Finally, as the curtain started to rise, he found her sitting in the back of a box with her cousin Grace Billings. Tessa looked pale and uncomfortable as she shifted in her seat. Perhaps she had noticed his gaze, but her eyes remained focused on the stage.

Now that he knew she was there, he could ignore her and watch the opera.

And yet, not five minutes later, he found himself staring at her again. This obsession was maddening.

“So, who exactly are you staring at?”

Garrett turned to his friend, David Harris, sitting next to him. If it weren’t for David, Garrett would be dead. It was David who had pulled him to safety after he was shot in the hip. “No one,” he replied with a scowl.

“Indeed?”

Garrett moved his gaze back to the stage and attempted to watch the performance. Nonetheless, his eyes slid to the side, where he could just make out Tessa.

“He’s doing it again,” David said to his wife Anne, who was sitting in front of them with her younger sister.

Both women glanced back at him with a smile.

“Leave him alone,” Anne said with a compassionate smile to Garrett.

He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on the opera. During the intermission, he walked the corridors to loosen the tightness in his hip. Sitting for long periods always caused him pain.

“Good evening, Lord Haverhill.”

Garrett halted his hobbling stride and looked over at Tessa. She sipped her lemonade with a smile. A damned seductive smile. “Good evening, Lady Townson. I hope you are enjoying the performance tonight.”

“Not particularly,” she replied with a little shrug.

Seeing her up close was far worse than from across the expanse of the opera house. Her jonquil dress was cut low enough to display her full, rounded breasts to perfection. Damn his unruly desire. Just standing this close to her was enough to make him hard. He had to get his mind off her.

“So where would you prefer to be, then?” he asked.

Her smile deepened until two small dimples appeared in her cheeks. “At home. In bed.”

Not the words he needed to hear when his imagination had already placed her in a bed with him on top of her. “Oh?” was his only insipid response.

“Do you plan to attend the dinner party at the Byingtons’?”

“Yes,” he muttered, before realizing he should have said no and avoided her.

“Excellent,” she said with a smile. “I shall see you there.”

Her cousin approached them slowly. “There you are, Tessa. It is time to go back to our seats.”

Garrett almost laughed as Tessa rolled her eyes. Something about her look made him wish he could rescue her. But he didn’t have that option now. Nor would he ever.

Five

Garrett watched Tessa as she assessed the salon with a hint of a smile on her face. His heart raced just seeing her standing on the edge of the crowd in her yellow gown. How he wished he could ask to escort her into the dining room. But he couldn’t. Keeping his distance was the only option. The woman was young and vibrant and didn’t need a cripple for a husband.

“Why don’t you stop staring at her and ask her to take a turn around the room with you?”

Garrett glared over at David. “She is the last woman I would ask.”

“Of course,” David replied with a light chuckle. “That explains why you couldn’t keep your eyes off her during the opera.”

“She means nothing to me,” he lied. “I have been over her since I discovered her deception years ago.”

“Deception? Or forced marriage?”

“It matters not either way.” She could have refused her parents’ wishes. This wasn’t the Middle Ages where a woman was forced to marry a man against her will.

“Then why are you still staring at her?” David asked and then walked away.

Why was he staring at her? Because he knew she would never disobey her parents. And as she told him, she thought he was dead. As he watched her, her lips moved upwards until she smiled fully … at him. She strolled over.

“Good evening, Lord Haverhill.”

“Good evening, Lady Townson,” he replied stiffly. “Are you enjoying the dinner party?”

She sipped her sherry and glanced over at him. “Oh, I think you know where my preferences lie tonight.”

At home. In bed. How could he have forgotten? “Still, it must be enjoyable to be back in town?”

Her face drew into a frown. “For most people it would be.”

“But not you?”

“The majority of society would prefer I go back to the country.”

A thought he’d had only yesterday. “There is no reason you should not be here.”

“Indeed? Do you want me here?” she whispered.

He closed his eyes for a moment but that only brought thoughts of her lying naked in his arms. He blinked quickly and focused on the question. “What I want is of no importance.”

“Still, I would be very interested in knowing what you want,” she said in a seductive tone.

Thankfully, Lady Byington announced that dinner would be served in the dining room. Saving him from venturing a reply to her flirtatious words.

“Garrett,” she whispered. “Will you escort me? I am quite certain no one else will.”

He couldn’t ignore the pleading tone, no matter how much he knew he should. “Yes.”

“Thank you,” she said, then slowly licked that luscious lower lip.

As seductive as she looked, he remembered it was only a nervous reaction that caused her to do that. She had done it many times when he courted her. Unfortunately, he still reacted in the same manner, as he felt himself stiffen.

She looped her arm with his and a shock of awareness raced up his arm. He had to find a way to distance himself from her. He could not become involved again.

Walking into the dining room, he quickly found her seat … right next to his. Could she have planned this? Did she specifically ask Lady Byington to seat her next to him?

“Well, this is convenient,” she said with a smile. “I am seated with you.”

“A little too convenient,” he muttered.

“At least sitting here, I know someone will converse with me. Had I been seated next to another man, I might have been ignored.”

