Free Wishing For Rainbows (Historical Romance) by Rebecca King

discussing your wayward behaviour.”
    “Wayward behaviour?” she gasped. “You kissed me!”
    “You were here unchaperoned, in the dark, willing to meet with someone who sent you a mysterious note. You are asking for trouble,” he warned her. “You should be thankful it was me who came to see you, and not your secret admirer.”
    He had a point, but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. “What I do, where I go, and whom I talk to, is nothing to do with you.”
    “Everything you do has something to do with me now. I promised your father I would keep an eye on you and that is what I intend to do.”
    “So kissing me is keeping an eye on me, is it? I am not sure that father would agree with you on that one,” she replied with a sniff. “Are you going to tell him about what we have just shared? Given that nobody else has turned up, I can only assume that the note was given to me incorrectly anyway.”
    “Where are you going?” he demanded when she walked around him and swept regally toward the door.
    “Back to the ball before someone finds me alone, in the dark, with you . Then you will have something to report to father, won’t you? And your fiancé. And your mistress in the hallway.”
    She didn’t wait for him to respond and left the room without backward look. The urge to cry was strong, but she refused to allow tears to fall just yet. Instead, she hurried through the house blindly, and heaved a sigh of relief when she entered the main hallway and found Adelaide waiting for her.
    “Oh, there you are, Ursula. I was just looking for you. Are you ready to go?” Adelaide asked as soon as she saw her. “Is everything alright dear?”
    “Yes, everything is fine. I am more than ready to leave,” Ursula replied fervently.
    She daren’t glance toward the darkened hallway behind her. Thankfully, there was no sign of Trenton in the hallway yet, but that wasn’t altogether a bad thing. At the moment, she wasn’t sure what she would say, or do, if she ever saw him again.
    “Are you alright, dear?” Adelaide asked as the carriage lurched into motion.
    “Yes, just tired, that’s all,” she replied absently as she stared out of the window.
    It was only when the carried pull to a stop outside of Adelaide’s house that she remembered she hadn’t danced with Brampton, or the rest of the men who had marked her card. With a sigh, she climbed down and hurried off to bed, wondering what she was going to say to any of them the next time she saw them.
     
    Trenton remained in the sheltered confines of the conservatory for several moments to allow his body to cool. The last thing he wanted was to meet the rather forceful Barbarella again, especially given the state he was in. He rested shoulders against the wall and allowed the silence to settle around him while he considered what had just happened. Not only had he just kissed the woman who had owned his youthful fantasies for as long as he could remember, but they had had their first argument too.
    “Not bad for a night’s work,” he murmured ruefully, wondering how on earth he was going to put things right now.
    The minutes ticked by. The longer he remained there, thinking of ways to get Ursula to speak to him again, the more the feeling that he was being watched grew and he realised he was no longer alone. Before he could investigate, the door beside him suddenly began to open. Hidden by shadows, he remained perfectly still and watched the silhouette of a man glide silently into the room. He shook his head and bit back a curse as Brampton sidled into the room. Rather than enter, he paused, studied the area, most probably in search of Ursula and then quietly left again.
    “Damn you, Brampton,” Trenton growled aloud once the door had closed and silence had fallen over the conservatory once more. His fingers clenched against the urge to yank the door open, storm after Brampton, and warn him to keep his distance from Ursula. However, he realised that with someone