Page 17 of More or Less a Countess
Violet’s eyes flew open.
Oh, no. Not him. Not again.
But of course itwashim. Who else but Lord Dare could contrive to smell as if he’d just emerged from a bath warmed by a smoky fire, then walked through a forest of pine and cedar trees? For pity’s sake, noothergentleman smelled like amber and freshly cut wood. Why shouldhebe permitted to run about London, smelling so intoxicating?
She jerked free of his arms and looked up to meet his amused gaze. Lord Dare seemed always to be amused over one thing or another. Violet resented being the source of his unending glee, but she couldn’t deny the glimmer of humor did wonderful things for his eyes.
They were gray, but not a common, dull sort of gray. No, of course not, because nothing so ordinary would do for a paragon of masculine beauty like Lord Dare. His eyes were a distinctive silvery-gray, with a black ring around the irises, and he had the longest black lashes she’d ever seen.
“How extraordinary,” she murmured, forgetting herself as she stared up at him. Perhaps she’d have to make the tiniest adjustment to her drawing to make his eyelashes longer and thicker.
A slight smile tugged at his lips. “I beg your pardon?”
Her face heated with mortification. “I—nothing. That is, what are you doing hereagain, Lord Dare?”
Shehadtossed him out of her drawing room yesterday. She’d tossed him out the day before, as well, and the day before that, and yet here he was again, like a weed that kept reappearing after one was sure they’d yanked it out by the root.
“I came to call on you, and it seems I’ve arrived just in time to save you from falling down the stairs.”
His warm palm was still wrapped around her neck. Violet twisted free of his touch and stepped backward, stumbling a little on the stair behind her. Yes, that was better. She had some chance of gathering her wits now that he was no longer touching her.
“Nonsense. I don’t need saving.”
Why did he persist in appearing on her doorstep? It was most troublesome, not only because he kept turning up when she’d forbidden it, but also because she’d been dealing him a rather dirty trick since the night of Lord Derrick’s dinner party.
He’d mistaken her for Hyacinth that night, and she’d never corrected him. She didn’t intend to, either, but if he kept calling at Bedford Square it was only a matter of time before he discovered the truth, and he’d made it clear hewouldkeep calling, no matter what she did to try and dissuade him. Indeed, much to Violet’s horror, he was behaving very much like a man embarking on a courtship.
It was bad enough a rogue like Lord Dare was pursuing her shy, vulnerable sister, but to make matters worse, he hadn’t the least ideawhohe was courting. Violet had assumed he’d discover sooner or later that she wasn’t Hyacinth, and would abandon his pursuit after being so ungentlemanly as to mistake one sister for the other.
It was what a decent gentleman would do.
Not that she couldn’t understand how he’d confused the two of them. She and her sisters all had fair hair and blue eyes, and one of them was often mistaken for another, especially Violet and Hyacinth, who were only a year apart in age and shared their mother’s delicate features. Violet was more petite than Hyacinth, but otherwise it was difficult to tell them apart, and they had been wearing a similar shade of blue on the evening of Lord Derrick’s dinner party.
If he’d been anyone else, Violet might have been inclined to excuse his mistake, but she had no patience for fashionable rakes like Lord Dare, and in any case, surely a lady had a right to demand her suitor be able to distinguish her from another lady in a similar gown.
It was all nonsense, of course. Whatever reason Lord Dare had for marrying, they had nothing to do with the lady, and Violet didn’t intend to let him anywhere near Hyacinth.
She eyed him now, her arms crossed over her chest. “I specifically asked you not to call on me again, my lord.”
He shrugged, then gave her a crooked and utterly charming grin. “I felt certain once you had a chance to think about it, you’d change your mind.”
Violet glared at him. Dear God, he was arrogant. It amazed her any lady could tolerate him, even with those lovely gray eyes and absurdly long eyelashes. “I suppose you think that smile assures you a welcome wherever you go.”
His grin widened. “It always has before.”
“Not this time. I already told you I’m immune to your charms, Lord Dare. Why not go bother some other lady, instead of wasting your time on me?”
“No, I’d much rather bother you. I came to invite you to accompany me on a drive this afternoon, but it seems I’ve caught you on your way out.”
“You have, and even if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t…” Violet trailed off into silence as she looked over his shoulder and caught sight of a neat phaeton standing in the drive.
She bit her lip. No, it was out of the question.
Wasn’t it?
Yes, yes—of course it was. He was awful, and didn’t deserve her consideration, but then she would be just as awful as he was if she took advantage of his error.
Wouldn’t she?
