Page 41 of More or Less a Countess
“But if I should slip—that is, I won’t, of course—but if I should, then I’ll likely knock you in, and we’ll both get wet. What’s the sense in that?” Violet heard the thread of panic in her voice, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
He gave her a curious look. “Knock me in? Unless you intend to take a run at me, I think it’s far more likely I’d catch you. In case it’s escaped your notice, Miss Somerset, I’m quite a bit larger and heavier than you are.”
Ithadn’tescaped her notice. Indeed, she became increasingly aware of his impressive musculature with every second she spent in his presence.
“Well?” He waved his hand impatiently. “Are you coming, or not?”
Violet handed him her sketchbook, but she didn’t take his hand. “I don’t need your help to get down.” It seemed imperative, somehow, that she not touch him.
He simply raised an eyebrow at that, but the gesture said more clearly than words that she could take his hand and allow him to assist her, or return to the carriage at once.
Violet took his hand.
His warm fingers closed around hers, his fingertips grazing her palm. When Violet reached the step above his she steadied her stance, reached into her pocket for her pencil, and held out her hand for her sketchbook.
He handed it to her, but he didn’t release her other hand.
“You’ll have to let go of my hand, my lord, unless you imagine I can hold my sketchbook and draw with only one hand.” Violet, who’d begun to feel quite desperate as soon as his fingers wrapped around hers, gave an insistent little tug.
Lord Dare glanced at the water behind him, which was close enough to splash his boots, then turned back to her with a wry smile. He released her hand, but before she could take a relieved breath, his hands slid around her waist.
Violet froze, her breath catching in her throat as his warm fingers curled around her. “What…what are you doing, Lord Dare?”
He slid his hands down until they rested on her hips, then he eased her back against him until her back was pressed against the hard, solid wall of his chest. “Keeping hold of you, in case you slip. Go on, then. You can take your sketch now.”
Sketch? What sketch?
Violet tried to gather her wits, but he was so close his lips were nearly touching her ear, and his voice…the low, husky rasp of it was…oh, dear God, had he just settled her hips more firmly against his?
Violet fought not to let herself melt into a quivering mass of willing flesh at his feet. “You, ah…you don’t need to hold onto me, you know. I’ve got excellent balance.”
He chuckled, and Violet shivered with pleasure as his warm breath stirred the loose strands of hair at her temple.
“Of course you do. Indeed, Miss Somerset, at this point, what could possibly go wrong?”
* * * *
Quite a lot did go wrong, in fact, but it had nothing to do with the Thames and everything to do with the Marchioness of Huntington.
It would have been awful enough if Iris had witnessed Lord Dare’s carriage exiting the drive, and it would have been worse still if she’d come upon Violet while she was bidding his lordship adieu. But either of those scenarios would have been preferable to what actually happened.
Iris caught Violetbeforeshe’d bid adieu to Lord Dare.
“Well,Hyacinth, here you are at last.”
Violet came to such a sudden halt in the drawing room doorway that Lord Dare slammed right into the back of her. “I beg your pardon, Miss—”
“I’ve expected you in Grosvenor Square all afternoon.” Iris rose from the settee she’d been sitting on and dusted the crumbs from her hands. There was a tea tray on the table in front of her, and if one could judge from the number of empty plates, she’d been waiting for quite some time, and nibbling all the while.
Iris had developed a fierce sweet tooth now that she was carrying a child, but unfortunately, the sweets didn’t have a sweetening effect on her temperament. She seemed to become crosser with every passing day, and now she sent Violet a dark look that was ominous, indeed.
“Ah, yes, well, I—Lord Dare, may I present my elder sister, Lady Huntington.”
Lord Dare bowed politely over Iris’s hand. “A pleasure, my lady.”
Iris eyed him with ill-concealed suspicion. “Well, Lord Dare. How do you do? It’s very kind of you to escort my dear sister to…to…where have you and Lord Dare spent your afternoon,Hyacinth?”
Violet glanced nervously at Lord Dare to see if he’d noticed the emphasis Iris had placed on that name, and found his brows drawn into a confused frown.
