Redeeming the Deception of Grace (5 page)

She could be his undoing, and the fear he saw in her eyes reminded him that he could hurt her as easily as
s
he could hurt him
.
The realization was s
obering
. H
e removed his hands quickly as she backed away
.
The moment he step
p
ed away
,
he
r
eli
ved
those profound
moments, which
caused him to glance at her lips once more
.
With a shake
of
his head
,
he distracted himself
.
He needed a new
tactic to help
Grace
understand the severity of the situation
,
so she would refuse any further attentions
from
the
e
arl.

"
I
'
m simply looking out for your welfare
,
Grace
.
Y
our mother agrees with me
,
I
'
ll have you know
.
Stay away from Shiply
,
"
h
e commanded, hoping she wouldn
'
t question him any further
,
because her mother
ha
dn
'
t in fact,
told
her to stay away from Shiply. No, that was his little addition.

"
My mother?
"
Grace
asked with a disbelieving tone
.

"
Yes, she said you needed some additional looking
after
…
"
He
trailed off
at the sight of
the fury building in her eyes.

"
What?
"
Grace
all but yelled, drawing attention to their heated conversation.

He wanted to hit his head against a wall, repeatedly
.
Of all the foolish things to say! Could anything go right tonight
?
It had been going blissfully perfect until Shiply showed
up
,
making him feel things, realize things he
'
d rather not have known
.
Ignorance
tru
ly was bliss.
"
I didn
'
t mean to imply that you
—
"

"
No, no, no
!
Y
ou didn
'
t imply anything
!
What you said was that I was
too
young and naive to figure out for myself who I wish to spend time with
!
"
Her eyes squinted.

"
No, I simply stated that since Lord Shiply was of the rakish sort that I wanted to make sure you were protected
—
"
Ewan tried explain.

"
From Lord Shiply
?
I
'
ve had to guard myself more around
you
than
in the few minutes I
'
ve danced with Lord Shiply!
"

Her
outburst
re-played in slow motion in his mind
.
She had to protect herself from him
?
Why
?
He had never, or at least never intended
—
or well, had he? Would the new and fresh emotions never end this night
?
He wanted to go home and lose himself in a nice vintage of
b
randy and forget all the mixed feelings of the evening
.

Bewildered
,
he took in
Grace
'
s rapid breathing
,
which allowed him a perfect view of her bosom
.
With a
herculean effort on his part, he looked up
.
"
Me?
"
He
searched
her
gaze
for a moment.

"
Never mind. I
'
m
leaving.
"
Grace
spun on her slipper
s and left
.

Chapter Three

"
Lady Grace
? You have a gentleman caller
,
"
Taite notified
Grace
as she waited in her library for Shiply to arrive and take her for their
walk
in the park
.
S
he didn
'
t even ask who had come calling
,
but
she
nodded to her butler and descended the stairs to find Ewan
'
s eyes following her.

"
You?
"
Grace
asked, confused by his presence. Why was he here
?
He didn
'
t often visit her at home
—
in fact, she couldn
'
t remember him ever calling upon her at her home
.
Suspicious,
she walked over to him.

"
Come now
,
Grace
.
Is that any way to greet a guest?
"
He
tsked
.

Could he be serious? After their argument last night
over his needless desire to protect her from Shiply
,
she had thought he was only referring to the time
they spent at social functions
.
Never once had she thought he would interfere with her day-to-day life.
This was a disaster in the making
.
How
was she ever going to focus on Shiply when Ewan loomed in the background like a sinfully beautiful guardian angel
?

Collecting herself
,
she began to apologize for her rude comment
,
only to be
waved off
.

Ewan
paced slowly across the foyer floor, his boots making muted thuds along the tiles
.
His dark lashes concealed his blue eyes just enough to distract
Grace
from being able to concentrate
.

****

The moment Grace descended the stairs
,
Ewan knew he was in trouble
.
Not only did she not want his presence, which he had expected. But also, she looked far to
o
beautiful to be out with Shiply in
the
company of only a maid
.
The realization harde
ne
d his resolve to
be the wedge between them in any way possible
.
H
e
again
wasn
'
t willing to examine just why
;
he simply knew it was necessary
.

As
Grace
began to apologize for her lack of manners
,
he
began to explain his plan, knowing she wouldn
'
t be thrilled
,
but he was determined
,
nonetheless
.

"
You
'
re expecting
Shiply, I know. I spoke with him after you left
and
inform
ed
him that I was concerned with his reputation
,
and I notified him that I was a family friend looking out for your best interest
.
He let me know that he was going to
walk
with you this morning
.
I requested that I come along. Unorthodox
,
I know, but given Shiply
'
s character
,
I felt a more masculine presence would be safer than the simple presence of a maid, although I
'
m sure you should have one accompany us as well
.
"

A
tall maid entered the room and stood to the side
,
waiting to accompany
Grace
. As Ewan turned his attention back to
Grace
,
he noticed the crimson hue of her cheeks
,
not from
embarrassment
, but from anger.

