“Oh.” Try as she might, Amelia could not hide her disappointment. He had thought she was someone else. His interest was not in her, but in a woman who looked like her.
Turning away, she sank onto the small bench, absently arranging her skirts for comfort. Her hands occupied themselves with twirling her mask between gloved fingertips.
“It is my turn to apologize to you.” Her head tilted back so that their gazes met. “I have put you in an awkward position, and goaded you to stay when you wanted to go.”
The contemplative cant to his head made her wish she could see the features beneath the pearlescent mask. Despite the lack of a complete visual picture, she found him remarkably attractive—the purring rumble of his voice . . . the luscious shape of his lips . . . the unshakable confidence of his bearing . . .
But then he was not truly unshakable. She was affecting him in ways a stranger should not be able to. And he was affecting her equally.
“That was not what you wished to hear,” he noted, stepping closer.
Her gaze strayed to his boots, watching as his cape fluttered around them. Dressed as he was, he was imposing, but she was unafraid.
Amelia waved one hand in a careless affectation of dismissal, unsure of what to say. He was correct; she was too bold. But she was not brazen enough to admit outright that she found the thought of his interest gratifying. “I hope you find the woman you are looking for,” she said instead.
“I am afraid that isn’t possible.”
“Oh?”
“She was lost to me many years ago.”
Recognizing the yearning in his words, she sympathized. “I am sorry for your loss. I, too, have lost someone dear to me and know how it feels.”
Montoya took a seat beside her. The bench was small, and due to its curvature it forced them to sit near enough that her skirts touched his cape. It was improper for them to be seated so close to each other, yet she did not protest. Instead she breathed deeply and discovered he smelled like sandalwood and citrus. Crisp, earthy, and virile. Like the man himself.
“You are too young to suffer as I do,” he murmured.
“You underestimate death. It has no scruples and disregards the age of those left behind.”
The ribbons that graced the stick of her mask fluttered gently in the soft breeze and came to rest atop his gloved hand. The sight of the lavender, pink, and pale blue satin against his stark black riveted her attention.
How would they look to passersby? Her voluminous silver lace and g*y multicolored flowers next to his complete lack of any color at all.
“You should not be out here alone,” he said, rubbing her ribbons between his thumb and index finger. He could not feel them through his gloves, which made the action sensual, as if the lure of fondling something that belonged to her was irresistible.
“I am accustomed to solitude.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
“It is familiar.”
“That is not an answer.”
Amelia looked at him, noting the many details one can see only in extreme proximity to another. Montoya had long, thick lashes surrounding almond-shaped eyes. They were beautiful. Exotic. Knowing. Accented by shadows that came from within as well as from without.
“What was she like?” she asked. “The woman you thought I was.”
The barest hint of a smile betrayed the possibility of dimples. “I asked you a question first,” he said.
She heaved a dramatic sigh just to see more of that teasing curve of his lips. He never set his smile completely free. She wondered why, and she wondered how she might see it. “Very well, Count Montoya. In answer to your query, yes, I enjoy being alone.”
“Many people find being alone intolerable.”
“They have no imagination. I, on the other hand, have too much imagination.”
“Oh?” He canted his body toward her. The pose caused his doeskin breeches to stretch tautly across the powerful muscles of his thighs. With the gray satin spread out beneath him in contrast, she could see every nuance and plane, every hard length of sinew. “What do you imagine?”
Swallowing hard, Amelia found she could not look away from the view. It was a lascivious glance she was giving him, her interest completely carnal.
“Umm . . .” She tore her gaze upward, dazed by the direction of her own thoughts. “Stories. Faery tales and such.”
With the half mask hiding his features she couldn’t be certain, but she thought he might have arched a brow at her. “Do you write them down?”
“Occasionally.”
“What do you do with them?”
“You have asked far too many questions without answering my one.”
Montoya’s dark eyes glittered with warm amusement. “Are we keeping score?”
“You were,” she pointed out. “I am simply following the rules you set.”
