He looked up and smiled at her warm words. She had forgiven him. “Nonsense. I shall be repaid—with good feelings,” he hurriedly added.
She looked around to view the area they passed through. “I hope I won’t be late. The coachman will report back to my father.”
“We’ll arrive with time to spare.”
He had the urge to tease her out of her serious mood. For all her posturing, it had been plain that she’d enjoyed the kiss and was not being entirely honest with herself. Miss Lacey longed for adventure; Hartnoll House was proof of it. In addition, she had gone willingly to the picnic with him. His reputation was no secret. Dammit, a man knew when a woman fancied him. She couldn’t hide her attraction to him, although she tried to dismiss it.
“Can’t have you in trouble with your father. It may curb your liberty.” He raised a brow. “I suspect you enjoy your liberty, Miss Lacey.”
***
Eaglestone’s observation caused Bella to shift on the seat. As if he could see into her very soul. As if he’d made a study of her. She sat up straighter. She must not try to read innuendo into everything he said. It was her fault; she should never have considered him a possible lover.
When he bowed his head to jot down more notes, she gathered her wits to offer suggestions. “The worst are the rotten floor boards in some of the rooms, which are quite dangerous. And broken tiles on the roof cause a lot of damage.”
“Some of the first things I’ve listed,” he said. “It will take a large amount of capital. But no matter.”
Her heart sang—the children given a good start, rescued from a life of ignorance and poverty, from which no child could ever rise.
She observed him from beneath her lashes. She’d be in danger of losing her heart if they shared a passionate night together. There was something about him that went beyond his obvious attractiveness. A vulnerability that called to her. Once she’d decided against it, however, the world seemed cast in a greyed light. There would be no thrilling memories. Her future lay in facing Lord Maudling every morning at breakfast. The vision of the dreary life ahead made her reckless. She turned to Eaglestone, desperate for more, to breach his defenses and banish the hollow feeling around her heart.
“I’ve heard rumors about you,” she said, probing for a response. “I’m sure they are horrid fabrications.”
He returned his notebook and pen to his pocket, regarding her. “You are defending me?”
“I don’t believe in gossip. I take people as I find them.”
He raised his brows. “A man might be inclined to show a lady his best side.”
“Have you been guilty of doing so?”
He laughed and folded his arms as the carriage came to a standstill at a crossing. “I confess I may well have done. A pretty woman does tend to affect us foolish men in that way.”
“I don’t dislike chivalry, if that is what you mean,” she said carefully.
He raised a brow. “It is not what I meant, Bella. You are too intelligent not to know I was speaking of seduction. The attraction between a woman and man, which can lead to intimacy. If encouraged by both parties.”
She gasped at his bald statement. He filled the seat, his shoulders a whisker from hers, making her aware of how big and strong he was. How male. He became the rake as naturally as a hawk pounced on its prey. She couldn’t fool this man; he’d always been several steps ahead of her. Eaglestone had experience of life, which she, in her sheltered upbringing, could only guess at. He could easily deal with a na?ve person like her. And should he wish, he could just as easily get what he wanted from her. She leaned back weakly against the squab as if she’d been stripped naked.
“You are a beguiling young woman,” he continued in his ruthless manner. “You would evoke carnal thoughts in any man.”
She widened her eyes at his frankness while aware that he kept his armor well intact, adroitly drawing the conversation away from the subject of his past, and those rumors.
“I now see that you were right in helping others less fortunate than yourself. It does lift one’s spirits,” he said. “I have benefited already.”
“I’m pleased.” She searched for sincerity in his gaze, dreading to find a rake’s callous amusement. The dark suspicion she’d found on their first meeting was absent. What a mystery he proved to be. She had a strong urge to discover more about him. A generous man to those less fortunate but contemptuousness of his peers. She urged herself not to be tempted to try to heal a damaged rake.
As the carriage crawled along a main thoroughfare, the road busy with carts, omnibuses, and carriages, and the pavement crowded with pedestrians, she eyed his starkly handsome profile.
“Has there really been an attempt made on your life?” she persisted.
“An exaggeration of the facts, as most rumors prove to be,” he said dismissively.
“Do you know who was behind it?”