Ewan waited for the inevitable explosion
of
Grace
'
s temper
.
But he was firm in his decision
,
and he refused to admit the reason why
.
He broadened his stance, knowing
Grace
would be rather upset. He admired her passion and spirit
. H
e always had.

"
You what?
"
s
he asked,
sounding
completely dumbfounded
.
In her shock, she
did
not even rais
e
her voice
.

Ewan smiled to himself, feeling on top of the world for being one step ahead of
Grace
.
"
Must I speak slower? Or were my words to large for you?
"
h
e teased
,
unable to help himself
.

Her mouth dropped open before her eyes narrowed
,
and he felt just the slightest bit afraid.

"
Of all the arrogant, conceited,
self
-
serving and manipulative
—
"

Lady Jarvais
breezed
in
to t
he entryway.
"
Ahh
,
dear
.
I see you have greeted our
g
uest.
"
Lady Jarvais
winked at Ewan
,
and he tried to keep his smile in check but failed
,
earning a fierce scowl from
Grace
.
Lady Jarvais
went over to
Grace
and kissed her cheek.

"
Mother, what do you mean by allowing this?
"
Grace
asked, her words almost a w
h
ine.

"
Allowing…?
"
Lady Jarvais
asked, waiting with an expectant expression.

"
Allowing Ewan to…
interfere
.
I
t is of no consequence to him, or at least it shouldn
'
t be
,
"
s
he added
,
with a glare aimed at Ewan
.

"
It
'
s for the best
,
dear. After all, we don
'
t have your father here at the moment
,
and your brothers are t
o
o busy with their own families
.
When Ewan offered to look out for you, why, I couldn
'
t turn him down
.
"
Lady Jarvais
'
s
tone was soft, easily undermining her daughter
'
s
indignation
.
With a small smile
,
she cupped
Grace
'
s cheek
,
then
moved toward the parlor.

Lady Jarvais
'
s explanation
puzzled Ewan
.
What was she doing?
H
e shifted uneasily on his feet, wondering what
Lady Jarvais
had up her sleeve
.
As he watched her leave
,
she turned slightly and winked in his direction, affirming his suspicions that she was up to something. Before he could react she was gone.

"
That
'
s not what you said
!
And you call me the liar!
"
Grace
accused in a hoarse whisper.

"
I, er, well
…
"
Ewan was unsure of how to continue
.
If he affirmed that indeed
Lady Jarvais
was behind his involvement
,
then he
'
d be calling her a liar to her own daughter. Unwise. Especially in
Grace
'
s fit of temper at the moment. But if he agreed with
Lady Jarvais
'
s explanation
,
then he would be implicating himself as a liar, the very thing he held over
Grace
'
s head with glee. Therefore he
reverted
back into the eleven
-
year
-
old pest.

"
My dear,
"
he began with his practiced patronizing tone that he used often on
Grace
,
simply to ruffle her feathers.
"
You
r
mother and I both agreed on the situation. Besides, what
'
s done is done
.
It no longer matters who came up with the brilliant idea
,
"
h
e added with a smile, knowing he had once again gained the upper hand
.

Grace
scowled, her wide lips pulling into a thin line of consternation
.
Her green eyes squinted as she evaluated his words, testing them for a weakness to exploit
.
He took the moment of silence to truly
consider
her. His eyes roamed over her riding outfit, appreciating the nip and tuck of the fabric that accentuated her perfect curves. She was beautiful when she was angry.

"
Stop
,
"
Grace
commanded.

"
What?
"
Confused,
Ewan
snapped his eyes from the curve of her hip to her flashing eyes.

"
Stop
doing that
.
"
Grace
spoke in a low tone that he found seductive regardless of the anger behind its tone.

"
Doing w
hat
?
"
h
e
asked
, uncomfortable that
s
he
'
d
caught his brazen gaze. Normally he wouldn
'
t have minded had a woman noticed him appreciating her body, but this was
Grace
.

"
Do not examine me
as though
you
'
re undressing me with your wicked eyes
,
"
s
he accused, seeming to be overly frustrated
.

Ewan understood the sensation all
too
readily
.
He was beginning to feel frustrated himself, just not the same way as
Grace
.

"
I was not.
"
He was turning into a liar, a deceptive liar. All because of
Grace
and her incessant need to call him on every rakish move. She was exasperating, yet rather than annoying him
,
it drove him to distraction
,
and heaven help him
,
he found it alluring
.
An unwelcome distraction in wh
ich
he found himself wondering what she tasted like, what her skin felt like, and
he was frustrated
at the realization that he had no idea and likely never would.

****

Grace
was trying not to show the fevered reaction she immediately had experienced once she noticed the way Ewan
'
s gaze drank her in
.
It
'
s all a ruse
,
s
he repeated to herself
.
Ewan might,
might
find her attractive
,
but it was nothing more
.
If she succumbed to his charm
,
she would simply become part of the parade of faceless bodies that had
g
race
d his bed
.
That was not going to happen
.