Read Scarlet Kisses for Free Online

yourself?” She glimpsed up at him.
    “She’s difficult to talk to.”
    Violet smiled. “Not to me she isn’t.”
    “That’s because she likes you,” Robert muttered grudgingly.
    Violet looked up at him again. She saw his usual grin was gone, replaced by a cheerless expression. She frowned in confusion. “You can’t blame her for her anger towards you.”
    “What? I didn’t do anything.”
    “You’re the reason she was sent to Paris in the first place. You made her the lady she is today.”
    “No, a school in Paris did that to her.”
    “If the both of you had never tried to burn your house down, she wouldn’t have been sent away.”
    “We didn’t try to burn the house down,” he muttered, remembering the fiery blaze, the shock and fear as the room had caught fire way too quickly. He remembered how he’d grabbed twelve-year-old Alyssum and jumped out the window to land in the hedges. The disapproving gaze of her father as he’d found them dirty, sweaty and leaves sticking to their clothing. That was the night Alyssum had been spanked for the last time. After that she had been shipped off and had come back four years later as a proper, stiff lady who regarded him with cold indifference.
    Pushing Alyssum from his mind, he twirled Violet around the room slowly and changed the subject of conversation to the weather.
     
     
    Alyssum stared up at the man she was waltzing with. She had been taught to waltz at age nine. Harry had been selected as Violet’s partner while she had been stuck with Robert who had purposely kept treading on her toes. He had been surprised when she had just trod right back on his, harder. Their friendship had begun that morning.
    Alyssum tried not cringe at how her dance partner practically drooled down her cleavage. This night wasn’t going how Jaz had described. Filled with romance, seduction, light touches and stolen kisses. It was, however, going along the lines of leering gazes, groping hands and vulgar whispers.
    After she finished her dance and escaped the clutches of her partner, she snuck out onto the balcony. She breathed in the fresh, cool air. She heard voices below in the gardens. Turning, she walked over to the far edge of the balcony and hid in the shadows. She leaned her elbows on the rail and stared down at the ivy that grew over the stone. Even wearing this gown her night had ended the same as usual. Her, alone, in a quiet corner.
     
     
    Robert looked over the crowded ballroom and saw Jackson grinning down at his Rosy. He turned his gaze and found Tucker leaning against a white column while stroking the back of his hand down Lavender’s arm. She stared up at him, giggling and blushing.
    Robert exhaled sharply. He needed to stop looking for Alyssum and go win his wager. He shifted his gaze, looking for the bold scarlet dress. He had spotted her throughout the night, constantly surrounded by gentlemen.
    Walking through the room, he saw three red dresses but none belonging to Scarlet.
    He walked out onto the balcony but he found it empty. Just as he was about to turn and go back inside, he spotted a woman in the corner, hiding in the shadows. His eyes slowly adjusted to the dark and he saw her leaning against the railing. It was Scarlet. With another quick look around for any signs of guests, he walked over to her. As he made his way over, he stripped off his gloves and tucked them into the inside of his coat pocket.
    Alyssum heard the footsteps of someone approaching her. By the clomp of the shoes on the balcony, she knew it was a gentleman. Hoping it wasn’t one of the men she had already met tonight, she slowly stood straight but kept her back to him. She held the railing with her gloved hands.
    The gentleman stopped behind her. She held her breath. His shoes scuffed the stone floor then she felt the brush of his coat against her back. She exhaled and found her breath shook.
    Alyssum gasped under the soft caress of fingers on her exposed back. She felt her skin