The Magic of You (17 page)

Amy was prepared this time, composed, and thrilled to see that Warren hadn’t refused the invitation just to avoid her. That had been a
definite possibility, and one she’d have felt terrible about. But apparently he was going to pretend that yesterday hadn’t happened by ignoring her. She wondered how long he’d be able to manage that, because she certainly wasn’t going to ignore him.

Drew took her attention off Warren for the moment, however, as the others filed past, heading toward the parlor. He captured her hand and quite charmingly bent over it to brush the back of her knuckles with his lips. It wasn’t until he straightened up that she noticed his black eye. Having also noted the scab on Warren’s lip, she didn’t find it too difficult to figure out what had happened.

“Does it hurt?” she asked sympathetically.

“Horribly.” Drew grinned at her to belie that statement. “But you could kiss it to make it better.”

She grinned impishly back at him. “I could give you one to match it.”

“Now, where have I already heard that?”

The look he cast at Warren said exactly where, but Warren wasn’t the least bit amused. Before they came to blows again, however, Amy remarked, “I hope you’ve come up with a reasonable excuse for your sister. This isn’t a good time for her to be worrying over her brothers.”

“Never fear, sweetheart. Georgie’s quite used to our scrapes and bruises. She probably won’t even notice. But just in case.” He turned
back to Warren, who hadn’t followed his other siblings into the parlor yet. “What say we fell down the same set of stairs?”

“Put the blame where it’s due, Drew. Georgie expects no better of me.”

“Well, I’m all for that, especially since all I did was make an innocent remark—what the devil
did
I remark to set you off last night?”

“I don’t remember,” Warren lied.

“Well, there you go, we were both drunk. She’ll understand that perfectly, but better I tell her. You’ll just get all defensive and put a pall on the evening.”

Drew left to do that, and Amy was amazed to find herself alone with Warren for the moment. She could have sworn he would have taken pains to avoid that, but, in fact, he made no immediate move to follow Drew.

She looked at him expectantly, but when he said nothing, she opted for a little teasing. “Shame on you,” she chided mildly. “Did you have to take it out on him last night?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do. You would have much preferred to throttle me than your brother.”

“As I recall,” he said tersely, “switching you was what I had in mind.”

“Rubbish.” She grinned up at him, no longer intimidated by that particular threat. “Making love to me is what you really wanted and almost did. Care to chase me again to see what happens?”

His face darkened, a clear indication that the conversation wasn’t going as he would like. He corrected it quite bluntly. “I came by earlier today to remind you of the promise you made me.”

She frowned, momentarily at a loss. “What promise?”

“That you would do anything I asked. I’m asking you to leave me alone.”

Her mind went into a frantic whirl. She’d actually forgotten, and so hadn’t come up with a means to get out of the bargain she’d struck with him. She’s made that promise to keep him from harm. It was really too bad of him to use it against her now. Yet she’d known that that was just what this stubborn man would do.

She finally locked on an answer, though it wasn’t the least bit sporting of her to use it. She consoled herself that it was no more sporting of him to hold her to a promise made in a moment of panic and for
his
benefit.

“You’ve already made your request,” she told him.

“The hell I did.”

“You did. You asked me to draw up my hood last night, right after you put your weapons away. And I did.”

“Amy—”

“Well, you did.”

“Witch. You know very well—”

“Don’t be angry, Warren. How can I help
you down the path to happiness if you make me give up trying?”

He said nothing to that. He was too furious to say anything.

Amy groaned as he walked away from her. She’d just lost valuable headway. In his mind, she’d lied, she couldn’t be trusted, she’d reinforced his opinion of all women. Drat it, could this courtship get any harder?

The evening went surprisingly well despite Warren’s brooding silence. James took one look at him and decided he’d get no satisfaction out of provoking him any more today, so he left him alone. Georgina frowned at him occasionally, determined to have another private talk with him, but not tonight.

