A Study In Seduction(40)
That was when the seeds of lust had sprouted, though it had taken many months of cultivation before they’d borne fruit.
All that time he’d spent—leaning over her shoulder at the table to point out an error in her equations, standing beside her at the blackboard, watching her at her desk, sitting across from her at the dinner table—all leading to that one afternoon when he’d summoned his courage and made his move.
And she had responded. Like a cat in heat.
Even now, remembering, he became aroused. He wanted that Lydia again. Not this one, not the hardened, older Lydia of today, but the young Lydia who’d arrived in Germany so quiet and serious. The Lydia who, contrary to every expectation he’d had about her, had blossomed under his touch—until that stupid girl had ruined everything.
Anger subsumed his arousal, tightening his chest. His hands curled into fists.
She owed him. She’d instigated his downfall from a prestigious career. She’d lost him the respect of his peers. She was the reason he’d returned to the filth of London. For well over a decade, Lydia Kellaway had owed him—and now the time had come to pay.
Chapter Ten
Alexander paced outside the building. A horse clomped past, pulling a wagon filled with broken furniture, rusted bits of metal, and a pile of greasy rags. The sun burned through the layer of yellowish fog permeating the city streets.
He flicked open his watch and gave a mutter of impatience. He had allowed four days to pass since the festival—days during which he’d stayed up well past midnight attempting to solve Lydia’s damned problem—before devising another excuse to seek the woman’s company. When he’d gone to her town house, Mrs. Boyd had told him Lydia had a meeting with the editorial board of some mathematical journal, but she ought to have been finished by now.
Alexander paced several more steps before the door opened and Lydia stepped onto the street, followed by a half dozen men.
“He is the Hollis professor of mathematics and natural philosophy at Harvard University,” one of them grumbled.
“That doesn’t mean he applied the method correctly, Dr. Grant,” Lydia replied, adjusting her hat against the sun. “I’ll write the letter of amendment this week and present it at our next meeting.”
“He won’t take kindly to that,” Grant muttered.
“Better we ask him for a revision than publish a flawed paper,” another portly man remarked. “Miss Kellaway is correct about the application. I suggest we allow her to see this matter through.”
“Agreed,” a third man said. “We’ve also your paper on our next agenda, Miss Kellaway. If you could send it along in advance, that will give us time to review it prior to discussion. It’s the Euler equation paper, correct?”
Lydia nodded, and the little group commenced a discussion of Euler—a Swiss mathematician whose work involved calculus and graphing. Alexander waited a few more minutes before clearing his throat. Loudly.
They all looked up. Lydia blinked.
“Lord Northwood?”
“Your grandmother told me where to find you, Miss Kellaway,” he said. “She anticipated your meeting would be concluded by now.”
“Well, yes, we’ve just finished.” Lydia gestured to the men, who had clustered in a half-circle stronghold behind her. “These are my colleagues on the editorial board.”
She stepped aside to make introductions. Alexander greeted the other men, aware that they were eyeing him with suspicion.
“What are you doing here, my lord?” Lydia asked.
“I’m going to oversee the exhibition preparations at St. Martin’s Hall and thought you might like to accompany me.”
“The Society of Arts exhibition, my lord?” Dr. Grant asked, stepping forward. “Haven’t you got a number of mathematical instruments on display?” He glanced at the others. “Lord Perry is on the consulting committee, you know, and he said it’s quite an impressive array of items they’ve got. Yes, indeed, let’s all go and see how things are progressing.”
The other mathematicians murmured their agreement. Alexander frowned.
“Will it be all right, my lord?” Lydia asked, a glimmer of amusement shining in her blue eyes.
“Er… certainly.” He nodded toward the group. “Gentlemen, I welcome your thoughts and opinions.”
A bustle of activity ensued as Drs. Grant and Brown announced they would ride with Lydia in Alexander’s carriage while the others procured a second cab.