Read Online Lady Amelia's Secret Lover by Victoria Alexander - Free Book Online

voice.
    Men really had no idea what constituted success when it came to functions like this. Mrs. Amherst was no doubt chortling to herself over the size of the crowd. Her ball was indeed a rousing success.
    “I noted the flowers that arrived today. Dare I ask who they were from?”
    She bit back a satisfied smile. “There was no card.”
    “An unknown admirer then?”
    “Apparently.” She sipped her champagne.
    “I thought we had agreed that you were not going to begin your search for”—he cleared his throat as if he couldn’t quite get the word out—“a lover until tonight.”
    She shrugged. “I don’t recall agreeing to any such thing. Besides, as I said, the flowers were sent anonymously. I have, as yet, done nothing to encourage anyone.” She paused. “Perhaps I simply caught someone’s eye.”
    “Someone with no sense of decency or decorum,” he said coolly. “Sending flowers to a married woman.”
    “And yet I found it delightful.” She paused. “Are you jealous?”
    “Absolutely. He’s probably here, you know.” Robert narrowed his eyes and surveyed the gathering. “He could be anyone.”
    “It’s rather nice to know I have caught someone’s eye.”
    “You, my dear Amelia, would catch anyone’s eye. You always have. If I recall, you caught my eye the moment I first saw you. At a ball very much like this one.”
    “You remember?”
    “One does not forget momentous occasions.”
    She adopted a casual tone. “Are you flirting with me, Robert?”
    He grinned. “How am I doing?”
    “You could do better.”
    “I fear I am out of practice, although I was never very good at it when it came to you.”
    “On the contrary.” Her gaze wandered over the gathering. “You were quite engaging.”
    “Still, I shall endeavor to improve. It does seem flirtation is in the air tonight.” He smiled down at her. “Can you feel it?”
    “It’s spring, Robert. The season is at its height. I daresay flirtation is always in the air on a night like this.”
    “Perhaps.”
    “Do you miss it?” she said idly, as if his answer was of no concern whatsoever.
    “Miss what?”
    “Flirtation, the exchange of innocent comments that weren’t the least bit innocent, all of it. The thrill of the chase, as it were.”
    “I’ve never considered it.” Robert sipped his wine thoughtfully. “Although I suppose, looking back on those days of bachelorhood, I recall enjoying the games played between men and women rather a lot.”
    “By my observation, you were successful at it,” she said lightly.
    “Somewhat, I suppose.” He chuckled. “Up to a point.”
    “And what point was that?”
    “I never had the least bit of trouble with the pursuit of women. I did indeed enjoy the chase and all that went along with it. Until it became much more important than mere flirtation.” He paused. “Until I lost my heart.”
    Her heart thudded in her chest. “Oh?”
    “Until I met you. And then no other woman had the least bit of appeal for me.” He chuckled. “If you remember, I became both tongue-tied and rather bumbling when in your presence. Not at all my usual demeanor.”
    “And yet I found it charming.”
    “Regardless, it was most disconcerting.” He shook his head. “I was not used to being anything other than completely in control of, well, of everything. And yet when I so much as attempted to speak to you with any degree of cleverness, I sounded like a fool.”
    “You did not,” she said staunchly.
    “Oh, but I did. I remember that distinctly.” He gazed out over the crowd, a reflective smile on his face. “I wonder how many young men in this very room are right now fraught with apprehension at the prospect of even speaking to the love of their lives.”
    Her breath caught. “Was I the love of your life?”
    “You were. And regardless what else might transpire between us, you remain so.” He shrugged. “Nonetheless, life moves on, as do we all. We are not the same people we were six years