Amy was hard pressed to be cheerful herself after what she’d done. And she couldn’t think of any way to make it up to Warren, other than to do as he’d asked, which she wasn’t about to do. She had too much optimism to give up on him, and the wager she had going with Jeremy added to her confidence. But things certainly didn’t look very promising right now.

Conrad Sharpe had arrived that afternoon from the country, and he and Jeremy, with a few dry remarks from James, kept the conversation with the four other Anderson brothers quite lively. The new Skylark office was also discussed. Amy hadn’t heard about it previously, but to her amazement, she
learned that Warren would be staying in London longer than she’d thought, to manage the new office until a replacement could be sent over from America. She was thrilled, the pressure to accomplish a miracle in so short a time alleviated—until Georgina pointed out, quite logically, that although Skylark was an American company, the London office would benefit by an English manager, who could more easily deal with his own countrymen.

Warren apparently didn’t like the idea, but Clinton said he would consider it, and Thomas actually agreed with his sister. But no matter how they decided in the end. Warren still wouldn’t be leaving with his brothers, which was a definite plus for Amy. Whether it was a week or two months, she needed all the extra time she could get.

“By the by, Amy”—James suddenly drew her into the conversation—“I saw your father today and he mentioned that he and your mother will be hieing off to Bath to enjoy the waters in a few days, then up to Cumberland. Eddie boy has a mine there he wants to inspect before investing in it.”

This was a subject Amy was familiar with. “Yes, he likes to meet the owners and managers personally, since his first impressions are always accurate and determine which investment he’ll go with and recommend.”

“So I’m learning,” James replied. “But they’ll be gone for several weeks, m’dear. You’re wel
come to stay with us until they return, of course, or they’ll delay leaving if you’d like to go along.”

It was immensely gratifying that he was asking for a decision from her. Just weeks ago she wouldn’t have been consulted, but told what had been decided for her after the fact. Of course, there was nothing to decide. She wasn’t about to leave London while Warren was still in it.

“I’ll stay here, if it’s no trouble,” she said.

“What trouble?” Georgina put in. “You and your magic touch are nothing but a help to me. Why, even Artie and Henri jump to do your bidding, while I have to browbeat them to do mine. I’d keep you here until you marry if your mother wouldn’t object, but of course she would.”

“So it’s settled, then?” James asked between them.

“Not quite,” Georgina said. “If you stay, Amy, I insist you start receiving your callers again. Your uncle won’t mind the commotion. In fact, I rather think he’ll enjoy intimidating all your beaux.” And she grinned. “Practice, you know, for Jacqueline. But you do agree you can’t continue to hide from all those conquests you made at your come-out, not for several more weeks?”

Amy glanced at Warren before she answered. One word from him, even an expressive look, and she’d come up with a reason why she’d like
to stay hidden a bit more. But he deliberately turned away, telling her he wasn’t the least bit interested in her answer.

“Yes, I suppose I will,” she finally said.

But she’d stared at Warren too long. When she turned away, it was to catch Jeremy’s all-too-discerning eyes on her, and that wretched scamp blurted out, “Good God, not
him
!”

Her blush gave truth to his accusation, whether she chose to deny it or not. But fortunately, no one saw the color ride up her cheeks except Jeremy, since he’d gained everyone’s attention, as well as the same general question coming at him now from different directions.

“Not who?” This was from his father. “What the devil are you going on about, young’un?”

The look Amy gave Jeremy promised the most dire retribution if he revealed her secret. Of course, that wouldn’t have kept his mouth shut if they weren’t such good friends. But they were, and so he was compelled to correct his mistake—for the moment.

“Sorry,” Jeremy said, and even managed a sheepish look. “Afraid my mind was wandering. I happened to recall that Percy was contemplating courting the dear girl.”

“Percy? As in Percival Alden?” James wanted clarification, and at Jeremy’s nod, he added, “Over his dead body.”

It was said without heat, merely as a statement of fact. Jeremy grinned, not bothering to
mention that he and Derek had already warned Percy of that very likelihood.

“Figured you’d see it that way,” was all Jeremy told his father.

