Read Powder of Love (I) for Free Online Page A

grasped her elbow and moved her aside before two men walking side by side bowled her over.
    Fresh air would help him regain his senses, he prayed. “It seems unusually crowded today in the public areas.” He still sounded too tense, so he inhaled deeply, caught a whiff of her already familiar perfume, subtle and clean, with the sharpness of citrus and only a hint of sweetness, rather like her manner. He tried another smile. “Shall we go for a walk?”
    “That’s a wonderful idea.”
    He glanced around the crowded foyer. “Do you have a maid?”
    “I have one, yes, and she waits in the carriage.”
    “Why?”
    “Despite your peculiar manner, I’m not afraid of an attack.” She let him steer her around a group of ladies gathered near a palm tree. “I didn’t want her to listen to the conversation. And to be frank, we are less fearful for unmarried ladies on this side of the ocean.”
    “Which is why you chose to live here?”
    “One of the reasons. But I imagine even in England I’d at last be able to walk with a man without worrying about my reputation.”
    “What do you mean ‘at last’?”
    “I’m closer to thirty than twenty, Mr. Reed. At a certain age, a spinster must be allowed some freedoms a young girl wouldn’t dare. But never mind that. Now your manner has changed again. You are so very changeable, like the wind off the East River. What made you go from starchy to human, I wonder?” They paused to wait for several families to pass.
    She looked at him, her brow furrowed. “I can’t imagine why you’d grow upset just because I came to call. Unless you thought I wanted something, but what could…?” She gasped as comprehension filled her eyes and made her turn red. In a choked voice, she said something about yet another Cousin Johnny.
    He tried to look innocently confused, but she must have seen the truth.
    “Oh. No. Oh indeed.” She covered her mouth. “You thought I wished to see Mr. Clermont…” Her voice stumbled. “And then you thought I would take you for, well, in h-his stead.” She pressed the tips of her gloved fingers to her lips.
    “Miss Ambermere. Please. Allow me to apologize for making such a dreadful error. Please excuse me for such—You’re laughing?”
    She nodded.
    “But I insulted you. I hope you will forgive me for supposing you to be that sort of woman.”
    She wiped her eyes carefully. “And now your attitude reminds me of my papa.” The way she said it made it clear she didn’t think much of her father. “But if you are going to be all stiff and formal, maybe I should talk with Mr. Clermont. I’d rather take a leering male over one who judges.”
    “I swear to do neither.” He pressed his palm over his heart. “Please, let us start again.”
    He held out his hand. “How are you today, Miss Ambermere? Well, I hope? Isn’t the weather fine on this lovely spring day?”
    She smiled and held out her hand too.
    Good, he thought as he shook it. Both of them were wearing gloves. Not like that one time. He’d been taken unawares by her touch. After months of naked limbs and moaning, it was amazing that a small hand taking a firm grasp of his had roused and riled him.
    She smoothed her skirts and adjusted the fluffy confection of her hat into place again. “The weather is lovely, and what a good idea to go for a walk. We can stroll down Fifth Avenue and watch the ladies shop. And you can be honest with me, because I am in sore need of advice, sir.”
    “The, ah, chemical that Clermont wants,” he guessed.
    “Yes. Why are you making an offer to buy it?” Her pretty mouth twisted. “You do know that Mr. Clermont has made a separate bid? Why would you work against him?”
    He didn’t usually reveal the truth. Clermont was a bounder, but he’d promised not to spread the word far and wide. “It’s difficult to explain,” he said, and didn’t.
    “Do you have private reasons for wanting the powder for yourself? What would you do with it?” She