certain Anne and Lord Montroy were within sight, the person she saw approaching them was the person who’d haunted her every thought, day and night, since the last time she’d seen him.

Her heart thundered in her breast, then pounded at the base of her throat. Her flesh prickled. The blood roared in her head, and her lips, the lips he’d kissed last night, tingled. She didn’t want to have such a violent reaction to him, but she did.

“Lady Anne. Lord Montroy,” he said, greeting her sister and Lord Montroy.

They waited for Winnie to catch up to them. When she reached them, they opened their circle to include her. He let his gaze rest on her and her flesh felt as if it was on fire.

“Lady Winnifred.”

“Mr. Stillman,” she answered, although she was surprised that she’d found her voice.

“We were just out for a stroll,” Anne said. “The weather finally cleared and it turned into a perfect day.”

“Yes, it did.”

“Would you like to join us? Winnie volunteered to accompany us, but I fear Lord Montroy and I have been remiss in including her in our conversation. You would be doing us a great favor if you would join us.”

“The pleasure would be mine,” Nick Stillman said, nodding his head.

Anne and Lord Montroy continued their walk, and their conversation, and Winnie was left with no choice but to turn her attention to Nick Stillman. He stood beside her with his arm extended.

He expected her to place her hand on his arm.

Winnie didn’t want to do it. What if the currents that raced up her flesh when she touched him were still there? What if, now that she’d kissed him, her reaction to him hadn’t lessened as she assumed it would? What if her response to him was even more disturbing? What if her flesh tingled like it had before, and he affected her as intensely?

“Would you like to follow your sister, or should we remain here?” he asked when she had yet to place her hand on his arm.

“No, we’ll follow,” she said, then risked placing her fingers on his arm.

Fireworks exploded inside her breast. The day turned unseasonably warm and she wanted to remove her cloak, but she knew the weather hadn’t changed. The man at her side was responsible for the heat that consumed her. She tried to pretend it wasn’t so, but it was.

Winnie lifted her gaze and found him looking down at her. Their gazes locked, and for several long seconds, they studied each other as if they were both new species the other had never seen before.

There was a slight frown on Nick Stillman’s forehead, and Winnie knew there was one on her own that probably matched his. There was confusion written on his face, and she was experiencing that same uncertainty. A darkness clouded his ebony eyes that she didn’t understand. And from the way he stared at her, she thought perhaps he saw something he didn’t understand when he looked at her.

“Are you two coming?” Anne said from ahead of them.

“Yes, Anne. We’re coming,” Winnie answered, then took her first step at Nick Stillman’s side.

They didn’t speak for several moments. Walking at his side was both exciting, and disturbing. A part of her felt as if she belonged at his side, while another part of her felt that being with him was like the proverbial fox that rode across the river on the alligator’s back. If she remembered the tale correctly, the fox never made it to the other side.

She would do well to remember that Nick Stillman was as dangerous to her as that alligator was to the fox.

“Are you all right, my lady?” he finally said.

Winnie had wondered which one of them would break the silence. “Yes, I’m perfectly fine. I was just enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful weather.”

He smiled. “Yes, the sun is indeed out. And the weather is indeed a safe topic to discuss. Should we continue to stay with only safe topics, or should we venture to more hazardous matters.”

Winnie breathed a sigh of resignation. “I suppose I could feign ignorance, and pretend I don’t know what you are referring to,” she said.

“You could,” he agreed. “But that is hardly your way of handling challenges, is it, my lady?”

Winnie lifted her gaze. He was smiling at her. Her heart shifted in her breast.

“You always face any problem head on, don’t you?” he added.

“I find that is usually the best way,” Winnie answered.

“So, the first matter we should face would be the kiss we shared the last time we were together.”

Every muscle in her body tightened. “As I’m sure you are more aware than I, what we shared wasn’t significant.”

He paused. “Why do you assume that I’m aware of something of which you’re not?”

Winnie’s face warmed. “Because you are much more experienced in such matters.”

A broad smile appeared on his face and he nodded in agreement. Then took a step to force her to continue walking.

“Of course,” he answered.

“I’m sure you are now aware of just how inexperienced I am.”

“You mean you’re sure I realized that was your first kiss?”

She lowered her gaze.

“What I realized, Winnie. May I call you Winnie? It seems that after what we shared, we should be on a first name basis. You may call me Nick.”

Winnie wanted to refuse his suggestion. Referring to each other by their first names was like another barrier torn down. A barricade that could keep them at arm’s length from each other. But being so formal was quite ridiculous.

“So, Winnie,” he said. “In reference to our kiss, the only detail I remember was my surprise, as well as my delight at how quickly you picked up the finer points of kissing.”

Her gaze shot to his. He was smiling at her. He was almost laughing at her.

“Having said that, however, I want to assure you that I assume total responsibility for what happened. You did nothing to encourage such an action on my part, and I want to assure you it will never happen again.”

A stabbing of regret shot through her. Except she didn’t know why. Wasn’t this exactly what she wanted to hear? That he would never kiss her again?

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your saying as much.”

“I thought you would.”

His strides lengthened, and Winnie realized how they’d slowed. Anne and Lord Montroy were far ahead of them.

“There’s something else, however, I need to discuss with you.”

Winnie felt his muscles tighten beneath her fingers. Whatever this topic was, it wasn’t something he was eager to discuss with her.

“It concerns your trips to
The Dove
.”

Winnie looked to make sure Anne and Lord Montroy were far enough ahead of them that they couldn’t overhear anything she and Nick Stillman said.

“I haven’t been to
The Dove
since that last time,” she said. How dare he accuse her of going when she hadn’t.

“I know you haven’t, Winnie. I’m not accusing you of going there.”

“Then what?”

“It occurred to me that there is a reason you go to
The Dove
. A reason other than simply to wager on a hand of cards. A reason you need the money.”

“You don’t believe I simply enjoy the game?”

“I believe you enjoy playing, but that’s not the reason you take the risks involved by going to an establishment with the reputation of
The Soiled Dove
.”

Winnie dropped her hand from Nick Stillman’s arm. “Of course, you presume to know me well enough to know the reason I go there.”