Angel in Scarlet (Bound and Determined #4)(52)
Had she really done that?
Yes. And to be honest, she knew she would do it again, that she would love to do it again. In the beginning this had all been a plot, a way to draw Colton into her web, to bring him to a point where she could punish him as she saw fit, to find justice, but now…It grew harder and harder to know what she wanted. Well, she knew that she wanted him, wanted the things that he could do to her body, wanted…wanted more. She wanted more. She might still not know quite what more was, but every time he touched her she felt herself slipping further and further into his trap. His trap. How had she started as the hunter and become the prey? Although that was not fair. It didn’t seem as if he was pursuing at all; she simply came and offered herself to him.
She bent her head, staring down at the now-cold eggs on the table before her. What was she doing?
“Ah, Miss Ripon, up so early. I thought ladies lay in their beds until noon.” Lord Thorton entered the room and looked over the dishes arrayed on the sideboard.
“I have never been one for lying abed.” Particularly when she’d been up all night trying to understand what was happening. “And who could resist such a beautiful country morning. I wish I’d been out even earlier. I would have liked to ride through the mists as the sun came up. Although I am not much of a horsewoman.”
“Strange. I thought you’d started to ride in the park each morning.”
How did he know that? Not that it was a secret, but still…“Only once. Though perhaps I should ask my father to have a mare brought to Town for me if he decides we should stay in London until the Christmas season. It did feel good to be up and about so early in the day, and I do not wish to keep borrowing a ride.”
“From Lord Colton, was it not?”
She blinked. “Why, yes.”
“And how did I know that? It must have come up in conversation last night—with your mother perhaps? I know she is concerned that you not get too close to the man. And I must say that I agree. He has some unsavory habits.”
“I have never heard that. Perhaps you should tell me more.”
“I am afraid it is a subject not fit for a young lady’s ears.”
Wasn’t she tired of hearing that. Did having a penis—she said the word quite loudly in her mind—make one somehow more able to understand at an earlier age? She had always found the opposite to be true. Men acted like little boys for far more years than girls acted as if they still belonged in the nursery. “I am sure you are right.” She focused again on her cold eggs.
“And I am not sure it is good for you to have a mount in the city. I’ve never believed that women need as much air as men, and a gentle walk should supply what you need.”
Putting a bite of eggs in her mouth, she worked to chew and swallow, not even nodding in response.
Thorton continued. “I always told my dear departed wife not to leave the house if the weather was brisk.”
“I’ve often found a hearty walk on a cold day to be most invigorating.” She had to say something.
“I know that it can feel that way.” He smiled at her gently as he filled his plate and took a seat beside her. “But being too vigorous can change how the brain functions. I know that you would not want your brain to become overheated.”
“Walking on a cold day will overheat my brain?”
“I am sorry if it is too complex an idea for you to understand, but I do have it on good authority. And I know that you would wish to stay calm and ladylike. Those of the lower classes may need to partake in activities that are not suited for gentlewomen, but you are not so unlucky.”
“No, I’ve always considered myself quite fortunate.”
“Yes, I thought you would. I know that you would never want to do anything that would jeopardize your feminine capabilities.”
What was the man talking about? “No, I suppose I wouldn’t.”
He smiled at her again. “I am so glad to hear that. After speaking with your mother, I was quite sure you were suitable. I am sure that you will make a wonderful wife and mother. I am sure you are most excellent at obeying the rules of your place and station.”
He sounded like a governess she’d once had. She nodded. Well, Colton had taught her that she liked being obedient—but only some of the time, although she wasn’t quite sure that was what Thorton meant. “I do try.”
“Yes.” He reached out and patted her hand. “I am quite sure that you do. And that is all I ask, that women try to obey the rules. It is so distressing when they do not.”
There was an undercurrent here that she did not understand. She nodded again, not sure what response he wanted—or expected.
“I am sure that there would be no such problem with you. I asked your mother last night if she would approve a stroll down to the lake this afternoon, when the air has warmed. I trust an hour past luncheon would be appropriate for you.” He said it as a statement, not a question, and then spread a careful amount of butter and preserves upon his toast.
A walk? She didn’t want to go on a walk with Thorton. She wanted to find out what Colton had planned. And she certainly didn’t want more than a walk with Thorton. What was her mother thinking? Angela knew that her mother worried that she would not find a husband, but Lord Thorton? Once she might have considered him, but these recent days had definitely changed her view of the man. And he had already put one wife in the grave—and that despite her care never to risk a chill.