How To Build The Perfect Rake (20 page)

‘He will be here. I ran into him earlier
today.’

‘You
did
? Why didn’t you
tell
me?’

Jasper looked mildly surprised. ‘There
wasn’t a great deal to tell.’

‘How did he look?’

‘How should I know? Like he always does, I
suppose.’

‘That’s not very helpful.’

‘In this instance, I feel no obligation to
be helpful. Just remember what you promised to do.’

‘I’m not likely to forget it,’ she muttered,
hoping that she could find Luc and get it over with sooner rather
than later. With every moment that passed her nerves tightened,
muscles in her stomach clenching anxiously. If she didn’t hurry
things along she would probably end up needing hartshorn and burnt
feathers before the night was out.

Luckily, at least one of her concerns was
allayed by the appearance of Luc at her side not twenty minutes
later. She had been running through various ways of getting him to
herself for it helped to distract her as the minutes passed, all
the while wondering if he had decided not to show up after all. So
when he did appear beside her, popping up rather unexpectedly, she
gave a small squeak of alarm.

‘Luc! You startled me.’

‘Sorry, sorry,’ he said, rather
abstractedly. ‘Can I have a word with you?’

‘A word?’ she repeated blankly.

‘Yes. Not here. In private. I… I want to
talk to you.’

This was so very much what she had been
going to suggest that she was rather taken aback. ‘About what?’

‘About something that I would prefer to
discuss in private.’ He looked at her, blue eyes appealing.
‘Please?’

‘Of course you can.’ Of course he could.
Clearly he was in a flap about something but, just as clearly this
was her opportunity. It had been given to her as a gift and she
needed to act upon it. ‘I have something in particular I want to
talk to you about as well.’

Well, not so much talk to him about. It was
more of a demonstration.

Luc wrapped his hand
around her upper arm, which was peculiar in itself as manhandling a
female in public was not considered at all the thing. Not that
Olympia protested. Mentally she was rehearsing how she would go
about kissing him. She wanted to overwhelm him with unexpected
passion – on his part,
she
was expecting to be overwhelmed from the outset –
so that all thoughts of Carisse Houghton disappeared. Then he would
realize that she was the girl for him, Olympia Grayson, somebody he
had known for years. They got on amazingly well together. Could
they not see how well they got on in
other
areas?

Such was her internal fixation on what was
to come that she certainly didn’t notice his. He guided her into a
small alcove, some kind of receptacle for coats and cloaks. It was
such an unlikely place for him to take her that she was momentarily
shaken out of her inner preoccupation.

‘A
cupboard
Luc?’

‘We won’t be disturbed in here.’

‘I suppose not. Unless a servant comes to
collect one of the cloaks.’

‘Never mind about that,’ he said rather
impatiently. ‘They’re probably used to seeing people in
cupboards.’

True enough. And it
was
very private, not to
mention rather poorly lit. Only a muted glow of lamplight
penetrated to where they were. Actually, all unbeknownst, he had
selected the perfect place for her to do what she must. She drew in
a breath and gathered up her courage. It would fail her all too
readily unless she rushed her fences, trepidation making her lose
heart.

‘Olympia,’ he began.

‘Wait.’ Olympia reached up to lay her
fingers lightly across his lips. Clearly he had something to say.
But whatever it was, she needed to get her business out of the way.
Then they could talk. ‘I must just do one thing.’

‘One thing?’ he repeated, lips moving
against her hand. It sent an unexpected shiver of delight through
her, his breath warm against her fingers.

I think you should kiss
him. And not just a peck on the cheek, mind. Go for the crux of the
matter. Kiss him
. Jasper’s words. Not just
a peck on the cheek. Really
kiss
him.

Olympia moved forward, brushing against the
cloaks and coats of the guests that released a myriad of scents,
tobacco and perfume and the spicy, sweet scent of snuff, all of
which were the personal signatures of their owners. Remembering
that moment later, Olympia would also recall being surrounded by a
subtle mix of the exotic and the prosaic, just one more assault to
the senses.

