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Froled nest of bed linens, he peered at the led to focus Noon already He’d lost half the day
Bugger half the day, his pounding brain insisted You’ve lost your wits You kissed Lily, you unated ass And you didn’t even do it well
God He couldn’t conceive of how to remedy the circuet out of here
Taking care with his wounded arered to the washstand Unwilling to wait for a proper bath to be drawn, he ood use of the pitcher of water and cake of soap After he’d sponged his face and torso clean, he dried his body with a s to wear To the side, a set of clean garments was laid out Crisp shirt and cravat, dun trousers, dark blue coat
Julian didn’t recognize the clothes as his own Whicha ," he said to the footman who promptly appeared
"But sir, they’re soiled The laundress hasn’t yet--"
"I don’t care Just bring them"
The liveried youth bowed "Yes, sir"
While he waited, Julian turned his attention to a tray of covered dishes on the side table He lifted a silver dome to find an array of food: cold rapes and apricots His stoht in this respect He needed to make more effort to take sustenance, even when he didn’t feel like eating Brandy and fury could only fuel a
He forced himself to choke down soe of hard cheese By the time he’d washed the food doith a cup of tea, the foot
The shirt and cravat had been washed out and hastily ironed The left sleeve still showed a jagged rent, of course, and some faded bloodstains spotted the fabric But the unstarched linen felt warainst his skin The silk front of his waistcoat was largely unble, but soared with a sniff, steaht perfume The tear on the sleeve was not so obvious to the observer, but inside, the lining was streaked with dried blood
Julian’s nose wrinkled as he slid his ar as soon as he returned hone, the wool retained the faint odor of filth
Much the same, his detractors would doubtless say, as Julian Bella violently on his cuffs, he cursed his stupidity Of all the places to collapse--on the street in front of Harcliffe House? He was no stranger to the gutter, but he’d sworn he would never return And for Lily to see him like that …
He rubbed his temples Time to make his escape
"If you please, sir" Swift, the butler, appeared in the doorway "Lady Lily requests that you join her downstairs, once you are feeling quite"--the silver-hairedlook--"restored" He bowed and left
Restored Julianquite restored? With a full belly and a bandaged ar restored was a differentredeemed The latter sensation would continue to elude him, he feared
Couldn’t he just sneak out of the house? Send her a note of apology later, perhaps with a flower arrangehed heavily No, he couldn’t
He took the stairs slowly, then ducked his head into each open roo for Lily She wasn’t in the salon Nor theroom, nor the parlor The music room seemed an unlikely spot, but he crossed the corridor and tried it anyway
No Lily
Leo’s library was next He breezed by it, not expecting to find her there When he gli against the doorjaer Bloody hell"
The string of oaths--even so violently uttered--was spoken without consequence, shole by the stillness of the room
Lily sat at the desk, quill in hand, her dark head bent over an open ledger From the doorway, Julian observed her closely The plume of her quill continued its slow, stately proentle scratch of her script over the fierce druainst the doorfraht well this tiht?"
The pen stilled Her slender, elegant hand slowly replaced the quill in the inkwell She raised her head a few degrees, giving hiht strea the soft features of her face and dusting her eyelashes with bronze She had the loveliest ears he’d ever seen, each one a delicate porcelain spiral, like the handle of a teacup So perfect
So fragile
"Do you know," he said, "there are men ould like very much to see me dead Powerful men Obscenely wealthy e the services of large, ruthless brutes I’ve ed to evade them all But you … God’s truth, I think you’ll be the very death of er, then flipped it closed Sliding the book aside with a graceful turn of her wrist, she withdrew a neat stack of letters from a drawer
While she unfolded the topmost missive, Julian reached for the raciously appointed Mayfair town house, a sled froth of ribbon and a tack He twisted it, angling the reflective surface to face theCatching a ray of sunlight, he flicked his wrist back and forth until the flutter of bright flashes drew her attention
Blinking with surprise, Lily lifted her face to the doorway As she took in his appearance, her lips curved in a welcoive me, I didn’t notice you there"
"Good afternoon" He allant bow, crossed the roo it a light squeeze, nothing ers, her expression was puzzled, perhaps even hurt But today he didn’t trust hiave the cuff of his sleeve a smart twist "You needn’t use the mirrors They’re for servants, not friends or family You’re both"