Free A Season of Ruin by Anna Bradley Page B

hadn’t felt even a twitch of interest in the brunette.
    All very pleasant.
    His hopes for a brawl faded as he neared Mayfair withoutany sign of a footpad or even an obliging cutthroat. Good God, what had London come to when a single gentleman remained unmolested on the streets at night?
    He’d reached the iron gates surrounding the back garden when he noticed a fine black carriage rolling down the street. It came to a silent halt in front of the Sutherland town house. The footman placed the stairs and a young lady stepped gracefully down onto the pavement.
    Lily. There was no mistaking that lithe figure. He’d know it anywhere. He’d know
her
anywhere, even without the gleam of the gaslight on her hair.
    Damn it
. There was the twitch he’d looked for earlier.
    Shouldn’t Lily be tucked safely into her bed at this hour, dreaming pure white dreams, like all the other respectable virgins in London?
    A gentleman alighted from the carriage after her. A tall, well-formed gentleman who took her arm to escort her to the front door. They passed into the foyer and the door closed behind them.
    Out alone with a gentleman at midnight? How shocking. If
she
hadn’t a care for her reputation, he saw no reason why
he
should.
    Robyn had the most absurd urge to creep up to the window and peek into the foyer to see what Lily and her mysterious gentleman were doing. He could easily scale the low iron railing around the garden, and it was mere steps to the window from there . . .
    He’d taken a few steps forward before he realized what he was doing and a wave of disgust engulfed him.
Christ.
Was he actually contemplating creeping through the shrubbery and peeking through a window?
    Damn it
. Not even a twitch of interest for Miss Bannister, in
breeches
, no less. Not a twinge at the Eel, but now here he was about to leap over a railing and skulk through the bushes so he could spy on Lily?
    He was going through the front door, just as he would ifhe
hadn’t
lost his mind. He forced himself to walk calmly up the path and through the door.
    Lily stood in the foyer saying good night to her tall, handsome, solicitous gentleman.
    Alec.
Of course
. Who else would it be? Lord Atherton? Even Lily wasn’t that efficient.
    Both of them stared at him. Alec had a sort of detached amusement on his face, but Lily looked horrified. She covered her mouth with her hand. “Robyn! Oh, what did you do?”
    He scowled at her. What the devil did she mean by that? He hadn’t done it, whatever it was.
    Alec gestured to Robyn’s eye. “Did one of your indiscretions finally catch up with you?”
    Robyn reached up to touch his face and winced. Oh. Right. He’d forgotten the black eye. “Pelkey,” he said with a shrug.
    Alec nodded. “Ah. Finally landed a punch, did he? His hands are the size of two roast beefs. Like getting kicked in the eye by a horse, I imagine.”
    â€œSomething like that.” Robyn’s gaze narrowed on his brother’s face. “I hope you don’t mind my saying this, brother, but you look as bad as I do.”
    Alec grinned. “Not that bad, I hope.” He turned to Lily and kissed her check. “Thank you for staying tonight.”
    Lily squeezed his hand. “Of course. Good night, Alec.”
    â€œBest put something on that eye,” Alec said to Robyn before he disappeared out the door.
    Robyn and Lily were left standing alone together in the foyer. She looked as though she’d rather be anywhere else, and it occurred to him they hadn’t been alone together since their passionate interlude in Lord Barrow’s study.
    If he took just one step closer to her, he’d be able to catch her scent. Unable to help himself, he moved forward and drew in a deep breath. Oh, God—there it was. Hot sun on meadow grasses. Daisies.
    And there
it
was—another twitch. Not just a twitch, actually. More like a surge.
    â€œDoes it