Free A Man Above Reproach by Evelyn Pryce Page A

was already thrown enough by his mere presence, they need not touch.
    “Wise decision,” he murmured, close to her ear. He stepped aside so that she could precede him into the hallway.
    Of course, the first thing she did was scream at him.

    “How dare you, you blithering idiot!”
    “Would you rather go to the room your employer set aside for us or perhaps your courtyard?”
    Elias had planned his attack carefully, based on her previous behavior. She would be righteously angry, he knew. The route that he had decided on dictated that he would just ignore her rage as best he could. He had believed it might work… until he saw her flashing blue eyes roll over into a menacing grey.
    “You called me by my name! In front of Mother! Did you just assume she knew my name? You are very good at assuming things. What gives you the right to meddle in my life in the first place? Do you bound about London from whim to whim?”
    Elias began walking down the hallway. This was a trick he used often, with much success. People will follow you if they want to continue a conversation or, in Josephine’s case, if they want to bellow at you. He revised his tactic to letting her run out of steam. She eventually had to say all she had to say, hadn’t she? Besides, it was good to just hear her voice.
    “Oh, this silent I-am-walking-away thing will not work, Lennox. I know what you are doing. This hallway ends soon and I will not go into one of these rooms with you. I am not going to be your mistress. And take back your blasted piano.”
    They reached the end of the hallway, next to the room Mother had given him with her compliments, the so-called Grande Suite.
    “It is not a gift for you,” he told her, which was not true. He had spent the week going over all of his accounts to the farthing, making sure that any properties he was responsible for could sustain themselves, rooting out debts his father had tried to hide. He had worked straight through two nights without even realizing it, trying to keep her out of his mind. When he found a large accounting error and a surplus of money, he spent a good amount of it on getting her alone. It burned him to do it like that, but there was no other way.
    He had his hand on the doorknob. “It is not just for you. It is for the girls. They deserve better than off-key music; they deserve one thing of beauty in this wretched place. Surely you cannot disagree.”
    Brilliant. She could not. He opened the door.
    “Fine,” she sighed. “The Dove appreciates your generosity. Is there something you would like me to play this evening while you find an appropriate woman for yourself?”
    He actually growled. He could not stop it.
    “You push me to play the villain, so I will. I paid handsomely for your time, love. You cannot just return to the floor. Mother will agree with me. If you advertise as a commodity, you must be prepared to deliver.”
    “I do not—”
    “Yes, yes. You charge for conversation. I paid for it. So far, you have shouted at me. So, would you prefer the room or the courtyard, Miss Grant?” He gestured inside.
    “But who will play piano tonight?”
    “Thackeray tells me that Sapphire has been managing, though I am sure she does not have your panache.”
    She flushed. “Thank you.”
    “You have my word; I will not take liberties. Please, come in and sit down—there are things we must thrash out before I lose my mind to them.”
    He ushered her in, without touching her and before she could protest again. There was wine on the table as he had requested. She sat, still suspicious, and he poured her a glass. The room was gaudy but comfortable, though the bed in the corner put thoughts into his mind that were not welcome. He felt like he had a brain fever. He had never been so tempted by a woman in his life. He wanted to snatch all the pins from her hair and let it tumble onto her shoulders. He had a feeling she would argue less if they both had on less clothing. Well, if she wanted to