Free Don't Look Back by Amanda Quick

smile. "You are nothing if not strong-minded and extremely certain of all your opinions, regardless of the subject, are you not?"
    "Mine is a decisive and forceful personality, sir. Perhaps that is due to my early training as a mesmerist."
    "More likely you were born with a strong will, madam."
    She narrowed her eyes. "I suspect the same could be said of you, sir."
    "Isn't it interesting to discover how much we have in common?" he asked pleasantly.
     
Chapter Six
     
    The following afternoon, Tobias emerged from his club and pulled his watch out of his pocket to check the time. It was only just going on two. He was in no hurry and it was a fine day to walk.
    He ignored a passing hackney, and with the ease of long familiarity, he made his way through a maze of lanes and streets. His goal was the bookshop where he had made arrangements to meet Lavinia. He planned to treat her to a dish of ice cream and then, if luck was with him, to persuade her to retreat to the crumbling ruin in the park for some extended lovemaking in the spring sunshine.
    With that last thought in mind, he cast a wary eye on the heavens. The sun was indeed shining, but there was a nip in the air and he sensed clouds gathering in the distance. He could only hope that the rain would hold off until he could complete the interlude with Lavinia in the park. A fortnight ago they had been interrupted at the crucial moment by a cold shower from the heavens that had done nothing to enhance the romantic ambience.
    The business of having to search out suitable locations for their trysts was fast becoming a nuisance, he reflected. A man of his years was not supposed to have to steal away to remote sections of the park or fumble in a closed carriage in order to enjoy his lady's affections. He ought to be able to enjoy said affections in a proper bed.
    But beds were extremely hard to come by when one was engaged in an affair.
    He was a block away from the bookshop, toying with the notion of taking Lavinia off to a country inn for a day or two, when a vision in spring pink stepped out of a milliner's shop and nearly collided with him.
    "Mr. March." Celeste Hudson smiled brilliantly at him from beneath the brim of a charming confection fashioned of palest pink straw and intricately laced ribbons. "How delightful to see you again so soon."
    "Mrs. Hudson." He grasped her elbow to steady her. "A pleasure. Is your husband about?"
    "Heavens, no. Howard has no patience with a lady's shopping."
    Her laughter was light, almost bubbling. Damned near a rippling brook, he thought. But it had a brittle, false quality that made him think of brightly colored artificial flowers and the pleasure-garden mirrors that reflected distorted images. He was profoundly grateful that Lavinia never laughed like that.
    "I cannot say that shopping is one of my favorite sports," he said.
    Celeste opened her little fan and looked at him over the edge in a flirtatious manner that he knew she must have practiced.
    The leaf of the fan, Tobias noticed, was exquisitely painted in an unusual and quite dazzling pattern.
    There were a number of bright, shiny beads attached to it. The sparkling bits and bobs were arranged in an intriguing pattern that caught the light and attracted his eye. The thing appeared more suited to the ballroom than the street, he thought. But, then, he was hardly an expert on matters of female style.
    "Where is Mrs. Lake?" Celeste asked in throaty tones. "Or are you alone this afternoon?"
    "I'm on my way to meet Lavinia, as it happens." The manner in which Celeste manipulated the fan annoyed him. He looked away from it. "She is picking up a new volume of poetry at a bookshop not far from here."
    "Poetry. How nice. I am rather fond of that sort of literature myself." Celeste twirled the fan in a clever movement that made the sunlight bounce on the glittering ornaments. "I have been meaning to pay a visit to a bookshop. Do you mind if I walk with you, Mr. March?"
    "Of course not."
    She