There! A dimple. She saw it.
“She was audacious,” he murmured, “like you.”
Amelia blushed and looked away, smitten with that tiny groove in his cheek. “Did you like that about her?”
“I loved that about her.”
The intimate pitch to his voice made her shiver.
He stood and held his hand out to her. “You are cold, Miss Benbridge. You should go inside.”
She looked up at him. “Will you go inside with me?”
The count shook his head.
Extending her arm, she set her fingers within his palm and allowed him to assist her to her feet. His hand was large and warm, his grasp strong and sure. She was reluctant to release him and was pleased when he seemed to feel similarly. They stood there for a long moment, touching, the only sound their gentle inhalations and subsequent exhales . . . until the gentle, haunting strains of the minuet drifted out on the night zephyr.
Montoya’s grip tightened and his breathing faltered. She knew his thoughts traveled along the same path as hers. Lifting her mask to her face, Amelia lowered into a deep curtsy.
“One dance,” she urged softly when he did not move. “Dance with me as if I were the woman you miss.”
“No.” There was a heartbeat’s hesitation, and then he bowed over her hand. “I would rather dance with you.”
Touched, her throat tightened, cutting off any reply she might have made. She could only rise and begin the steps, approaching him and then retreating. Spinning slowly and then circling him. The crunching of the gravel beneath her feet overpowered the music, but Amelia heard it in her mind and hummed the notes. He joined her, his deep voice creating a rich accompaniment, the combination of sound enchanting her.
The clouds drifted, allowing a brilliant shaft of moonlight to illuminate their small space. It turned the hedges silver and his mask into a brilliant pearl. The black satin ribbon that restrained his queue blended with the inky locks, the gloss and color so similar they were nearly one and the same. Her skirts brushed against his flowing cape, his cologne mingled with her perfume; together they were lost in a single moment. Amelia was arrested there, ensnared, and wished—briefly—never to be freed.
Then the unmistakable warble of a birdcall rent the cocoon.
A warning from St. John’s men.
Amelia stumbled, and Montoya caught her close. Her arm lowered to her side, taking her mask with it. His breath, warm and scented of brandy, drifted across her lips. The difference in their statures put her br**sts at level with his upper abdomen. He would have to bend to kiss her, and she found herself wishing he would, wanting to experience the feel of those beautifully sculpted lips pressed against her own.
“Lord Ware is looking for you,” he whispered, without taking his eyes from her.
She nodded, but made no effort to free herself. Her gaze stayed locked to his. Watching. Waiting.
Just when she was certain he wouldn’t, he accepted her silent invitation and brushed his mouth across hers. Their lips clung together and he groaned. The mask fell from her nerveless fingers to clatter atop the gravel.
“Good-bye, Amelia.”
He steadied her, then fled in a billowing flare of black, leaping over a low hedge and blending into the shadows. He headed not toward the rear of the manse but to the front, and was gone in an instant. Dazed by his sudden departure, Amelia turned her head slowly toward the garden. She found Ware approaching with rapid strides, followed by several other gentlemen.
“What are you doing over here?” he asked gruffly, scanning her surroundings with an agitated glance. “I was going mad looking for you.”
“I am sorry.” She was unable to say more than that. Her thoughts were with Montoya, a man who had clearly recognized the whistle of warning.
He had been real for a moment, but no longer. Like the phantom she’d fancied him as, he was elusive.
And entirely suspect.
“Would you care to explain what happened last night?”
Amelia sighed inwardly, but on the exterior she offered a sunny smile. “Explain what?”
Christopher St. John—pirate, murderer, smuggler extraordinaire—returned her smile, but his sapphire eyes were sharp and assessing. “You know very well what I am referring to.” He shook his head. “At times you are so like your sister, it is somewhat alarming.”
What was alarming was how divinely handsome St. John was, considering how devilishly his brain worked. Despite the years she’d lived within his household, Amelia was still taken aback by his comeliness every time she saw him.
“Oh, what a lovely thing to say!” she cried, meaning every word. “Thank you.”