Bloody hell, he thought. Who could ever ignore Tessa? He would have no choice but to include her in any conversations. It would take every ounce of control he had to survive this dinner.

Tessa sat next to Garrett with a secret smile. Very few people knew Lady Byington was her godmother. When Tessa asked her to seat Garrett next to her, Lady Byington thought it was a splendid plan. If only Tessa knew what to do now that she was next to him.

While she had found flirting with Garrett easy years ago, now he was a different man. Harder. Far more in control of himself. She wondered if her efforts would be in vain. But remembering his reaction to her comment about wanting to be home and in bed, she believed she might have a chance.

She placed her hand on Garrett’s forearm and leaned in close. “Lord Haverhill, do tell me what you have been doing with yourself since your return from Belgium.”

He tightened his muscles under her hand and grimaced. “I have spent the past year attempting to sort through the mess my brother left me with the estate.”

“And before that?”

“Recovering.”

Tessa removed her hand and picked up her wine glass. It would not be easy to break through the wall he had around him. She brushed her leg against his, savouring his hard muscles. “Tell me about the estate.”

He clenched his fist around his own glass before drinking a long draught. “I believe I told you about it several years ago. Nothing else has changed.”

“Very well,” she whispered. After wiping her mouth with her napkin, she placed it back in her lap. Slowly, under the cover of the tablecloth, she skimmed her hand up his thigh.

Suddenly, a hard hand caught hers and abruptly stopped her caress. Garrett leaned in close to her and whispered, “Stop now or I shall make you look like a fool in front of everyone. Do you understand?”

Embarrassment heated her cheeks as she nodded. She understood perfectly. Garrett wanted no part of her flirtations. Once again, she had made an error in judgment.

Six

For a week, Tessa tried to ignore the feelings she had for Garrett. She had only seen him once since that dreadful miscalculation at the Byingtons’ dinner party. But he would be at the Seatons’ ball tonight. She inhaled deeply and entered the ballroom.

Tessa scanned the room for Garrett. Where was he? Grace had said he would be here, but as she searched the room, she could not find him. She casually strolled to the gaming room. And there he sat, playing faro with his friend Mr Harris. For a moment, she could only watch him. But her yearning to be close to him brought her nearer.

“Are you winning?” she asked softly.

Both men stood and bowed towards her. Mr Harris looked over at her with a slight frown. “Good evening, Lady Townson.”

She nodded at him. “Mr Harris.”

Garrett finally glanced at her. “I am winning a small amount.”

“Ahh,” she said, wishing she could have come up with a witty retort and not one that sounded completely simple-minded. “Perhaps I will see you later.”

“Perhaps,” he muttered.

Mr Harris smirked at Garrett’s mumbled reply.

Feeling rather dejected, she returned to the ballroom and the scornful looks from the ladies. There were days when she wondered if it would have been better to stay in the country. She might have found a nice man to marry there. But after seeing Garrett again, he was the only man she wanted.

After standing alone for a few moments outside the gaming room, Garrett finally approached with a wary look on his face. “Did you wish to speak with me?” he asked.

She did, but she had no idea what to say to him. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

He tightened his jaw but said nothing.

“Did you enjoy the play two nights ago?” she asked, hoping for some reply.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“I’m glad,” she said softly.

“Why?”

Why? “Why wouldn’t I be?” She pulled out her fan and swept it near her face a few times. “It is stifling in here.”

“I suppose we could take a turn in the garden.”

Her fan stilled in front of her face. Did he just offer to take her to the garden? Alone? While she knew she should rebuff his advance, she heard herself answer, “Yes, I would like that.”

He held out his arm, and she linked hers with his. They walked slowly, allowing him to keep up without limping too much.

“Are you ever going to tell me how you were shot?” she asked as they reached the terrace door.

“There was nothing terribly fascinating about it.” They walked towards a bench. “Napoleon’s forces were bearing down on us. My unit was trying to defend our position. I took a shot in my hip and fell off my horse. Dreadfully embarrassing to fall off your horse in front of your men.”

“But you had been shot!”

“True,” he said with a slight smile. “But I should have been able to hold on to my horse. I resigned my commission after that and returned home once the surgeon had patched me up.”

Tessa shook her head with disbelief as she sat on the bench. Were all men worried about embarrassing themselves? Her own brother had never seemed to care.

She looked up at him and patted the place next to her. “Please sit down so your hip doesn’t bother you.”

He looked away, but even in the dimly lit garden, she noticed the colour stain his cheeks. She would have to remember that any talk of his wound apparently shamed him.

“Very well,” he said, reluctantly taking the seat.

The scent of his sandalwood soap filled the air around her, overpowering the scent of spring flowers. His shoulder brushed against hers and tingles of desire crept through her body. She pressed her hand to her belly.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes.” She smiled over at him. “I was just remembering the time we were at the Halsteads’ country party.”

He frowned for a moment before nodding his head. “I remember.”

“We played that game of chess and talked for almost two hours.” Tessa sighed, remembering what a wonderful night they had shared. That was the evening she realized she loved him. Hearing his excited tone as he spoke of leaving for the war had softened her heart. She understood his need to defend his country from the dreadful Napoleon.