Page 23 of Notorious

Drusilla’s mount had pranced nervously, refusing to obey her clumsy urging. “Eva, come back!”

And then he came through the foliage. And stopped, facing her.

Drusilla had been able to do nothing but stare. His body had been wet, drops of water glinting in the light like tiny crystals, his torso and arm rippling as he reached up with one hand to push his overlong hair from his forehead. Drusilla’s eyes had behaved as if they’d had minds of their own, and she’d become fixated on his hips, on the tangle of dark auburn curls, on the—

“Miss Dru?”

“Hmm?” Drusilla looked around, suddenly aware she’d come to a stop.

Fletcher was looking at her, her brow wrinkled. “Do you want to cross now?”

They were paused on the street corner, an urchin lingering hopefully, a scraggly straw broom clutched in one hand.

Drusilla nodded, and Fletcher took a coin from her reticule and gave it to the boy when they reached the far side.

“Is aught amiss, Miss Dru? You look quite flushed.”

“No, no, nothing is wrong. Just a lack of sleep, I expect.”

“Hmmph. You’d be better off getting in a few hours’ rest before tonight than gallivanting around.” They were to have a family dinner at Exley House. Lord Exley’s other two daughters were too far from London to return in time for the wedding, but there were still scads of cousins, uncles, aunts, and—of course—his grandfather, the duke. On her side there would be only Drusilla and her Aunt Vi, provided her aunt didn’t wear herself to a frazzle before tomorrow morning with the whirlwind of wedding preparations.

It would, no doubt, be a tension-filled evening. Still, though Drusilla had never met the others who would be there tonight, she liked Lady Exley very much and loved Eva, who was her dearest friend. But Lord Exley? She shivered. No, he was not a comfortable man. And a duke? She shivered again. And the sisters of a duke? More shivering.

And Gabriel? Well, he gave her shivers of a completely different sort. He was far too good-looking for any woman’s peace of mind, and he’d made his opinion of Drusilla plain years ago. To him she was nothing more than a dowdy nuisance to be tolerated because of her connection to his sister. If disaster hadn’t befallen them, he doubtless would have been betrothed to Miss Kittridge at the end of the Season. Two perfect people together, as it should be.They would certainly have had the most gorgeous children . . .

“Miss Clare?”

Drusilla looked up to find Theo Rowland standing only a few feet away. She knew his lodgings were in one of the many bachelor dwellings that were not far from Piccadilly.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Rowland.” Drusilla’s lips curved into a genuine, welcoming smile.

“What a delightful surprise it is to find you here.”

Drusilla cocked her head. “A surprise? But today is Thursday.”

“Yes, but—well, I wasn’t certain you were still coming.” Theo gave her hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.

“Why?”

A red stain spread across his pale cheeks. “Well, because of last night.”

Drusilla’s mouth dropped open in what she was sure must be a singularly unattractive expression. “You heard?”

He grimaced. “I’m afraid all of London has heard by now.”

She didn’t know what to say—why hadn’t she guessed as much? He was, after all, related to a baronet even if he did not mix in ton company. And there were always the papers. Just because she didn’t read the scandal sheets didn’t mean others didn’t. She glanced around, looking for the rest of the group. “Are we the first to arrive? Are we early?”

“Er, about that . . . I’m afraid you might be angry with me.”

“Whatever for?”

“When I heard what happened last night, I took the liberty of sending word to the other members and told them you probably would not come today.”

“Oh.” Drusilla tried to hide her disappointment and irritation. He had taken a liberty, but there was nothing to be gained by pointing that out. Instead she said, “I was so looking forward to seeing everyone.” She realized how rude that sounded and smiled at Theo. “Not that I’m not very happy to see you, Theo.”

“I apologize if I overstepped.”

“No, of course not—how could you? It is our group, not just mine.”