world to see.” She picked up a copy of the Cabinet and pointed to the masthead, where an elegant engraving incorporated the head of Minerva. An exact copy of the one sitting upstairs in her bedchamber.
He clapped a hand to his brow and muttered something beneath his breath.
“I beg your pardon?” she said in the sweetest, most innocent tone she could manage.
“Piqued and repiqued. You tricked me, madam!” He scowled at her, though his eyes danced with laughter. Edwina thought she saw a flicker of admiration there as well.
“No, I simply outwitted you. Again.”
The scowl quirked up at one end and transformed into the lopsided boyish grin that had stolen her heart so many years ago. “Maybe this time,” he said. “But take care, for I shan’t let it happen again. Next time, the Minerva will be mine for the keeping. Along with the Cabinet .”
“We shall see about that.”
“Indeed we shall. How are those subscription numbers coming?”
Edwina groaned.
Tony could not stay away. Not that he tried very hard to do so. He simply allowed his feet to point him in the direction of Golden Square before his brain had any say in the matter. Hardly a day went by that he did not find himself upon her doorstep. Today was no different. He slowed the team as he turned his curricle into the square.
It was pure foolishness, this eagerness to see her. Ridiculous in a man of his age and experience. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her again. Instead, each day he took his place in the slightly worn armchair opposite the desk and just watched.
He loved to watch Edwina at work. She never interrupted what she was doing to accommodate his obviously annoying presence, but Tony didn’t care. It wasn’t the work he was watching, though he had to admit to a sincere respect for the efficiency with which she transacted the business of publication. He sat and observed, with no little admiration, as she dealt with printers and engravers and colorists and binders and distributors. Though he claimed his ubiquitous presence was for the purpose of learning the business, Tony could never have run such an operation himself, which made him wonder what he would do if she bolted when he won their wager.
He would just have to remove that possibility as an option. In the meantime, he simply watched. Watched her . Edwina’s particular beauty was so unique and so striking he never tired of gazing upon it. There was the sultry voice, too. And the way she moved with such elegant grace.
Good God, he was becoming as smitten as a schoolboy. And what a joke that was—the same schoolboy and the same girl, all over again.
Well, this time would be different. History was not destined to repeat itself. He was no longer a gauche, half-grown boy. A gamester required self-assurance, and Tony had it in abundance. And he was not merely a gamester, but a winner. He was rich because of risks he’d taken at the tables as well as on the Exchange. He’d developed a glossy veneerof confidence that served him well whether playing at whist or playing at seduction. He had no doubt he could best Edwina Parrish this time, at any game they dared to play.
He left the curricle with his tiger, who was getting so accustomed to these visits that he boasted a regular routine of exercising the temperamental grays around the square and along Warwick Street and Brewer Street while he waited for Tony to return. Tony watched Jamie take the ribbons before turning toward the plain brick façade with its four neat rows of sash boxes. The only thing that distinguished it from the otherwise identical house to its left and the one to its right was the doorway with its typically Palladian white pilasters and pediment, and intricate fanlight above the door. It had a simple, understated elegance, rather like the lady who lived there.
He was shown in by Lucy, who blushed and batted her lashes and assured him Miss Parrish would be pleased to see him. He entered the study to find Edwina
He clapped a hand to his brow and muttered something beneath his breath.
“I beg your pardon?” she said in the sweetest, most innocent tone she could manage.
“Piqued and repiqued. You tricked me, madam!” He scowled at her, though his eyes danced with laughter. Edwina thought she saw a flicker of admiration there as well.
“No, I simply outwitted you. Again.”
The scowl quirked up at one end and transformed into the lopsided boyish grin that had stolen her heart so many years ago. “Maybe this time,” he said. “But take care, for I shan’t let it happen again. Next time, the Minerva will be mine for the keeping. Along with the Cabinet .”
“We shall see about that.”
“Indeed we shall. How are those subscription numbers coming?”
Edwina groaned.
Tony could not stay away. Not that he tried very hard to do so. He simply allowed his feet to point him in the direction of Golden Square before his brain had any say in the matter. Hardly a day went by that he did not find himself upon her doorstep. Today was no different. He slowed the team as he turned his curricle into the square.
It was pure foolishness, this eagerness to see her. Ridiculous in a man of his age and experience. He hadn’t even tried to kiss her again. Instead, each day he took his place in the slightly worn armchair opposite the desk and just watched.
He loved to watch Edwina at work. She never interrupted what she was doing to accommodate his obviously annoying presence, but Tony didn’t care. It wasn’t the work he was watching, though he had to admit to a sincere respect for the efficiency with which she transacted the business of publication. He sat and observed, with no little admiration, as she dealt with printers and engravers and colorists and binders and distributors. Though he claimed his ubiquitous presence was for the purpose of learning the business, Tony could never have run such an operation himself, which made him wonder what he would do if she bolted when he won their wager.
He would just have to remove that possibility as an option. In the meantime, he simply watched. Watched her . Edwina’s particular beauty was so unique and so striking he never tired of gazing upon it. There was the sultry voice, too. And the way she moved with such elegant grace.
Good God, he was becoming as smitten as a schoolboy. And what a joke that was—the same schoolboy and the same girl, all over again.
Well, this time would be different. History was not destined to repeat itself. He was no longer a gauche, half-grown boy. A gamester required self-assurance, and Tony had it in abundance. And he was not merely a gamester, but a winner. He was rich because of risks he’d taken at the tables as well as on the Exchange. He’d developed a glossy veneerof confidence that served him well whether playing at whist or playing at seduction. He had no doubt he could best Edwina Parrish this time, at any game they dared to play.
He left the curricle with his tiger, who was getting so accustomed to these visits that he boasted a regular routine of exercising the temperamental grays around the square and along Warwick Street and Brewer Street while he waited for Tony to return. Tony watched Jamie take the ribbons before turning toward the plain brick façade with its four neat rows of sash boxes. The only thing that distinguished it from the otherwise identical house to its left and the one to its right was the doorway with its typically Palladian white pilasters and pediment, and intricate fanlight above the door. It had a simple, understated elegance, rather like the lady who lived there.
He was shown in by Lucy, who blushed and batted her lashes and assured him Miss Parrish would be pleased to see him. He entered the study to find Edwina
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