Chapter 8 #3
Worried about him? Adam thought with keen triumph. Obviously he had had no reason to be concerned about his ill-mannered behavior this past week. If she had been worried, that must mean she was beginning to care. By God, this courtship was proving easier than he had ever imagined!
“Then I owe you my thanks and not an apology,” he said, gratified by her smile. “I am flattered that you would consider my welfare. Very much so.”
She didn’t readily reply, but glanced at the cues hanging in a walnut holder on the wall. “Adam…”
“Yes?”
“I—I have a confession to make.”
His heart seemed to skip a beat, his mind racing over what she might divulge to him. He waited, then, growing impatient, finally had to urge her, “Tell me what’s on your mind, Camille.”
Her expression was solemn, which only heightened the unusual beauty of her features.
“I don’t know the first thing about billiards. I only said that as an explanation to Ertha. It must have been so quiet in the ballroom when she knocked on the door…well, since we were…” She shrugged prettily. “I didn’t want her to think—”
“I know,” Adam said just as solemnly, although he had an incredible urge to laugh—not at her discomfiture, but because she had admitted her clever lie so charmingly.
He had already sensed an innate intelligence in her from how easily she had absorbed everything he had told her about Briarwood, but now it was obvious from her confession that she was quick-witted as well, a discovery that pleased him.
He didn’t need a bluestocking for a wife, but if she could hold her own in intellectual conversations, he wouldn’t complain.
Yet it was also clear that she still wanted to play their secret game of courtship.
Well, why not, if things were going so well?
He gave her a conspiratorial wink. “I haven’t forgotten our secret.”
She brightened immediately, offering him a becoming smile. “Thank you for understanding, Adam.”
“Anything to please a lady,” he said, walking around the table to be closer to her.
“A most beautiful lady.” It was so strange, this feeling inside him.
He seemed to be inexplicably drawn to her, in ways that had nothing to do with the revenge that drove him.
“Perhaps you’d like to learn how to play billiards, my love.
If you do, however, I must ask you for something in return. ”
“And what might that be?” she asked coquettishly, her light tone surprising him. Could it be that his shy mouse was finally opening up to him? And in a seductive manner he could easily become accustomed to…
“I want to hear about your life in Fairford. How you spent your time. The things you liked to do. I want you to tell me all about yourself, Camille. The things any woman would tell the man she intends to marry.”
“I shall surely bore you, Mr. Thornton.”
“Not at all,” he objected, delighting again in her playful tone. “You could never bore me.”
When she didn’t answer, a soft rose blush suffusing her cheeks, he urged her huskily, “Are we agreed, then? Billiards in exchange for as much as you wish to tell me…tonight.”
She hesitated another moment longer, then murmured, “Agreed.”
The house was dark and quiet when they finally left the game room, Adam lighting the way with a silver candelabra.
Susanna held on to his hand—only so he might guide her, she assured herself—taking care with her footing as they passed through the music room and then into the hall.
Two candles had been left burning in wall sconces near the front door, dimly illuminating the sleepy form of a footman stretched out upon a pallet.
She had learned there was always someone by the door, day or night, in case of unexpected guests, and she tread even more lightly for fear she might wake him.
Their billiards match had lasted longer than she had intended, but all in all, she believed the evening had gone well. She had achieved her purpose, which was all that mattered. She had fooled Adam completely and had enjoyed herself while doing so.
The only thing she had failed to do was discover more about Adam’s background.
She had told him a lot about life at Fairford, an unsettling combination of her own personal likes and dislikes and memories with what she knew of Camille’s.
But whenever she had asked him any questions about his own past he had steered their discussion right back to her.
It was obvious he didn’t want to reveal much of himself.
At last she had given up. It didn’t matter if she knew anything about him or not. He would be out of her life soon enough. She had resolved not to bother him with such questions again.
“Careful on the stairs,” Adam said, holding the candelabra higher. “I don’t want you to twist an ankle before you can show off the dance steps you learned today.”
You can wager I won’t twist my ankle, Susanna thought rebelliously, although you’ll wish I had when you see all my handsome dance partners. Anticipation rippled through her, the kind she knew would prevent her from getting much sleep tonight.
She could hardly wait to meet everybody, though she knew she mustn’t appear too eager. At least not at first, and not with Adam around. But when she began attending social gatherings throughout the Tidewater, it wouldn’t be long before she could act like herself again.