“Minx. Fess up now.”
Any other man would have difficulty prying information out of her that she didn’t wish to share. But when the raspy-voiced pirate became cajoling, he was impossible to resist. With his golden hair and skin, thin yet carnal lips, and jeweled irises, he reminded her of an angel, for certainly only a celestial being could be formed so perfectly from head to toe.
The only outward sign of his mortality were the lines that rimmed his mouth and eyes, signs of a life that was fraught with stresses. They’d softened a great deal since his marriage to her sister, but they would never fully dissipate.
“I noted a man’s uncommon interest. He noted that I’d noted, and approached me to explain.”
Christopher leaned back in his black leather chair and pursed his lips. Behind him was a large window that overlooked the rear garden, or what would have been a rear garden if they’d had one. Instead, they had a flat, brutally trimmed lawn that made stealthy approach of the manse impossible. When one had a great deal of enemies, as St. John did, one could never lower their guard, especially for frivolous aesthetic reasons. “What explanation did he offer?”
“I reminded him of a lost love.”
He made a sound suspiciously like a snort. “A clever, sentimental ruse that almost embarrassed Ware and caused a terrible scandal. I cannot believe you fell prey to it.”
Flushing with renewed guilt, she nevertheless protested. “He was sincere!” She did not believe anyone could pretend melancholy so well. That was not to say that she wasn’t aware of something amiss, but she did believe his emotional response to her.
“My men followed him last evening.”
Amelia nodded, expecting as much. “And?”
“And they lost him.”
“How is that possible?”
St. John smiled at her astonishment. “It’s possible if one is aware that he is being followed and is trained in how to evade shadows.” His smile faded. “The man is no lovelorn innocent, Amelia.”
She rose, frowning, which forced St. John to rise as well. Her floral skirts settled around her legs, and she turned to face the rest of the room, lost in thought. Appearances could be deceiving. This room and the criminal who owned it were prime examples. Decorated in shades of red, cream, and gold, the study could belong to a peer of the realm, as could the manse it was a part of. There was nothing here to betray its primary purpose—that of being the headquarters of a large and highly illegal smuggling ring.
“What would he want with me?” she asked, remembering the previous night’s events in crystal clarity. She could still smell the exotic scent of his skin and hear the slight accent to his words that made her insides quiver. Her lips tingled from the press of his, as did her br**sts with the memory of the hardness of his abdomen.
“Anything from a simple warning to me, to something more sinister.”
“Such as?” She faced him and found him watching her with knowing eyes.
“Such as seducing you and ruining you for Ware. Or seducing you and luring you away to use as leverage against me.”
The word “seducing” used in conjunction with the mysterious, masked Montoya did odd things to her. It should, perhaps, frighten her, but it didn’t.
“You know as well as I how fortuitous it is that you met Ware while in your father’s captivity and that he is willing to disregard your scandalous past and familial connections.” His fingers drummed almost silently upon the desktop. “Your son will be a marquess and your children will have every advantage. Anything that jeopardizes your future is cause for concern.”
Amelia nodded and looked away again, hoping to hide how the reduction of her relationship with Ware to the material benefits made her feel. She was well aware that she stood to gain the most from their union. As Ware’s friend, she wanted only the best for him. Marriage to her was anything but. “What do you want me to do?”
“Do not venture off by yourself. If the man approaches you again, do not allow him within a few feet of you.” The severity of his features softened. He wore cerulean blue today, a color that complemented both his tawny coloring and the beautifully embroidered waistcoat that hugged his lean waist. “I do not mean to chastise you. I want only to keep you safe.”
“I know.” But the entirety of her life had been spent in gilded cages. She found herself torn between loving the security of it and resenting the restrictions. She tried to behave, tried to follow the rules set for her, but at times it was difficult to conform. She suspected that was due to her father’s blood in her veins. It was the one thing she most wished to change about herself. “May I be dismissed? Ware will be along shortly to take me for a ride in the park, and I must change.”