“I can see you, so you might as well come out,” Elizabeth said, placing her small book on the cushion beside her.

She watched as a handsome man with vivid green eyes stepped forward. His black hair was cut short and styled differently than what was popular, but it looked good on him. His skin was tanned like hers. It was one of the many things that her mother complained about, but she loved the outdoors too much to care. She craved the warmth of the sun on her skin too much to be bothered with the fact that it darkened her skin and made it unattractive.

“I’m sorry, my Lady. I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll leave,” he said in a deep voice that she found soothing as he bowed slightly before taking a step back to do just that.

“No, please. You don’t have to leave. I would be heartless if I sent you back into the cold night if you wished for a quiet escape. I believe this orangery is large enough for both of us to seek a quiet refuge,” she said with a smile, hating the idea of turning anyone out into the cold and forcing him to return back to a ball that she hadn’t been able to escape fast enough.

---

“How do you know that I was searching for solitude? Perhaps I was meeting a lover?” he said, regretting it before the last word left his lips.

What the hell was wrong with him? She would probably slap him or faint dead away at his lack of propriety.

He truly was an idiot.

She laughed instead, she actually laughed. It was soft, enchanting and real. It was nothing like the fake little laughs and giggles from women like Lady Penelope. Women like her faked everything in life just to be accepted by the ton and to catch a husband, who wanted nothing more than a warm body to produce an heir and didn’t want the hassle of a woman with a brain.

“What’s so amusing, my Lady? Are you suggesting that I couldn’t charm a woman to meet me for a tryst?” he drawled, wondering if she knew just how enchanting her laugh was.

With a sigh, she stopped laughing, but thankfully she was still smiling. “No, I’m sorry. I’m sure a man as handsome as you would have no difficulties finding a woman to share your time.”

Robert couldn’t stop the stupid full grin that curled up his lips. Of course he’d been called handsome before, but for some reason that he couldn’t comprehend at the moment, hearing her say it pleased him immensely. “Then what brought you to the conclusion that I was looking for privacy?”

She shrugged as she sat back down, leaning to the side so that she could focus her attention on him. “Well, there’s the fact that this particular orangery is far beyond the appropriate distance from the house. No man is going to come out here with a woman unless he’s looking to be trapped.” He couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Then there’s the weather. It’s quite cold out. A woman would probably complain about the distance from the house to the orangery. Then again, she would probably refuse the suggestion outright, knowing that it was too cold outside and that she would not be able to retrieve her shawl without drawing suspicion.”

Once again he nodded in agreement.

“Then of course there is the obvious.”

“Which is?” he asked, moving closer.

“A gentleman would not meet a woman here. He would escort her so that she didn’t have a chance to change her mind or accept another man’s invitation. It would also take both parties from the ball for far too long. If you were to arrive first, there would be the waiting period and then the actual time of your meeting not to mention the time one of you would need to remain behind so that it wouldn’t appear as though the two of you had gone off together."

He couldn’t help grinning. The woman was smart as well as attractive. He looked around the large room as a thought occurred to him. “Hmm, you’ve given this some thought. Are you perhaps meeting someone here? Or did he already leave?” he asked, making sure to add a teasing note to his tone.

Her smile weakened a bit as she shook her head. “No, there have never been any meetings for me and there probably never will be,” she admitted with a small shrug and a wistful tone that he almost missed.

“Why not?”

“I don’t plan on marrying,” she explained with a small smile.

“Why don’t you wish to marry?” he asked, forcing himself to sound casual. He wasn’t offering. Oh, hell no. Marriage was not going to happen for him unless he was desperate for an heir for his family’s sake. He had no intentions on being tied down to one woman for the rest of his life, someone that was constantly underfoot and depended on him for her happiness.

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke. “I don’t want to be any man’s property."

“I thought that’s why these things,” he gestured back towards the ball, “were thrown so that young women could find themselves a husband. So, they could select an appropriate husband, someone to take care of them.”

She shrugged indifferently. “Yes, I dare say that many of the women are here for that reason and would find me utterly foolish, because I don’t wish to find a husband at one of these orchestrated events.”

“Then why did you come?” He took another step closer.

“Probably for the same reason that you did.”

“Which is?” he prompted. He didn’t want her to stop talking for fear that one of them would have to leave. He wanted to make this last, but more importantly, he wanted to see her smile and hear her laugh one more time before he had to do the right thing and walk away.

“Well,” she looked thoughtful, “in your case I would assume that either your mother or your father persuaded you to attend. If I had to guess, I would say that your mother was the one that expected your attendance.”

“Oh?”

She nodded firmly. “Your mother, definitely your mother. If it was your father you would have simply made an appearance, danced with a few women to make him think that you were looking for a wife and be done with it.”

He agreed. “If it was my mother? What reason would I have to attend then?”

“Most mothers wish for their sons to marry for a simple reason, grandchildren. You came here even though you clearly don’t want to be here. You came to make your mother happy, because she requested your attendance and you obviously care a great deal for your mother. Instead of simply leaving, you searched for a place to hide.”

He arched an eyebrow at that. “Or it could be that I came here in her carriage and I am trapped here until she decides that it’s time to leave,” he drawled.

Her eyes slowly moved down his body in an assessing manner, but not in the same way that Penelope had looked him over. This woman’s gaze didn’t annoy him. Her gaze made him stand straighter as every muscle in his body flexed under her scrutiny, making him feel like an idiot even as he wondered if she liked what she saw.

“You’re obviously a man with means. You could have hired a hack and left. There’s always the card room for escape or you could have simply left with a friend.”

“Or walked,” he added.

She smiled. “I much prefer walks myself. Yes, you could have walked provided that your home was close enough.”

“Two miles.”

“That’s not too far away.”

“No, it’s not.” He rather enjoyed walks. He found himself taking walks every evening. Even in London he found that he enjoyed walking. The vulgar smells of the city and crowds didn’t seem to dampen his enjoyment enough for him to stop.

He eyed her carefully. Her skin was the color of light honey. She looked fit, but not too thin. Her breasts were good size, not too big, but perfect for his hands, and from what he recalled from when she stood, her hips were generous. He was willing to bet her legs were well defined, probably from hours of walking.

“So, you’re here because your parents want you to marry,” he surmised from what little he knew about her and what he knew about women of her station in general.