Lydia finally found it in herself to forgive her mother for seizing what small joy she could, whatever the consequences. Love, it seemed, had its own imperatives.
He’d stared into her eyes, dark with confusion and unwilling passion, and for one stark, horrible instant, he’d wished to be that different man. He’d wished to be worthy of her.
He was ready to embrace a radiant new world. She was ready to snap his head off.
He’d been right about her determination to save the people she loved. He wondered with a sudden pang he couldn’t identify how it would feel having someone like Antonia on his side.
He couldn’t get enough of that luscious mouth, of her tangy flavor.
You’re breathtakingly exciting. You’ve turned my nights to fire. You’ve lit my whole world with flame.
He admitted the truth, even if it made him feel like an awkward schoolboy instead of a worldly man with a history of too many lovers. “I always wanted the chance to talk to you.” The disbelief in her short laugh roused another of those unwelcome pangs in his chest. She was so convinced that she was of negligible interest.
He was far and away the most daunting creature she’d ever encountered.
Giles kissed her again, hard and furious. As if he hated her. He’d been in love for years, yet he’d never realized love could be like this. Like someone struck him with a club over and over again. Like fire devouring him. Sweet and terrible. Painful and fierce.
He’d called her a sparrow. If he made the slightest untoward movement, his wild bird would fly away into the forest and he’d never find her again. And the strangest result of the last days was the certainty that if Miss Philippa Sanders left his life, it would be immeasurably poorer.
You don’t really believe I intend harm, do you?” If he intended to marry her, she considered that great harm indeed. But Flora the housemaid couldn’t say that. Bill rose and gave himself a good shake before he trotted forward to investigate the stranger’s boots. Bite him, Bill. Lord Lyle clicked his elegant fingers. And Bill, the rotten traitor, yipped in delight and rolled over to offer his pink belly for a scratch. “Nice.