A Little Mischief (18 page)

His thumbs and forefingers searched for her nipples beneath the layers of clothing and they rose and hardened to his touch. The constant rubbing over the tight peaks and his ravenous assault on her lips and in her mouth made her tighten her hold on his buttocks. She pushed her body against his and tried to sate the unbearable ache that had settled between her legs.

Isabella wasn’t even sure her feet were touching the floor. She felt as if she stood on air. Nothing was real to her but his touch.

Suddenly Daniel slid both arms around her waist and squeezed her tighter than she had ever been held before abruptly breaking off the kiss. One moment their hot breaths mingled, and the next he was looking down at her with glassy eyes trying to catch his breath.

Isabella moistened her lips; inviting, willing Daniel to continue his possession of her. Looking deeply into the depths of his burning eyes she saw that he wanted to but wouldn’t.

Their interlude was over.

She laid her cheek against the worsted wool of his coat. Her hands slid up his back once again to rest on the width of his broad shoulders. Over her own labored breathing she heard the rapid beat of his heart. She felt his breath stir her hair as he pressed his cheek on top of her head and softly whispered her name.

He turned her loose and stepped away from her. Isabella shivered as soon as his warmth left her.

She raked the back of her hand across her lips as she tried to regain her normal breathing.

“Something strange happens to me whenever you are near,” she said.

“It’s not strange. It’s very normal for two people who are as attracted to each other as we are.” He straightened his shirt in his trousers, pulled down his waistcoat, and checked his cuffs.

“Why do you suppose we are so attracted to each other when we seem to be so opposite in the way we think?”

“I don’t know the answer to that because no two people have been less suited for each other than we are.”

“Do you love me, Daniel?”

She saw that he swallowed hard just before he said, “No, but I do desire you.”

She pondered that before saying, “Yes that must be what this strange feeling is that I have for you. Is there anything we can do to make it go away?”

He seemed to swallow hard again. “Nothing that I’m willing to do at this time.”

“Oh. So we must find a way to control these urges we have.”

“And the best way to do that is to stay away from each other.” He stepped farther away from her.

“But we can’t do that, can we, Daniel?”

His gaze held fast to hers. “No, I don’t think we can.” He stepped even farther away. “Thank you for seeing me today, Isabella. I’ll have your maid show me out.”

He turned and walked away.

Twelve

Daniel strolled into the family town house in Mayfair with only one thing on his mind.
Isabella.

He handed his coat, hat, and gloves to the butler and asked him to get word to Gretchen right away that he wanted to see her in the garden. He needed to have another serious talk with his sister, and he didn’t want the possibility of anyone overhearing their conversation.

With quick, determined steps he marched through the house to the back without stopping until he stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Maybe the fresh air would clear his head of thoughts of the tempting Isabella.

He looked over the barren garden that waited for some sign of the arrival of spring. The afternoon was chilly with the feel of more rain in the air. The sky was a smoky shade of gray and a thick mist was settling low on the ground. The dreariness of the day matched his mood.

Daniel needed to concentrate on Gretchen and the foul mess she’d gotten herself tangled in, but thoughts of Isabella consumed him. She was driving him insane with wanting her, and, as of yet, she had made no move to try to snare him in a parson’s mousetrap as any other young lady would have done after their passionate embraces.

His return home wasn’t going anything like he had planned. Instead of looking for a husband for Gretchen, a bride for himself, and making friends in Parliament as a new earl should be doing, his thoughts were on the lovely mischief-maker, and he was looking for a murderer.

So much for thinking he would find an acceptable young lady and make a match before Season’s end. Isabella was the only lady who had appealed to him since his return. She had spoiled him for all others. Her unconventional manner made her an impossible choice for a wife, but it didn’t keep him from desiring her. She created an excitement inside him whenever she was near.

Daniel smiled. To think she expected him to readily agree to rummage through Throckmorten’s desk and look through his personal papers. What a daring and intriguing chit she was. She had definitely been reading too many novels. He would never admit it to her, but he did think the idea had merit.

A couple of years ago he would have done it without a moment’s hesitation, but his brother’s death had burdened him with the title of earl. He didn’t want to bring any shame or disrespect to the legacy by stooping to such foolish activities.

“You asked to see me?”

Daniel looked up and saw Gretchen walking down the steps toward him, her gray wool shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders against the chill.

“Yes. Come sit down here on the bench beside me.”

He took the time to really look at her as she made her way toward him. She was a bit taller than most young ladies her age, but she wasn’t too thin or too large. Most men would consider her shapely. She had a lovely smile that showed off white straight teeth. Her lips were full and expressive.

Beneath the spectacles she wore, her brown eyes were big, round, and bright. There was a light shade of healthy pink color in her cheeks and lips. Now that he really looked at her, he could see why the gentlemen of the
ton
were attracted to her.

When he’d left London last year, Gretchen was too shy to look at anyone, let alone speak to them. He had always assumed it was because of the spectacles. Now he could see that they in no way took away from her loveliness, and he feared it was obvious she didn’t have a shy bone left in her body. No doubt Miss Winslowe deserved the gratitude for that.

“Did you come by just to make sure I hadn’t gone to my Reading Society at Isabella’s house?” she asked as she took a seat on the bench.

Daniel sat beside her and made himself comfortable by putting his arm across the back of the bench. “No, that’s not the reason I’m here. It’s another more important matter that we must discuss, and this time you must tell me all the truth. Not just part of it.”

“This sounds as if it’s going to be another of our serious conversations.”

“It is.”

