Page 28 of The Earl Next Door
“Good,” he replied easily. “I don’t need a reminder.”
“I don’t think you have ever taken the time to ask me anything. You are usually just barging over and demanding whatever it is you want.”
His gaze swept effortlessly over her face. It was intimate, and a warmth of pleasure washed over her. A quiver of desire to touch him seemed to shudder so deeply inside her she felt it in her bones. She had no doubt that he felt the same currents of fascination for her flowing naturally between them.
He gave her a mischievous smile. “I knocked this time.”
As much as she hated to, Adeline smiled, as well. He wasn’t a beast, but he was a danger to her.
Chapter 10
Hammering rain beat upon the roof of the landau and slashed against the small glass panes in the door. It was as if the heavens had opened up to empty buckets of water upon London. Strong gusts rocked and shuddered the lightweight carriage.
Adeline had made it out of her solicitor’s office and inside the compartment before the worst of the early spring storm hit, but not until after a fierce whip of wind had turned her umbrella inside out and rendered it completely useless. Her cape was wet but not completely drenched; her thin silk dress and satin shoes were damp and cold. She could warm herself quickly enough when she made it home, but she didn’t know how long that might be.
The heavy downpour had traffic moving at a crawl.
No matter. She would weather the storm in stride. All the minor details of the school that had been left unresolved for one reason or another had now been settled and money to ensure the financial soundness of the school for the next five years was set aside in the proper accounts. She, Julia, and Brina had left Mr. Clements’ office, where they’d signed the last of the documents concerning the organizational structure and security of The Seafarer’s School for Girls.
Adeline leaned her head against the soft velvet cushions and smiled as the carriage rumbled along. Sounds of the pelting storm should be disturbing, but as she listened to the rage outside, she realized she was peaceful inside and had been for quite some time now. Occasionally a memory from the past would haunt her, but she was learning to busy herself with other things when they wanted to invade her thoughts.
Now there were children in her future. Not any she would be a mother to, but ones who would grow up to have a better life because of her. It was fitting that she was helping children with the money Wake had left at her disposal. She had to appreciate him for that. Some widows weren’t taken care of as well as she had been.
She was at peace.
Yet, something was missing in her life. The Earl of Lyonwood had made her aware of what it was. What she had dreamed of having from her marriage but never received. Someone to hold her possessively. To touch her with passion. To love and desire her.
Lyon had awakened those dormant, now-unwelcomed longings to be romanced the way she’d dreamed she would be when she’d married. The fascinating earl next door was the culprit. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen, met, or chatted with strong, handsome men since her husband’s death. She had. None of them had come close to making her feel the powerful, sensuous sensations that Lyon had. It seemed unfair that the irascible man should be the one to catch her attention.
A sudden jolt of the carriage threw Adeline forward. She steadied herself with her feet and glanced out the window. Visibility was so poor she couldn’t see anything but gray. Over the squalling wind and pounding deluge on the roof, she heard her driver shouting and then distant, muffled replies.
After a few more annoying bellows, the carriage started moving but only for a few seconds before the conveyance halted once more. Further words were exchanged between her driver and someone else.
Adeline looked out the window for a second time. She rubbed the pane with her gloved hand. They’d stopped on her street but not in front of her house.
“Not again,” she whispered to herself, impatience gathering quickly in her chest.
More shouts were heard and moments later, her driver, covered in an oilcloth and a dripping, wide-brimmed hat, yanked open the door. “I’m afraid we can’t go any farther, my lady,” he said disgustedly. “I’ve tried. Appears your neighbor has the street completely blocked with the coaches of his visitors again. We’ll have to wait.”
Adeline drummed her fingers on her damp lap in irritation. Sitting in a cold carriage wearing damp clothing in the midst of a storm when her house wasright down the street was quite disconcerting. She probably wouldn’t be as uncomfortable had she donned a woolen dress and her walking boots, but she thought the lightweight fabric and dainty shoes more fitting for the occasion. But truthfully, it wasn’t really the wait in the icy compartment that bothered her.
It was the earl.
His habits were becoming a routine and a nuisance she would rather avoid. It was the third time the entrance to her house had been obstructed since Lord Lyonwood had returned to the neighborhood. The two previous times there had been no problem. Adeline had simply gotten out of the carriage and strolled the short distance home. That was fine. It wasn’t that she’d minded either time. Today was different. It was pouring buckets. Her umbrella was broken, she was already wet, and her feet were going numb.
How dare this man ruin her happiness about how well the day had gone at her solicitor’s office with inconsiderate behavior. She’d been feeling absolutely serene and now she was quite annoyed. Why would the earl be so thoughtless as to allow the stack-up of carriages to happen at the end of the cul-de-sac in front of her home on a regular basis?
That had to be stopped.
What was he doing anyway? Holding court like the Prince for his friends and acquaintances every other day? Surely he knew he was inconveniencing his neighbors.
“Do you know what the reason is for the waiting carriages this time?” she asked the driver, resisting the urge to tap her foot in unguarded frustration.
The man nodded, seeming not to mind the drops pelting his face. “It’s a card game today, my lady. I was told the earl has one every week when he’s in Town.”
“A card game?” Adeline almost choked on the words as she slipped the corded handle of her meticulously knitted reticule over her wrist. The devil himself couldn’t bother her more than Lyon.
“I asked one of the drivers to move his coach forward and let me pass. He said there were too many carriages in front of him and he had nowhere to go. The other bloke told me he didn’t budge the Duke of Middlecastle’s carriage for anyone.”
