All of Diana’s senses—save her sight—heightened. No unwanted suitors were here for them to impress, so there was no reason for them to . . . well . . . do anything really. They could simply wait for Mrs. Oliver to return.

Somehow she doubted that Lord Bryant would come to the same conclusion.

Chapter 11

Everton would certainly have to find some way to get Mrs. Oliver a raise. He couldn’t remember the last time his senses had been so on edge. Where, exactly, was Miss Barton? Still somewhere to his left, as he could just make out the outline of her gown against the floor.

“What should we do while we wait for her to return?” Diana asked. Her voice was a bit higher than normal. He was making her nervous. He hadn’t known that was possible. Diana always seemed so certain of herself. Now he was doubly grateful to Mrs. Oliver. A chance to discomfort Diana Barton? He was a lucky man indeed.

“I have one or two ideas.”

Diana gave him a derisive laugh. “Why did I even ask you?”

Ah, that was even better. He wanted to ruffle her edges a bit, like she had done to him. He didn’t want to scare her. Even though he couldn’t see her, he was certain she was standing straight with her chin lifted in irritation. He could remind her that she was the one who had asked for a relationship like this one. He had only done what was asked of him.

Somehow he didn’t think now was the time.

“I suppose,” he said, “one of us could sit on the chair while we wait. I left it just a few paces back.”

“Thank you.”

“You assume that I meant you could take the chair?”

“You would sit in a lady’s presence?”

“I can’t really see you. For all I know, you might be sitting down.”

A puff of air left her mouth. He narrowed his eyes but couldn’t make out the movement. “On the floor? I am not.”

“When I arrived at the office, you were doing stretches—I assume because you were tired of sitting in your chair.”

“That is true.”

“So, really, if I were to take the chair, it would be the gentlemanly thing to do.”

“Is that how you live your life? Always a gentleman?”

“Have you ever seen me act otherwise?”

Diana made a strange choking sound in her throat. In the silence, he could hear her thoughts as she sorted through which of his ungentlemanly behaviors to list first.

“You undressed in my office.”

A brilliant choice. “That is the one that came to your mind first? That I removed my coat and cravat in your presence?”

“I didn’t say it came to mind first, only that it was an example of your misbehavior.”

Everton took a cautious step forward. He could only just make out a shadow of his companion. He stopped at the point where he figured the base of her full skirt must rest just above the floor. Then he leaned forward. “What was the first thing that came to mind?” A sharp intake of breath. He knew what she was thinking, but he was also quite certain a mention of their previous kiss would never cross her lips. He allowed his eyes to focus on the spot where he was certain her mouth must be. There were some advantages to being in the dark. He could allow his eyes to rest wherever they pleased. “Well?”