A Visit From Sir Nicholas (22 page)

he would take what she offered, but he would not rest until he had her heart as well.

"When I escort you to my uncle's dinner."

"But that's not for a week."

"I shall see you in a week's time then."

"But what about," she waved feebly at the ledgers, "the accounts? You did say promptly, every day at half-past-two?"

"I shall simply leave you to your own very competent devices for the time being." He stepped to the door and pulled it open. "Oh, and I must tell you Elizabeth, I have never missed a sailing before, and I do not intend to miss one now." He shut the door and paused. A moment later a crash sounded and he grinned. It was amazing how a vase broken in anger and another broken out of frustration had distinctly different sounds. And one was infinitely more satisfying.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do now."

Elizabeth said out of the corner of her mouth even as she kept a pleasant smile firmly on her face. She and Jules stood in the parlor at Lord Thornecroft's house and surveyed the guests milling about for Nicholas's welcome home dinner.

"I can't imagine Lord Thornecroft—indeed, anyone, and certainly not a bachelor at that— being able to organize a gathering of this size in such a short amount of time," Jules said thoughtfully. "There must be more than forty people here."

Elizabeth watched Nicholas work his way through the crowd, kissing a feminine hand here and greeting a gentleman there. He moved with a masculine grace, enhanced by the breadth of his shoulders and the surety of his stride.

"I had thought Nicholas would have made an appearance at my house by this point," Elizabeth said, as much to herself as to her sister.

Nicholas was completely at ease and wore confidence as if it were a coat tailored for him and him alone.

"Someone must have assisted his lordship, with the invitations at the very least." Jules nodded at the bunches of mistletoe and holly hanging conspicuously in the entryways, the swags of greenery festooning every doorway and window, the silk ribbons and berries tied with joyous abandon on stair rails and sconces. "Someone who has begun the celebration of the season far earlier than usual. Quite festive really, although whoever saw to the decorations is overly fond of mistletoe." And when he laughed the sound caught at Elizabeth's heart.

"To check on my expenditures if nothing else."

"Perhaps Lord Thornecroft has a secretary? Or Mother might have had one of her staff assist him."

"How long could
due consideration
possibly take anyway?" Elizabeth had expected Nicholas yesterday and the day before and each and every day since their talk in her library. "Why, the man isn't even checking on my accounts, which begs the question of exactly what he is doing." Jules's gaze skimmed the group. "We do know nearly everyone here, however. Indeed, many of the guests are relations of ours, which stands to reason as this is a party to welcome Nicholas home and both he and his uncle have long been thought of fondly by everyone in the family, especially Mother. As for the others, friends and acquaintances, no doubt, of Lord Thornecroft. Nicholas never struck me as being especially convivial."

"He's probably letting me simmer in my own sauce," Elizabeth muttered. "Wondering when he'll decide to begin this arrangement of ours."

"Still, I may have misjudged him," Jules murmured.

When Nicholas had arrived precisely at the appointed time at Elizabeth's door to escort her to his uncle's house, he hadn't said a word that could have been construed as anything other than polite. He'd made no mention of her proposal or her accounts and had not said so much as a single word about his absence. He'd been pleasant but no more than that. Even when he'd helped her into his carriage, his hand had not lingered overly long on hers. Furthermore, he had positioned himself in the confines of the vehicle neither too close nor too far away.

"No doubt he's intentionally trying to drive me mad. And doing an excellent job of it." It was most annoying, especially since, now that she had acknowledged to herself and to him how very much she wanted him, it was increasingly difficult to be in his presence and not press her lips to his or run her hands over his chest or drag him bodily to a secluded spot where she could let him have his way with her. Or have her way with him.

It had been hard enough to say everything she'd said at their last meeting. While she'd never been particularly shy, she'd never been anywhere near that bold, either. Her cheeks warmed at the very thought. And now a lifetime of proper behavior, coupled with a fair amount of pride, held her in check. She had meant it when she'd told him she would not throw herself at him again even if waiting for him to give her proposal
due consideration
was indeed driving her mad.

"He always was a handsome devil," Jules said under her breath. "But there's something distinctly different about him now."

There wasn't the tiniest doubt in Elizabeth's mind that he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. But the blasted man's behavior was nothing short of impeccable. She didn't trust him for a moment.

"I have no idea what his conditions might be, but regardless, I have no intentions of agreeing to them." Elizabeth might not be able to do anything about his management of her finances, but in this, at least, she still had a choice.

"Engaging and most provocative. Practically irresistible," Jules said softly. Certainly he had accepted her proposal, but it had been contingent on her conditions and her conditions alone. Not only did he not understand that fact, but he had refused to agree to her conditions. It seemed only logical therefore that her offer was null and void even if Nicholas had not seen it that way at all. It was increasingly clear that Nicholas Collingsworth was used to getting his own way in virtually everything.

