The Mammoth Book Of Regency Romance Part 33

He stopped and slowly turned to face her. "Tessa, I believe it would be best for both of us to continue with our lives as usual. What happened is in the past. Nothing can change it. Good day." Then he was gone.

She couldn't move as he walked out of her life again. Dropping to a chair, she stared at the low fire glowing in the fireplace. While she still had feelings for him, perhaps he felt nothing for her? Perhaps he was right they should continue as if they had never found each other again.

A burning flame of anger lit her. Standing up, she walked across the room to the window. Pulling back the heavy velvet curtain, she watched as he clambered up to his coach. Something was keeping him from letting her back into his life. And she did not believe it was her marriage or the deception of his brother, or her parents.

She was determined to find the true cause of his reluctance.

Four.

As his coach eased away from Tessa's home, Garrett stared up at the window where she stood watching him. This was for the best, he told himself. The last thing she needed was to be burdened with a cripple.

He leaned his head back against the squabs. Dammit! Why did she have to come back to town? She should have stayed in the country and found a homely squire to marry and give her babies. She shouldn't have returned where he would see her every time he attended a ball. Just being in the same room with her had been torture. It had taken all of his resolve and military training to walk away from her.

When she had asked him to stay for tea, he'd wanted to say yes. Wanted to spend more time in her company. Wanted to kiss her until she moaned with pleasure. Not that he understood why she would want to spend a second longer in his company than needed. He had discovered quickly that his injury frightened many of the young ladies away. They wanted a whole man, not someone who could not even dance with them.

The best course of action was to stay away from her. After he'd been wounded, he decided he would never subject a woman to marrying half a man. His younger brother Robert, or one of Robert's sons, could inherit the t.i.tle and estates when the time came. For now, he would continue on, rebuilding the fortune that Laurence had lost over the years. And he would not think about Tessa.

Garrett almost laughed at the thought.

He had thought about Tessa almost every day for the past five years. Seeing her had only relit the flame of his desire. Knowing that tonight he would most likely run into her again, only made him want her more.

Somehow, he would fight his feelings for her.

Garrett scanned the audience, determined to find her. The opera would be starting soon and he knew if he didn't see her before it started he would never be able to watch the performance. Remembering her favourite colour was sapphire, he examined every woman dressed in any shade of blue. As the orchestra started, he moved to violet gowns, another of her favourites. Again, he didn't find her.

Finally, as the curtain started to rise, he found her sitting in the back of a box with her cousin Grace Billings. Tessa looked pale and uncomfortable as she s.h.i.+fted in her seat. Perhaps she had noticed his gaze, but her eyes remained focused on the stage.

Now that he knew she was there, he could ignore her and watch the opera.

And yet, not five minutes later, he found himself staring at her again. This obsession was maddening.

"So, who exactly are you staring at?"

Garrett turned to his friend, David Harris, sitting next to him. If it weren't for David, Garrett would be dead. It was David who had pulled him to safety after he was shot in the hip. "No one," he replied with a scowl.

"Indeed?"

Garrett moved his gaze back to the stage and attempted to watch the performance. Nonetheless, his eyes slid to the side, where he could just make out Tessa.

"He's doing it again," David said to his wife Anne, who was sitting in front of them with her younger sister.

Both women glanced back at him with a smile.

"Leave him alone," Anne said with a compa.s.sionate smile to Garrett.

He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on the opera. During the intermission, he walked the corridors to loosen the tightness in his hip. Sitting for long periods always caused him pain.

"Good evening, Lord Haverhill."

Garrett halted his hobbling stride and looked over at Tessa. She sipped her lemonade with a smile. A d.a.m.ned seductive smile. "Good evening, Lady Townson. I hope you are enjoying the performance tonight."

"Not particularly," she replied with a little shrug.

Seeing her up close was far worse than from across the expanse of the opera house. Her jonquil dress was cut low enough to display her full, rounded b.r.e.a.s.t.s to perfection. d.a.m.n his unruly desire. Just standing this close to her was enough to make him hard. He had to get his mind off her.

"So where would you prefer to be, then?" he asked.

Her smile deepened until two small dimples appeared in her cheeks. "At home. In bed."

Not the words he needed to hear when his imagination had already placed her in a bed with him on top of her. "Oh?" was his only insipid response.

"Do you plan to attend the dinner party at the Byingtons'?"

"Yes," he muttered, before realizing he should have said no and avoided her.

"Excellent," she said with a smile. "I shall see you there."

Her cousin approached them slowly. "There you are, Tessa. It is time to go back to our seats."

Garrett almost laughed as Tessa rolled her eyes. Something about her look made him wish he could rescue her. But he didn't have that option now. Nor would he ever.

Five.

Garrett watched Tessa as she a.s.sessed the salon with a hint of a smile on her face. His heart raced just seeing her standing on the edge of the crowd in her yellow gown. How he wished he could ask to escort her into the dining room. But he couldn't. Keeping his distance was the only option. The woman was young and vibrant and didn't need a cripple for a husband.

"Why don't you stop staring at her and ask her to take a turn around the room with you?"

Garrett glared over at David. "She is the last woman I would ask."

"Of course," David replied with a light chuckle. "That explains why you couldn't keep your eyes off her during the opera."

