The Earl's Secret. Terri Brisbin
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keep yourself to a very busy schedule, but I had hoped to entice you into a bit of leisure.”
“Leisure? I am afraid that I have commitments to honor, sir.” She stopped and lifted her hand from his. “I am expected at the…”
He raised his hand, with one finger pointed in front of her face, and for a moment she thought he was going to touch her mouth. Anna stopped, shocked by the thought that he would do such a thing and by the sudden craving within her for him to do it. Mr. Archer seemed surprised by the pause and stood frozen for just a moment. Then he smiled, the wicked one that curved his lips into something forbidden, the smile filled with all sorts of meaning. The one that made her stomach quiver and her cheeks flush.
The dangerous one.
“I would never presume to interrupt your day or your plans without some notice. That would be unforgivably impolite.” He walked once more toward the carriage and nodded to the driver, who opened the door. “I have procured an open carriage, Miss Fairchild, so that you would have no fear of allowing this familiarity in public.”
“Familiarity, sir?” She found it difficult to take a breath at the thought of any such a breach of behavior with this man. For a brief moment, she admitted to herself that this man could tempt Gladys to share her favors without payment. He could not mean such a thing?
“Riding alone with a man who is neither family nor friend, Miss Fairchild. I have come to realize in my short time here that, although some rules of polite behavior seem to be more relaxed here than in London, some conventions must be observed.”
“Just so, sir.” His consideration was startling. And well-planned. What were his motives? “I would certainly be less than polite to refuse then.”
He stepped up into the carriage and helped her in. Once she was seated, he placed her basket securely between them on the seat and told the driver they were ready. Anna sat back and enjoyed the luxury she did not partake of very often. Hiring a hackney or sedan chair for traveling about town was too costly when every pence and shilling needed to be watched. Instead Anna chose to invest in some sturdy walking shoes and the largest umbrella she could manage by herself for those days when the weather was, well, typical Edinburgh weather.
“Do you have students there?” he asked as they pulled away from the curb and into the moving lines of carriages and horses.
“Pardon?”
“I know that, in addition to assisting Nathaniel at the Gazette office, you are a teacher. I simply wondered if that is where some of your students live?”
Anna knew that there was nothing on the building to identify as something other than a private home. She did not want to discuss the girls and their situations with Mr. Archer.
“Yes, Mr. Archer, some of my students do live there. How did you know I taught?”
He glanced down then and ran his fingers over the books in her basket. She watched as they glided over the surface of the one on top and wondered how it would feel to have those long fingers and tanned, strong hands glide over her…! She coughed, trying to regain her composure.
Aunt Euphemia must be correct in her criticism that spending too much time with those in the lower class and those women of certain reputations was spilling into her own sensibilities! She’d warned Anna that exposure to those who lived a different life with different standards of conduct would impair her own moral judgment. Now, from the strange inklings she had any time she saw this man, Anna was beginning to think Aunt Euphemia was accurate in her assessment of such dangers to a young woman of good upbringing.
“Firstly, I noticed your selection of textbooks and your attention to them when we met at the office. Then I asked Nate.”
“Nate? I’ve not heard him called that in some years. Have you known him a long time then?” It was time to get answers to her questions if he were seeking answers to his.
“Yes, our paths first crossed when we were only boys.”
“I had no idea, Mr. Archer. Nathaniel has said very little about you.”
His laughter rang out at her words and she watched his face become even more attractive than when it was stern. The carriage rolled along and he quickly regained control of his levity. “I would imagine you have not made that easy for him, Miss Fairchild. Your curiosity fairly leaps from you and I am certain Nate has been doing his utmost to keep quiet around you.”
He had not meant his words as an insult, but from the frown that now marred her forehead and the question in her deep brown gaze, she’d taken them as such.
“I meant no insult, Miss Fairchild. Your dissatisfaction with my introduction at our first meeting was apparent even to me. You wanted to know more and neither I nor Nate have provided you with substantive answers.”
“My aunt would warn me that such curiosity is unseemly. I hope you will forgive such a gauche display.”
“If I was being honest, I would tell you that I find such candid curiosity a refreshing change.”
His stomach tightened at the expression on her face now—her eyes alight and a smile that made her full lips curve delightfully. Dimples, unseen when she was not smiling, appeared and tempted him even more. The urge to lean over and taste those lips nearly overwhelmed him and his body tightened in other places.
“Nathaniel has obviously not had time to warn you about how relentless I can be when pursuing matters of interest, sir. Refreshing is not a word he would associate with such pursuit.”
The carriage clattered over the cobblestoned street and came to a stop before the office on the corner. Disappointed that they had not had time for more conversation and realizing that he had not yet extended his invitation, he waved the driver aside with a the tilt of his head.
“Miss Fairchild, would you be able to spare a small amount of time tomorrow morning to accompany me to see the Honours of Scotland?”
“Tomorrow morning?” He could see her candid interest in such an outing. They need, it seemed to him, only work out the details.
“All of London knows the story of their recent discovery and I have been told that they are most impressive. I thought to see them while here, but I understand, of course, if you would find such a visit boring since you have seen them already?”
He could see her considering the invitation and wondered what held her back from accepting it. Ah, the conventions of polite behavior once more? He did not want her to decline and he found that he was willing to make whatever concessions were necessary to gain her company.
Bloody hell! What was happening to him?
“I could ask Nathaniel to accompany us if it would put you at ease. Or perhaps your aunt could be convinced to act as chaperone?”
“I fear that Aunt Euphemia would never be able to endure the strenuous walk up to the Castle’s treasure room.” She paused for a moment, drawing her lower lip between her teeth, worrying it, and he lost the ability to think as he watched her mouth. “I know just the right person to join us.”
“Very well, shall I pick you up then at your home? If you would give me your directions, I will bring a carriage at ten in the morning. If that is not too early or too late?”
Miss Fairchild shook her head, sending a few loosened tendrils bouncing on her shoulder. The urge to wrap the hair around his finger and test its softness surged through him. “The time would be perfect, but would you mind meeting me here instead? I have some errands to finish before that time.”
David stepped around her and out onto the sidewalk, reaching back in for her basket and then her hand. Once she was standing next to him, he told the driver to wait and escorted her to the door. “I look forward to the morning then, Miss Fairchild.”
She opened the door and turned back to him, expecting, he was certain, him to leave. He did not. “Good day, Mr. Archer,” she replied.
Miss Fairchild startled when Nathaniel