The Wedding Game(16)

Mr Templeton hesitated, ready to help her instead.

She shook her head and, as they passed him, she gave a sharp jerk of her head to indicate that he go immediately to the place he really wanted to be. Then she followed it with an annoyed roll of her eyes to the man at her side.

Mr Lovell was too busy ushering her forward to notice this silent communication. But clearly, Mr Templeton understood. He responded with a slow smile and a nod of thanks before turning towards the music room so he might take her unoccupied chair.

Now that he was settled, she must figure out how to free herself from the situation she had created with Mr Lovell. It was a large house. Large enough to hide a body in, she thought with a grim smile. She need do nothing as dire as that. She just had to find an empty room with a key still in the door, or a chair that might be propped under a handle to detain this troublemaker.

‘I will find someone to help you.’ He looked around. ‘A maid, perhaps.’

‘The ladies’ retiring room,’ she said faintly. ‘If you could escort me there, I am sure I will be fine.’ She raised a limp hand and pointed down a corridor that the servants had not bothered to light.

‘Are you sure?’ he asked, confused. ‘I would have thought...upstairs, perhaps...’

‘I have been here before,’ she assured him. ‘I know the way.’

He did not question further, but shepherded her in the direction she had suggested, towards the perfect spot.

When they drew abreast of it, she reached across his body and gripped the handle, turning it and giving a sharp, sudden tug to open the door beside him. At the same time, she staggered into him, pushing him off balance and through the darkened opening.

He had time for one brief, surprised curse as he realised what was happening. Then he grabbed her by the shoulder and carried her body along with his. They lurched together over the threshold, as the door slammed shut behind them.





Chapter Seven

It had been a grave miscalculation.

Amy had had a vague recollection of the Middleton house, from previous visits. The door she’d thought she was choosing opened on to a small card room. It was well away from the rest of the house, but hardly uncomfortable.

Perhaps she should have turned right instead of left. The door she’d actually opened was for a cupboard. Now she was wedged chest to breast with Benjamin Lovell, in a space that was never meant to hold one person, much less two.

There was a moment of silence in the darkness punctuated by the sounds of their laboured breathing. Then he said in a low voice, so near to her ear that she could feel his breath moving her hair, ‘Why, Miss Summoner, I had no idea you cared.’

Her own breath hissed out between her teeth as she stifled a dozen possible responses, all of them caustic. But it was her fault that they were here. It would only make things worse to snap at him.

Carefully, she fumbled for the door handle behind her, preparing to back out into the hall. Then, if possible, she would find a way to pretend this never happened. Her fingers closed not on metal but on his hand, which was wrapped around the handle and holding the door shut. She jerked her hand away. Even through her gloves, the nearness of his skin was dangerously exciting.

Amy unclenched her jaw, forcing herself to breathe slowly through her nose instead of her mouth. That did no good at all, for it flooded her senses with the intoxicating scent of the man beside her. She had not noticed his cologne when they had been in public, for it was subtle. Now she was drifting on a cloud of lime and laurel that was as soothing as it was intriguing.

She took another breath, through her mouth this time, and did her best to ignore it. ‘Do not flatter yourself, Mr Lovell. You know my reason for trapping us here.’

‘Really, I have no idea,’ he said in a dry voice. ‘Enlighten me.’

There was nothing to do but be honest. ‘I did not wish you to sit beside Belle. The place was saved for someone else.’

‘And rather than allow her to tell me so, you took it upon yourself to lock me in a closet,’ he said, making her plan sound all the more illogical.

‘We are both in the closet,’ she reminded him. ‘And the door is not locked.’

Behind her, the door rattled but did not open. ‘On the contrary.’

‘It cannot be,’ she whispered, praying that he was wrong.

‘Why not? That was the fate you planned for me, I’m sure. You planned to lock me in here. Then I would have to hammer on the door, interrupting a performance and embarrassing myself in front of my friends, all because you did not wish me to sit next to your sister.’

‘I did not intend...’ It was a lie. That was exactly what she had meant to have happen. Even if the man was a puffed-up bounder, she should have found a way to put him off that did not involve his total humiliation.

‘I’m sorry,’ she said at last. ‘Not that it will do any good in the current situation.’

He sighed. ‘Too true. I suppose we will both have to call for help. If we are loud enough, they will hear us over that canary they have screeching in the main room. Someone will come and open the door. It will cause the devil of a scandal when they find us together. But I am afraid it cannot be helped.’

‘Please, do not.’ She raised a hand to cover his mouth. This was far worse than letting him speak to Belle. What had she been thinking to allow herself to be trapped by him?