She took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap. “All right,” she said in a bored tone. “Let’s get started.”

“I need to know about everything that happened between you and Boswell Throckmorten,” Daniel said, getting right to the point.

“You already know all about that, Daniel. It’s over. Why must you bring it up again?”

“Because the man is really dead this time, Gretchen.”

“Daniel, Isabella said for me not to worry about Mr. Throckmorten.”

Daniel touched her shoulder and said, “Forget what she told you.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Contrary to everything Miss Winslowe said last night in Lord Gleningwold’s garden, Mr. Throckmorten is dead.”

Her brown eyes widened and immediately tears pooled along the lower lid. Her mouth dropped open. “How can you be sure?”

“He was found in the Thames this morning. It’s been confirmed by the authorities. There is no question this time, and there is no doubt that he was already dead when we saw him on the ground. I told you this was serious and I meant it. I must have the truth from you. All of it.”

Her bottom lip trembled, and she stared straight into his eyes as she said, “I didn’t do it, Danny. I agreed to meet him in Lord Gleningwold’s garden, but I swear I didn’t kill him.”

Anger knotted in Daniel’s chest, and he swore under his breath before saying, “Gretchen, why would you agree to meet the scoundrel again after what happened in Isabella’s garden?”

She answered him with a sniffle and tears spilling over her lids to run down her cheeks. If she started crying, he’d never get anything out of her.

Daniel tamped down his anger and lowered his voice as he said, “Don’t get upset, Gretchy. You’re not in any trouble, and everything’s going to be all right. Just start at the beginning and tell me everything from when you first talked to him until you found him last night in the garden.”

She removed her spectacles and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing tears across her cheeks. “He asked me to dance twice at the first party of the Season.” Her face softened. “He told me I was beautiful, Danny. No one’s ever told me that before. And when he looked at me, I felt beautiful for the first time in my life.”

Daniel felt a twinge of guilt. He should have told his sister how lovely she was. He knew that it was the kind of thing all young ladies wanted to hear. “He was right, Gretchy. You are very beautiful, and he’s not the only gentleman who thinks so.”

She sniffled and wiped her eyes again. “He’s not?”

“No. I know that Thomas Wright thinks you’re beautiful. And Chilton.”

“Chilton?” Her eyes turned as bright as sunshine after a spring rain. “Do you really think he does?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“He’s never told me.”

“That’s because he looks at you as a sister. And I know Tom thinks you are beautiful,” he said, knowing he’d just finished talking to Thomas Wright about calling on her. “Now, finish telling me about Throckmorten.”

She rubbed the wetness from her cheek. “When he asked me to dance, I looked him in the eyes and spoke confidently to him the way Isabella told us to.”

Daniel pulled his arm from the back of the bench and sat forward. His brows drew together in concern. “What do you mean?”

“At our reading group Isabella tells us not to be shy around handsome gentlemen. She says they are attracted to young ladies who look them in the eyes and never to look down at our feet or our hands. She told us to appear confident when we talk to them and answer their questions intelligently. She said men really don’t like for us to flutter our eyelashes or our fans.”

So he was right. Isabella was responsible for the change in Gretchen. Why didn’t that surprise him? “Mmm. That sounds like something Miss Winslowe would say. At these meetings has she ever suggested you meet a man in a garden?”

“Oh, no, Daniel. She’s never suggested we do anything that’s considered improper.”

“But you did.”

“Yes, but my actions had nothing to do with Isabella. She only asks the young ladies who are seldom sought after at parties or for special teas to join our group. She helps us to know how to be more poised so we’ll have a better chance at making a match. And we always read from a book of poetry or a horrid novel.”

“I see,” he said. This confirmed what Chilton had told him about Isabella’s Wallflowers Society. But he’d have to get back to that subject later.

“So start at the beginning and tell me how you managed to meet Throckmorten in Isabella’s garden.”

“One night, when we were dancing, he asked me to walk outside with him.” Her eyes turned dreamy. “We stood under the stars and it was so lovely. He wanted to kiss me, but I wouldn’t let him. Then he said he wanted to meet me somewhere we could be alone. I knew it was wrong, but I mentioned that Isabella and her aunt had a dozen ladies over for tea. I told him I could slip into their garden while they were reading and meet him for a few minutes and no one would miss me.”

“Was that the first time you’d met him?”

“Yes. I thought he must love me, and he was so handsome I—I let him kiss me. I thought he was going to ask me to marry him. When he didn’t mention making a match, I asked him about his intentions.”

Good
for
you.

“He—he told me he wasn’t planning to make a match any time soon and that all he wanted was to kiss me. I knew by that he had no intentions of marrying me. I was angry with him. I had risked my reputation to be with him only to find that he didn’t want to marry me. I picked up a statue and hit him. I really thought I’d killed him.”

“All right, was the next time you saw him at Lord Gleningwold’s?”

“Yes. He brushed by me and whispered for me to meet him in the garden by the back arbor in half an hour.”

The rage that he’d swallowed rose again in Daniel’s throat and chest. “Why did you agree to meet him again after he made it clear he had no intention of marrying you?”

“I thought—I was hoping he had changed his mind.” She sniffled before continuing. “And maybe he had and was going to tell me. I don’t know because he was lying on the ground when I got there. I didn’t know what to do. I called to him, but he didn’t move. I know I shouldn’t have agreed to meet him again, but—”

Tears spilled onto her cheeks. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a brotherly hug. “You’re right about that, Gretchy, but everything’s going to be all right now. I’m sure you’re going to meet someone else and make the perfect match real soon.”