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she
stood on tiptoe and put her lips to his.

Kiss him!

So she did, without finesse perhaps, but
with all the passion that she had never known she felt for him. She
could feel the surprise his in own mouth and did not know if it was
that which made him open his lips immediately but it was enough.
Suddenly her amateur enthusiasm translated into the most natural
thing in the world, as Lucien St James kissed her back, his arms
circling her to pull her tight against him. The enclosed space in
among the outer garments of Society faded away as they were caught
up in exquisite sensation. The night combusted around them,
catching them up in a flare of heat that set them on fire. His arms
tightened around her, crushing her against him so hard that would
have left her breathless if she had not already been. His lips
against hers felt completely natural, as if they belonged there.
For they did, she knew it now. Her instincts, so slow to understand
what should have been obvious, were now assuring her what she had
known for so long.

Lucien St James was the man for her.

After a long time – or so it seemed – Luc
finally released her, arms loosening, albeit reluctantly. She could
see how much that risky kiss had affected him for she heard him
draw in a ragged breath.

‘Oh my God!’

Another thrill pieced Olympia, this one of
satisfaction. Oh my God indeed! Who would have thought that Jasper
would have gotten it right? But her ghastly risk had paid off.

‘Oh Luc…’

‘Olympia.’ He thrust a hand through his
hair, disordering his carefully ordered locks. ‘But this is
disastrous.’

She blinked. This was not what she had
anticipated hearing. ‘Excuse me?’

Luc was clearly caught up in some sort of
torment and a hint of unease touched Olympia. ‘I didn’t realize…
That is to say, I had no idea…’ the breath hissed out of him in
tormented frustration. ‘Good God Olympia, that kiss! It was
extraordinary.’

‘I know it was. But that’s a good thing.
Isn’t it?’

‘No,’ the word was weighted with unalloyed
misery, ‘it’s a bloody disaster!’

‘But why?’ she was truly
all at sea now, completely bewildered by his reaction. They should
have both been dizzy with joy. In her head, if her scenario had
gone as planned they would be back in each other’s arms again,
indulging themselves in another heated embrace. Whereas… ‘Luc,
what
is
the
matter?’

‘It’s why I wanted to talk
to you. What I
had
to talk to you about. I’ve gone and done something
extraordinarily foolish and I don’t know what to do.’

‘What? What could you, of all people, have
done that was so foolish?’ For Luc was never foolish. If anything,
she had always chided him about being too sensible.

There was a moment’s pause
and she was sure she could almost
see
him swallow heavily. The very
air was weighted with dreadful portent. ‘I went and saw Carisse
this afternoon. And I asked her to marry me.’

‘You
what
?’

‘But that’s not the worst of it. The thing
is… she said yes!’

Chapter Nine

Olympia felt a rush of blood to the head.
Shock made her put out a hand, instinctively looking for Luc’s
shoulder to steady herself. Then she remembered what he had just
told her and she removed it immediately, lurching to one side as
she searched for something more reliable to hold her upright.

He had asked Carisse to marry him! He had
not waited, had not thought to discuss it with her… Oh! ‘Why?’ she
almost croaked the word.

‘Because… oh hell, because I had my doubts
about the whole damn thing,’ Luc said wretchedly. ‘Freddy was
telling me that the time was right, that I should go and pop the
question before Branson and… and I thought that I would just call
around and talk to her. See if perhaps I had missed something.’

‘Missed something?’ Olympia knew her voice
sounded faint. But that was because she felt faint. She hoped that
she wouldn’t pass out in the cloak area as explanations would be
difficult to credibly achieve. Although, she thought with a flash
of bitterness, it could only enhance the rakish Mr. St James’
reputation to be found with a young lady in a swoon.

How could he not have waited?

‘I called upon Carisse yesterday morning. I
thought if I were going to make an offer that we should get to know
each other a little better. But she is so hard to talk to. She
doesn’t seem to be interested in anything at all.’