"I have run my life as I have seen fit for the last three years. I have no intention of letting a man control it now," Elizabeth said firmly.

"He makes you want to run your fingers through his hair," Jules murmured at precisely the same moment.

"What?" the sisters said in unison.

Elizabeth huffed with annoyance. "Were you listening to me?"

"No more than you were listening to me, dear sister." Jules's gaze drifted back to Nicholas. "Although I can certainly see how your thoughts might be otherwise occupied."

Elizabeth followed her sister's gaze. Nicholas was across the room at his uncle's side, and, at the moment, was raising the hand of a startlingly lovely and vaguely familiar woman to his lips in a far too attentive and entirely too charming manner. Jealousy stabbed at her and she brushed it aside. It was absurd to feel so much as a twinge of jealousy. After all, whatever she might or might not soon have with Nicholas would be temporary.

The lady leaned closer to Nicholas and murmured something in his ear. A startled expression crossed his face and he laughed. The woman favored him with an all too inviting smile. Elizabeth's jaw tightened. Still, temporary or not, she would add fidelity to her list of conditions.

"I should do something about that if I were you," Jules said.

"He does not belong to me, Jules." Elizabeth shrugged. "I have no claim on him."

"I should do something about that too." Jules studied Nicholas for a moment. "He is rather a catch."

"If one were seeking a salmon. I, however, am not in the mood for a fish course." She flashed her sister a wicked grin. "Only dessert."

"Pity," Jules said pointedly.

It wasn't a pity, though. Jules might well never understand, as she had never submitted to anything in her life. But until her husband's death, Elizabeth had spent much of her life letting other people, primarily Charles, make her decisions for her. Not simply about finances but about everything. Even Nicholas had had more of a hand in deciding her fate on that night ten years ago than she had. Worse still, it had never especially bothered her.

Now, she quite liked being an independent woman. She liked choosing the direction her life took and being responsible for herself and her sons. Indeed, she liked who and what she was, who and what she had become. She would not allow Nicholas or anyone else to take that from her. And there was absolutely nothing to prevent an independent woman from engaging in an arrangement based on no more than prurient desire and unbridled lust. Oh, certainly, there were the endless rules of proper behavior even a widow was expected to adhere to, but she had no intention of publicly flaunting her arrangement with Nicholas. Still, she had better add discretion to her conditions. The woman speaking to Nicholas laid a hand lightly on his arm and leaned closer in a manner entirely too intimate to be completely innocent.

Elizabeth narrowed her gaze. Certainly, she had no actual claim on Nicholas, even if she fully intended to occupy him until Christmas, but neither was she inclined to share.

"Do you know who she is?" Elizabeth said to her sister.

"No, but I'm certain I have seen her before." Jules pulled her brows together. "I simply can't place her at the moment."

"I think I should like to place her at a far distance from here," Elizabeth said under her breath. "And I think it's past time I chatted with Lord Thornecroft. Would you care to join me?"

"I would prefer to find my husband and flirt with him in a provocative manner." Jules grinned. "He quite likes that."

Elizabeth laughed and started across the room toward Lord Thornecroft, standing beside Nicholas. Had she ever flirted with Charles? Certainly she couldn't remember having done so after they were married. In truth, she couldn't remember having flirted with him before, either. He'd always been there and had always loved her just as she'd always loved him. As she looked back, there had been no real effort on either side to make one another happy. They had simply expected and assumed happiness. Still, they
had
been happy—or at least content.

Or had their marriage possibly been a well-intentioned mistake? Simply because everyone, including themselves, had believed they'd been meant for each other, neither of them had ever truly questioned it. Even when Elizabeth had thought she might love Nicholas, it had been in addition to Charles, not instead of him. What if she, what if everyone, had been wrong?

"Ah, Elizabeth, I cannot possibly get everything I want. Some things were not meant to be."
What if her true fate, the future she was always supposed to have, was even now flirting with an all too beautiful woman?

It was an intriguing idea and one that should be given further consideration at another time. Sometime after Christmas, perhaps when she had sated her desire for Nicholas and could consider what they might once have shared in a rational, logical manner. Besides, the days when she'd had any interest in permanence were long behind her. Her only interest now was in this particular man and only at this particular Christmas.

"Lord Thornecroft, what a delightful gathering." She extended her hand to the older man.

"The delight lies fully in the charm of my guests." He lifted her hand to his lips, his gaze never leaving hers.

"I cannot recall ever attending a party of yours before, but I do hope I shall be included again in the future."