"She means nothing to me," he lied. "I have been over her since I discovered her deception years ago."

"Deception? Or forced marriage?"

"It matters not either way." She could have refused her parents' wishes. This wasn't the Middle Ages where a woman was forced to marry a man against her will.

"Then why are you still staring at her?" David asked and then walked away.

Why was he staring at her? Because he knew she would never disobey her parents. And as she told him, she thought he was dead. As he watched her, her lips moved upwards until she smiled fully . . . at him. She strolled over.

"Good evening, Lord Haverhill."

"Good evening, Lady Townson," he replied stiffly. "Are you enjoying the dinner party?"

She sipped her sherry and glanced over at him. "Oh, I think you know where my preferences lie tonight."

At home. In bed. How could he have forgotten? "Still, it must be enjoyable to be back in town?"

Her face drew into a frown. "For most people it would be."

"But not you?"

"The majority of society would prefer I go back to the country."

A thought he'd had only yesterday. "There is no reason you should not be here."

"Indeed? Do you want me here?" she whispered.

He closed his eyes for a moment but that only brought thoughts of her lying naked in his arms. He blinked quickly and focused on the question. "What I want is of no importance."

"Still, I would be very interested in knowing what you want," she said in a seductive tone.

Thankfully, Lady Byington announced that dinner would be served in the dining room. Saving him from venturing a reply to her flirtatious words.

"Garrett," she whispered. "Will you escort me? I am quite certain no one else will."

He couldn't ignore the pleading tone, no matter how much he knew he should. "Yes."

"Thank you," she said, then slowly licked that luscious lower lip.

As seductive as she looked, he remembered it was only a nervous reaction that caused her to do that. She had done it many times when he courted her. Unfortunately, he still reacted in the same manner, as he felt himself stiffen.

She looped her arm with his and a shock of awareness raced up his arm. He had to find a way to distance himself from her. He could not become involved again.

Walking into the dining room, he quickly found her seat . . . right next to his. Could she have planned this? Did she specifically ask Lady Byington to seat her next to him?

"Well, this is convenient," she said with a smile. "I am seated with you."

"A little too convenient," he muttered.

"At least sitting here, I know someone will converse with me. Had I been seated next to another man, I might have been ignored."

b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l, he thought. Who could ever ignore Tessa? He would have no choice but to include her in any conversations. It would take every ounce of control he had to survive this dinner.

Tessa sat next to Garrett with a secret smile. Very few people knew Lady Byington was her G.o.dmother. When Tessa asked her to seat Garrett next to her, Lady Byington thought it was a splendid plan. If only Tessa knew what to do now that she was next to him.

While she had found flirting with Garrett easy years ago, now he was a different man. Harder. Far more in control of himself. She wondered if her efforts would be in vain. But remembering his reaction to her comment about wanting to be home and in bed, she believed she might have a chance.

She placed her hand on Garrett's forearm and leaned in close. "Lord Haverhill, do tell me what you have been doing with yourself since your return from Belgium."

He tightened his muscles under her hand and grimaced. "I have spent the past year attempting to sort through the mess my brother left me with the estate."

"And before that?"

"Recovering."

Tessa removed her hand and picked up her wine gla.s.s. It would not be easy to break through the wall he had around him. She brushed her leg against his, savouring his hard muscles. "Tell me about the estate."

He clenched his fist around his own gla.s.s before drinking a long draught. "I believe I told you about it several years ago. Nothing else has changed."

"Very well," she whispered. After wiping her mouth with her napkin, she placed it back in her lap. Slowly, under the cover of the tablecloth, she skimmed her hand up his thigh.

Suddenly, a hard hand caught hers and abruptly stopped her caress. Garrett leaned in close to her and whispered, "Stop now or I shall make you look like a fool in front of everyone. Do you understand?"

Embarra.s.sment heated her cheeks as she nodded. She understood perfectly. Garrett wanted no part of her flirtations. Once again, she had made an error in judgment.

Six.

For a week, Tessa tried to ignore the feelings she had for Garrett. She had only seen him once since that dreadful miscalculation at the Byingtons' dinner party. But he would be at the Seatons' ball tonight. She inhaled deeply and entered the ballroom.

Tessa scanned the room for Garrett. Where was he? Grace had said he would be here, but as she searched the room, she could not find him. She casually strolled to the gaming room. And there he sat, playing faro with his friend Mr Harris. For a moment, she could only watch him. But her yearning to be close to him brought her nearer.

"Are you winning?" she asked softly.

Both men stood and bowed towards her. Mr Harris looked over at her with a slight frown. "Good evening, Lady Townson."

She nodded at him. "Mr Harris."

Garrett finally glanced at her. "I am winning a small amount."

"Ahh," she said, wis.h.i.+ng she could have come up with a witty retort and not one that sounded completely simple-minded. "Perhaps I will see you later."

"Perhaps," he muttered.

Mr Harris smirked at Garrett's mumbled reply.

Feeling rather dejected, she returned to the ballroom and the scornful looks from the ladies. There were days when she wondered if it would have been better to stay in the country. She might have found a nice man to marry there. But after seeing Garrett again, he was the only man she wanted.

After standing alone for a few moments outside the gaming room, Garrett finally approached with a wary look on his face. "Did you wish to speak with me?" he asked.