The Princess and the Peer(23)
“Oh.”
His mouth turned slowly up at the corners, showering her with one of his most charming smiles, made even more devastating in the low, champagne-colored light from the candles.
Honestly, she thought, as her toes arched against the leather soles of her shoes, he oughtn’t be allowed to smile like that. There really should be a law.
Then, as suddenly as he had reached out, he lowered his hand to his side and stepped back. “Shall we return to the main part of the house?”
“Yes, of course.”
In silence, they proceeded slowly from the room. He accompanied her through the house, pausing briefly in the front hall to set down the candelabra before they continued up the stairs. Neither of them spoke until they came to a halt in the upstairs corridor that led to her bedchamber. One of the servants had placed a lit branch of candles on a hall table that gently illuminated their way.
“This is where I shall leave you,” he said, turning to meet her gaze. “I wish you sweet dreams.”
“May you enjoy the same, my lord.”
“Nick,” he reminded softly.
“As you wish, my lord,” she returned with a sudden impishness.
“But I do wish. Good night again, Emma.”
He swung around to leave.
“My lord,” she called at his retreating back. “Nick.”
He stopped, turning to meet her gaze once more. “Yes?”
“I was just wondering what you have planned for tomorrow.”
“Planned?” He raised a puzzled brow.
“Yes,” she said, linking her hands together in front of her skirts. “My friend and I… Well, she was going to show me some of the sights here in the city.” Or at least I presume Mrs. Brown-Jones would have shown me the sights, she amended silently. “But since I am staying with you, I thought perhaps you might do the honors.”
A slow smile curved over his face. “Did you, now?”
Her own hopeful expression dimmed slightly, but she refused to be daunted. “Yes.”
He said nothing.
“So?” she added coaxingly. “Where are you taking me?”
A laugh burst from his chest. “Where would you like me to take you?”
“Oh, any number of places. The possibilities are almost endless.”
He chuckled again. “You’re assuming, of course, that I am free to escort you to all these endless places. Have you considered that I might have business on the morrow?”
“Oh,” she said, striving once again not to feel deflated. “Do you?”
“Perpetually, it seems,” he remarked wryly. “At least according to my steward, who sends me daily reports detailing the activities on the estate and the stacks of correspondence that go with it. Then there are the various and sundry duties required here at the town house. Somehow my days are always well occupied.”
“Then it seems to me that a respite from all that would do you a world of good. What better way to relax than to take in the sights of the city?”
“But you forget. I have already seen the city,” he reminded with a crooked smile.
“Not with me.” She sent him a winsome smile. “Showing London to someone new will give you a chance to see the metropolis through entirely different eyes. I just know we’ll have a lovely time together.”
He barked out another laugh. “You’re irrepressible. Do you know that? No wonder you didn’t last as a governess. You probably refused to take no for an answer about anything.”
She twisted her hands against her skirts and leaned closer. “But you aren’t going to say no either. Are you, my lord? Please say you will you show me the city. Please, Dominic,” she added softly.
Something wild burned in his eyes, a dark flash of heat that was there one instant, then gone the next. She blinked, wondering if she had imagined it, his face now as smoothly composed as ever.
“I suppose one day’s outing would do no harm.”
Her pulse sped in triumph, and with another emotion she refused to let herself explore. “Thank you, Nick.”
He scowled, looking as if he already regretted the decision.
“What time shall we leave?” she pressed, refusing to give him a chance to renege on his promise.
“Ten o’clock? Will that do?”
She nodded. “Ten o’clock sounds perfect. I suppose your aunt will accompany us.”
“Yes, I suppose she will,” he agreed.
Emma gave him another wide smile, ignoring the little twinge of disappointment the realization brought. Foolish, she told herself, since Lady Dalrymple seemed a most interesting and pleasant lady, even if she did have a penchant for making outrageous and erroneous assumptions and remarking on them out loud. It wasn’t as if Emma wanted to be alone with Lord Lyndhurst. Seeing London was all that mattered, no matter who her companions might be.