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She had not been inside the shop very long when she had an odd feeling that she was being watched. The short hairs on the nape of her neck rose on end and her spine tingled. As she began to turn slowly to see if her suspicions were correct, she was half expecting to see Lottie behind her for she was sure now that she was only being fanciful.
Her eyes flicked round the shop and turning round she passed the stranger with hardly more than a glance, not even pausing for the sake of politeness as the man swept his hat from his dark head. Instead she lifted her skirts to descend a step.
Ross leaned back against the fixtures and smiled his appreciation as his eyes caressed her trim back. Suddenly Lisette stopped, and sensing his eyes on her she whirled to gape at him, her amber eyes wide in disbelief on finding herself face to face with Colonel Montague—tall, lean and strikingly handsome, recklessly so, with magnificent dark brows that curved neatly, a straight nose and a firm but almost sensuous mouth. The lean line of his jaw showed strength and flexed with the movement of the muscles there.
‘Colonel Montague?’ the question burst from her.
‘The same, Miss Napier.’ Now having her full attention, he held his hat before his chest in a bow of exaggerated politeness, before taking her arm and drawing her aside.
He had appeared too suddenly for Lisette to prepare herself, so the heady surge of pleasure she experienced on seeing him again was clearly evident, stamped like an unbidden confession on her lovely face. For a long, joyous interval they held each other with their eyes, savouring the moment, enjoying afresh the powerful force that sprang between them. Then he smiled.
‘Miss Napier! How odd to find you here.’ Desire was already tightening his loins—and that with just the sight of her. He didn’t understand why she had such a volatile effect on him, but he understood that he wanted her—he wanted her warm and willing in his arms, in his bed.
Chapter Two
Lisette stared at Colonel Montague, her heart doing a somersault. ‘It is?’ His smile sent a flood of warmth through her body to settle in a hot flush upon her cheeks and other, less exposed places.
‘Most certainly.’
Without relinquishing his hold on her arm, his touch igniting fires inside her, fires that flared to a startling intensity when he led her to a private place at the back of the shop. She found herself standing so close to him that she could almost hear the beating of his heart. He looked down at her so intently that he might have been trying to commit every detail of her features to memory.
As before, when he had met her on the dock, Ross felt a faint stirring of recognition, like the ghost of a memory long submerged, but it drifted away when he saw the warmth in her eyes.
He didn’t waste time on unnecessary words of politeness. ‘This is a trace of luck our meeting like this. Are you alone?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I’m with Miss Arbuthnot. She wandered off. I suppose I must go and find her before I lose her altogether,’ Lisette said, although she was most reluctant to do so on finding herself in the presence of Colonel Montague once more. She could not rightly say what it was about him that held her attention. She felt utterly fascinated, like a child beholding a favourite toy. He was quite unlike anything or anyone she had ever known.
Ross stared at her profile, tracing with his gaze the classically beautiful lines of her face, the unexpected brush of lustrous ebony eyelashes. He had never seen the like of her. She was quite extraordinarily lovely. She had an untamed quality running in dangerous undercurrents just below the surface, a wild freedom of spirit that found its counterpart in his own hot-blooded nature.
Something in his stare made Lisette’s fingertips tingle. The tingle crept up her arms with sweet warmth, into her chest, and straight into her breast. She did her best to ignore the sensation.
‘Tell me, Miss Napier, how are you finding London? Is it to your liking?’
‘I have seen little of it. This is the first time I’ve been away from the house, but I must confess that I am finding it all so strange—and exciting, of course, and so different from what I am used to.’
‘I imagine you are missing India.’
Lisette was spared answering his question when a pretty, fashionable young woman dressed in a beautiful blue gown with a matching hat perched atop a riot of gleaming brown curls appeared at his side.
‘Ah—so this is where you’ve got to, Ross. Little wonder I couldn’t find you when you were lurking at the back of the shop.’ Her eyes looked Lisette up and down, in an appraising way. A little smile formed on her lips. ‘And I can see why. Will you do me the honour of introducing your companion?’
‘Of course. Allow me to present to you Miss Lisette Napier. Miss Napier—my sister, Miss Araminta Montague. This is the young lady I spoke to you about, Araminta.’
Lisette bobbed a respectful curtsey, looking from one to the other. ‘For what reason did you have to discuss me, Colonel?’ she enquired, surprised and deeply touched to know he had spared her a passing thought.
‘I recall you telling me you were looking for another position. When my sister mentioned that she was in desperate need of a maid, I thought of you.’
‘And now we’ve met it will save us the trouble of writing to you,’ Araminta said.
‘Would the position be to your liking?’ Ross asked, cocking a quizzical, amused eyebrow. ‘Although, when I recall you telling me that you are wilful, stubborn and headstrong, perhaps I should question your suitability!’
His wry tone made Lisette burst out laughing, and Ross found himself captivated by the infectious joy, the beauty, of it. He’d never heard the music of her laughter before, nor seen it glowing in her magnificent eyes.
‘I also recall telling you that I am not proud, Colonel—although I would be honoured to be offered the post of your sister’s maid,’ Lisette said, fighting down a sudden absurd surge of happiness.
Standing against a backdrop of ribbons and lace, laughing up at him, Lisette Napier was unforgettable. Ross realised it as clearly as he realised that if he became her employer, there was every chance he was going to find her irresistible as well.
‘My brother tells me your present position is shortly to be terminated. Is this correct, Miss Napier?’
‘Yes. My employer will have no need of me when the family moves to Brighton.’
‘Why don’t you ask Miss Napier to come to the house, Araminta? It’s highly irregular to carry out an interview in such a place as this and for you to be doing it. Shouldn’t Aunt Grace—or is it the housekeeper who usually sees to the hiring of servants?’
Araminta gave him a cross look. ‘Usually it is but since I am the one requiring a maid I shall have a say in who is employed to see to my needs. I am in London for the Season and will shortly be leaving for our home in Derbyshire,’ she said, addressing Lisette. ‘Would you mind?’
Lisette stared at her. Mind? Of course she wouldn’t mind. From what she could recall of the English geography lessons her father had taught her, Derbyshire was miles away from London—somewhere in the north. That would suit her perfectly. Colonel Montague had thought of her when he knew his sister was requiring a maid of her own and put her name forward—like a friend would. She looked at him. Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She wanted beyond anything to accept the post since it represented decency, security, respectability and a release from the