Free Scandal on Rincon Hill by Shirley Tallman Page A

temper.
    “Yes, I suppose I am,” he admitted good-naturedly. “All right, then. Shall I call for you here this evening? Or am I permitted to come to your home?”
    I was momentarily taken aback; I had not considered this dilemma when I had accepted his invitation. If he came to the house, Mama was sure to read far too much into a harmless dinner out with a friend. On the other hand, the severely tailored gray suit I had chosen to wear to the office that morning was hardly suitable attire for dining out. I seemed to be left with little choice.
    “You may call for me at my home,” I told him, already wondering how I might keep him away from Mama's eager eyes.
    As if guessing my thoughts, Pierce said, “Don't worry, I shall assure your mother that we are nothing more than friends.” Again, his midnight-blue eyes twinkled. “Unless you've changed your mind and have reconsidered my proposal of marriage?” Before I could protest that indeed I had not reconsidered, he gave a dry little chuckle that sent goose bumps shivering down my arms. “Until tonight, then, shall we say around seven o'clock?” He bent down his handsome face until his dark eyes filled my vision. “My dear Sarah, I look forward to a most pleasurable evening.”
    All I could do was stare at him speechlessly. With a slight bow and an all too knowing smile, he made his way down Sutter Street to where his driver and carriage were waiting.
    “So, he's back,” proclaimed a voice from behind me, startling me out of my stupor. “Doesn't he have some ships to waylay in China, or in the West Indies, or wherever he's been for the past few months?”
    I turned to find Robert behind me. I wondered how long he had been standing there.
    I took in a deep breath of cool morning air, and sought to regain control of my inexplicably wayward emotions.
    “Mr. Godfrey has been in Hong Kong opening up a new office for his shipping company, as you well know,” I told him, not hiding my annoyance. “Your repeated quips referring to him as a pirate are rude in the extreme, Robert, not to mention childish.”
    “I might say the same thing about you, Sarah. I cannot understand why you continue to be taken in by that scoundrel. Where he's concerned, you behave like a gullible schoolgirl.”
    I felt my temper, and embarrassment, rise. This statement fell uncomfortably close to its mark. Even I could not explain why I behaved so irrationally whenever I was in the presence of the dashing shipping mogul.
    “Don't be ridiculous,” I told Robert, lowering my eyes as I straightened my pleated skirt. “He's a good friend, and that is allthere is to it. I will never understand why you have taken such an irrational dislike to the man.”
    Robert harrumphed. “And I will never understand why your usually acute senses stultify whenever Pierce Godfrey walks into a room.”
    I fought down a sharp retort, disconcerted to realize that I had just asked myself this same question. Suddenly I wanted nothing so much as to escape to the privacy of my own rooms, where I could put the aggravating Pierce Godfrey out of my mind.
    “Good day, Robert,” I said, indicating my briefcase. “I have a great deal of work to do.”
    Without another word, I turned and started up the stairs to my office. I caught a glimpse of Robert's bemused face as he stood below me on the street, watching as I turned the key in the lock and stepped inside.

CHAPTER FIVE

    T hroughout the day, I found my eyes constantly straying to the timepiece pinned to my shirtwaist, and to thoughts of that evening's dinner engagement with Pierce Godfrey. I should be concentrating on the work Robert had deposited with me that morning. The brief I was attempting to write was tedious in the extreme, but that was no excuse to give it less than my full attention.
    It was humbling to admit that my usually rational emotions were in such turmoil. It was even more maddening to realize that Robert had so easily seen through my protestations.