Miss Quinn's Quandary by Shirley Marks

begin,” she replied, holding tightly onto her shawl. He led her
away from the grove.
    The path took them by the wood and iron triumphal arches. Larissa
looked at the people strolling along the intersecting crossing walks. Beyond
the unevenly lit areas lay the dark walkways, where the lanterns were few and
far between. That was the place her aunt had warned her about.
    The dark walk, she thought. If only she could somehow convince
Lord Fenton to follow her. Before the night was done, she intended to do just
that.
    Timing would be critical. Lord Fenton could easily outrun her if
she decided to make a dash. She needed to wait until he was occupied to gain a
suitable head start.
    The opportunity presented itself a mere hour later, after
visiting the rotunda, the exotic colonnades, and the cascade. They were
fortunate to discover an unoccupied bench on which to sit and rest, which Lord
Fenton insisted she needed.
    “I say, there is Lord Alversly . I
haven’t seen him in an age.”
    “Why don’t you pay your respects to him,” she suggested. “I’m
still feeling fatigued. I’d like to sit here and rest a bit.” Larissa smoothed
the folds of her skirts on her lap, hoping to look as if she were settling to
stay for the duration.
    Lord Fenton looked shocked by her idea. “I believe it would be
highly unsuitable to subject you to man-talk. Yet, I couldn’t possibly leave
you,” he replied. She suspected he was insulted that she should dare ask him to
abandon her. “However,” he pondered, reconsidering, “I wanted to have a word
with him.”
    Larissa smiled, attesting to her sincerity. “Please go. I shall
wait right here, on this very spot.”
    Fenton was clearly torn about what to do. After a brief
deliberation, he gave in, still obviously undecided. “I shan’t be more than a
moment.” He sketched a bow and legged it to Lord Alversly .
    Larissa waited until he was deep into conversation before she
hiked her skirts around her ankles and dashed off toward the far temple. Out of
breath by the time she reached the steps, Larissa turned backed to see if
Fenton had noticed. He hadn’t. She climbed to the top and waited, never taking
her eyes from him.
    Larissa watched Lord Fenton glance at the bench where he had left
her, then around the area, looking for her. After their eyes had met, she ran
into the temple, taking the steps down the other side and onto the path beyond,
plunging into the darkness. She pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders and
took cover between some bushes.
    Larissa watched Fenton appear. He glanced around from the
elevated vantage point of the steps, looking for her. He moved from the lit
area near the temple onto the remote path. She waited until he traveled deeper
onto the darkened walk, closer to where she crouched tucked between the
surrounding hedges in wait. She realized her weeks of eager anticipation were
about to come to an end in only a few moments.
    Someone coming from the light would find it difficult to see. Her
eyes had already become accustomed to the dark. While her victim’s eyes were
adjusting, it was time to act.
    In a few quick steps, Larissa moved from between the shrubbery
into the open. Approaching from behind, she stepped in front of Fenton. Her
shawl slipped from her shoulders when she reached up and pulled his head down
to hers. Her lips found his.
    This was not how Sir Randall had kissed her. He bestowed upon her
a new type of kiss. A lover’s kiss. She pressed against him with all the
longing that had built up inside her.
    It was heavenly. More than she had remembered a kiss should be.
She felt the same thrill in addition to a closeness and a desire to lose
herself to the pure pleasure enveloping her. All warm and soft.
    Soft as velvet.
    Larissa ran her hands up the front of his coat. Under her fingers
lay the soft lapels.
    Velvet?
    She leaped back. “Oh, my heavens … you’re Sir Randall!”

Chapter Eleven
    Miss Quinn!” Randall exclaimed. Larissa’s face