But across the table, Amy groaned inwardly. If her uncle reacted like this to harmless Percy, she shuddered to think of his response to Warren’s being her choice. She stole a quick glance at Warren to find those green eyes suddenly glittering furiously at James. She drew in a gasp, incredulous with a thought that hadn’t occurred to her, but certainly should have. Considering James and Warren’s animosity, if James told him to stay away from Amy, might not Warren react by doing the opposite? If for no other reason than to infuriate his despised brother-in-law?

She tested the theory quite mischievously by saying, “It looks like you can relax. Warren. My uncle will never let me have you.”

No one took her seriously, of course, and the remark brought quite a few chuckles, even from James. Jeremy wasn’t amused, however, now knowing what he did, and neither was Warren, by the look of him. That little scar was ticking; the hand above the table had balled into a fist. She knew the signs by now and held her breath, waiting to see whether he would turn her teasing against her or go along with it.

“I’m devastated, of course.”

Warren was not a dissimulator by any means.
He said it too coldly, which amused James even more, but had his sister frowning at him curiously.

“Be nice, Warren,” Georgina scolded gently. “She was only joking.”

He merely smiled tightly, which made Georgina sigh and move the conversation along in another direction.

The meal broke up shortly thereafter. Not surprisingly, Amy and Warren lingered so they’d be the last to leave the dining room. But so did Jeremy.

However, he took one look at the American and said, “Well, I can see
I’ll
have to wait.”

The very second he was out the door, Warren said to Amy, “Don’t do that again.”

She cringed at the fury underlying his quiet tone. “You’re still mad about that damn promise you think I reneged on, aren’t you? But you wouldn’t have been happy if you’d got what you wanted, you know.”

“On the contrary, I would have been ecstatic.”

“Then stay away a few days and see if you don’t miss me,” she suggested.

“I won’t.”

“You will. I grow on people, you see. I make them smile when they’ve got nothing to smile about. They like having me around. But for you it’ll be much worse, because you know I want you. And I’m going to love the hell out of you—eventually. You know that, too. And
the day is going to come when you can’t bear to be parted from me—day
or
night.”

“The fantasies of a child,” he said, but he gritted his words out. She
was
getting to him—again.

“Stubborn,” she said, shaking her head at him. “But it’s time you got lucky, Warren Anderson, so it’s fortunate for you that I inherited my father’s instincts, and that I can be even more stubborn than you.”

“I do
not
consider that fortunate.”

“You will,” she promised.

Chapter 21

The second the door had closed on the last Anderson, Amy rushed up the stairs to her room with the hope that she could avoid Jeremy, at least until tomorrow, when she could be better prepared for the expected lecture. But the scamp outfoxed her. He was waiting in the hall, arms crossed, casually leaning against the door to her room.

She could, of course, turn around and rejoin her aunt and uncle, then follow them up to bed and hope Jeremy, able to hear them coming, would abandon his post. The problem with that was, the importance of the issue might lead her cousin to follow her back downstairs
now and discuss it no matter who was present. He was at least making an effort to keep the matter private—for the time being.

But Amy would still have liked a bit more time, so as she reached around him to open her door, she tried. “I
really
don’t want to talk about it.”

“Too bad,” was all he replied as he followed her into her room.

The trouble with Jeremy, though it was actually a good quality—just not right now—was, despite his carefree nature, he could be as serious as the rest of the family when warranted. From the look of him, he definitely felt this was one of those times.

“Tell me I drew the wrong conclusion.” He attacked the moment the door had shut behind him. “Go on, I bloody well dare you.”

Amy plopped down on the edge of her bed to face him. “We
are
going to keep this quiet, aren’t we?” she asked in reference to his tone, not to the subject, though both were related at the moment.

“That depends.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “On what?”

“On how well I can read your promise signed in blood.”

If he could say that, all wasn’t lost. She grinned at him. “Try again.”

He started pacing, which put a big dent in her moment of confidence. “You’re going to
have to be reasonable, Amy. You can’t have
him
.”