Page 73 of A Relentless Rake

“Thank you.” The compliment landed with heartfelt gratitude and emboldened her further. “But that’s the problem, you see. Lord and Lady Gantry have been very generous with their patronage, but there are so many more girls who desperately need an education, one their families cannot afford and—”

He smiled at her boldness, the forced expression cutting her off midsentence. Oh heavens, she’d overstepped! And all because of Alec. She never would have been this forward in seeking donations if that devil hadn’t shaken her so badly.

“I’m being terribly impertinent, I’m afraid,” she apologized as heat gathered in her cheeks, and all the courage she’d found only moments before now died beneath his amused expression. “And wholly improper to raise such a topic tonight. My sincere apologies.”

“There’s no need to apologize, Miss Everett. Your devotion to your school is admirable.” He leaned toward her, and his eyes sparkled knowingly. “If I might venture a guess, you’d like to invite me to become a patron?”

Her heart thumped. She wanted exactly that. If Lord Hawking became their patron, then the school would have more than enough money, and Henry would never again have to risk their lives as he was doing now. “Yes,” she answered breathlessly, “I would.”

“Done.”

Relief poured through her. “Oh, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Come now, Miss Everett.” He chuckled. “I help many charities and even sit on the board of an orphanage in Southwark. If I can help them, I can certainly find the resources to help a few school girls.”

Oh, how she wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hug him! Instead, she simply beamed, although the brightness of her smile was surely tempered by a hint of embarrassment. “I cannot thank you enough. Now Henry doesn’t have to take any more commissions.”

Not knowing how else to show her gratitude, she lowered into another curtsy.

“It’s the least I can do.” He nodded toward George Pittens. “Now, if you don’t mind, Sir George and I were in the middle of a conversation about shipping routes.”

“An argument, you mean,” Sir George corrected peevishly.

Hawking gave a long-suffering sigh. “The business of Parliament never ends. We’d invite you to stay and join us, but I’m afraid you’d be bored stiff.”

Even that backhanded dismissal didn’t deflate her spirits. No, she wanted to fly! “Of course. Have a good evening, my lord.” A nod to Pittens. “Sir George.”

With her chest feeling lighter than it had in a fortnight, she walked away from the men and completely forgot that she’d been on her way to the retiring room. Her eyes deliberately avoided Alec’s dark gaze from across the room as she collected Mary and Daphne from the besieged singer and Justine from her aunt, then herded all three girls from the town house.

The worst was finally over.

Nineteen

Alec placed his hand over Olivia’s mouth as she stepped into her room. “Hush.”

His other arm encircled her waist and held her pressed against him as he closed the door with a push of his foot, then reached behind to flip the lock.

When he was certain she wasn’t going to cry out and rouse the school, he lowered his hand from her mouth to rest it on her shoulder. She trembled beneath his palm, whether in anger or surprise was anyone’s guess.

“I should scream,” she threatened, then caught her breath as his finger traced along the side of her neck. “A masked man once told me to scream if I ever found anyone in my room.”

Her pulse pounded beneath his fingertips, and he smiled lazily. There was hope in that racing heartbeat. “He didn’t mean me.”

“Especiallyyou.”

Swatting his hand away, she stepped out of his reach. Her blue eyes flared in the dark shadows. He’d only just beaten her here from the musicale, making better time on foot than she had in the hired hackney. She hadn’t even been able to remove her cloak yet, and his fingers itched to untie it and slip it slowly from her body.

As if reading his mind, she scowled, tore off her cloak, and hung it on its hook beside the door. Her hands went to her hips. “What are you doing here?”

A very good question, and one he wished he could answer. But all he knew was that he couldn’t stay away, no matter how upset he was with her. Or with himself. He felt that same undeniable need to be with her that he’d experienced since the moment he first laid eyes on her.

“Waiting for you,” he dodged.

Her brow arched sharply. She was clearly in no mood for any dissembling tonight and demanded, “Why are you here, Alec?”

“I was worried about you.”

“Liar. You saw with your own eyes at the musicale that I was fine.”