‘I
told
you that,’ Olympia reminded
him, suddenly jolted back from the brink of dizziness by a wave of
fury. ‘I told you she was an empty headed ninny!’

‘Yes, but I did not believe you. You don’t
like Carisse and I thought that you were merely jealous of
her.’

‘Jealous?’ Olympia repeated, voice taking on
a dangerous edge. All of her hopes and dreams had been
unceremoniously crushed by his dreadful announcement. Wrath warred
with a very real urge to cry and, as she had no intention of
allowing herself to cry, wrath was a handy emotion to fall back
upon.

‘You know what I mean. You don’t like
Carisse.’

‘I don’t have anything in
common with Carisse. But I am sure that we will become far better
acquainted when she arrives at Midlands House. As my neighbor we
will have
plenty
of time to get to know each other.’

In the dim light, Luc flinched. ‘But I don’t
want to marry her! I wasn’t going to make an offer today,
especially when it seemed clear that we had nothing of any import
to say to each other. But then…’ he hesitated, shifting
uncomfortably.

‘Then?’ Olympia demanded tightly.

He sighed. ‘Then she did
this thing. This
flirtatious
thing where she moved close and put her head on
my shoulder. We were sitting side by side on the divan, you see. I
was so taken aback I did not know what to do. Removing my shoulder
seemed awfully rude. I couldn’t think of how to extract myself
gracefully and then I looked up and her mother was watching me with
this look… I think I must have panicked for the next thing I know I
was stuttering out a damned proposal and we were suddenly
affianced.’

‘Congratulations,’ Olympia said coldly,
trying to move past him. It was difficult as the space was not
wide, a bonus a little earlier as it had thrown them into close
proximity. But that was before she had learned what a craven
creature she had set her cap at. Now all she wanted to do was
escape. ‘I am sure you will be very happy together.’

‘Of course we won’t be happy together! We
don’t love each other. We have nothing in common.’ Reaching out, he
laid a hand on her shoulder, which she promptly wriggled out from
beneath. It was outrageous that she could still feel a thrill of
delight when he touched her. While trying to maneuver around him,
she had come precariously close and the heat of his body was a
tangible thing in such close quarters. It raised sensations within
her that brought a wanton flush to her wretchedly heedless
body.

‘Let me past!’

‘I don’t want to marry Carisse. I didn’t
know why it felt so wrong, when it came down to it, but I suppose I
knew it wasn’t right from the start -’

‘And yet you still made an offer!’

‘I was mad to do so. Especially now I
realize… Good God Ollie, how could I know it was you?’

That made her pause. She
stood perfectly still for a moment, pressed close against him and
closed her eyes. How could he know it was her? It was a very good
question, especially as she had not known that it was
him
until a few days
ago. It had taken her by surprise, changing her entire world. But
she had been too late. A sob rose in her throat. Olympia pushed it
down ruthlessly.

‘You are engaged, Luc. You have made an
offer and we both know that there is no way round it. You cannot in
all conscience break it off.’ She spoke dully, knowing that it was
no more than the truth. A gentleman could not break off an
engagement without a very good reason. And discovering that you had
made a monumental mistake soon after the deed was done did not
constitute one.

Luc leaned his forehead against her hair. ‘I
love you Olympia.’

‘Then you will be as unhappy as I am,’ she
said quietly. ‘I am sorry, Luc. I thought… But it does not matter
what I thought. Not now. You and Carisse will be married and… and
in time you will probably be happy enough together.’

‘That isn’t true,’ he replied, voice as soft
as her own. ‘It might have been true ten minutes ago, before you
kissed me but it can never be true now. I love you. That knowledge
is inescapable. I’ve loved you for years but I was too damned
comfortable to see it. And I know now that nothing is ever going to
change that.’

She allowed herself to rest against him,
knowing it would be the last time it could ever happen. She would
never kiss him again, never explore this new facet of their
relationship. If Carisse Houghton had not arrived on the scene they
would probably have arrived at the knowledge they now both faced at
some time. But life had certainly thrust some hurdles in the way
and unfortunately, this one was unfixable.