Once Upon an Accident 02 - Lessons in Seduction by Melissa Schroeder Page B

figure come from? An utter crime to keep that under wraps.”
    Anger shot through Douglas and he gave Bridgerton a ferocious look.
    “Get your mind out of the gutter, Bridgerton.”
    Bridgerton rocked back on his heels, studying him, while Douglas tried to ignore the earl. “So, that’s the way of it, hmmm? You truly do have an interest in, ahh, history.”
    Heat crept up his neck and burned the tips of his ears. He’d not blushed like this since his episode with Dottie the upstairs maid, and he would be damned if he admitted to it now. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” Wonderful, now he sounded like a spurned woman. How much lower could he sink in a span of minutes?
    Bridgerton chuckled. “Indeed? Then you will not mind if I call upon her?”
    “I would advise against it, if I were you, Bridgerton.” Anyone within listening distance would note the steel in his voice, the implied threat.
    Bridgerton offered Douglas a sardonic smile. “I would say that I will not be your only competition.”
    With a glance, Douglas could tell that Bridgerton was correct. Men were already pressing closer. Like wolves scenting fresh blood. Not one of them had paid her a bit of attention just days ago, but now they were all acting as if she was the latest attraction at Vauxhall. A look of sheer panic passed over her face and he realized that Cicely might be close to losing control.
    Even as angry as he was, he did not want her to embarrass herself.
    Without another word to Bridgerton, Douglas made his way in Cicely’s direction. He’d save her from the slavering fools, and then they would have their chat. She’d run from him once. He was not going to let her slip from his grasp again.
    Cicely curled her fingers into her hand as her throat closed and her heart rate increased. A chill sliced down her spine even as her head began to spin. She had thought she would be ready for this. Anna had told her she would cause a stir, but Cicely found the interest too much.
    The urge to turn in the opposite direction and run as fast as her pink-kid-slippered feet would carry her almost overwhelmed her.
    She felt Anna give her a reassuring squeeze on her elbow before moving away in the direction of Dewhurst. Even though she knew her cousin was present if she needed her, she couldn’t help feeling a bit abandoned. Afloat in a sea of curious onlookers. People who whispered about her when she was just beyond earshot. Those same individuals who only grudgingly accepted her into their circles now spoke with warmth in their voices.
    Cicely reminded herself this was for her own good. She tried to take in air in measured pulls, not gulps. True, she wanted to learn how to work through this fear, but she didn’t think she could accomplish it overnight.
    “Lady Cicely.” She turned and found Lord Oglithorpe talking directly to her newly exposed bosom. “I understand you recently discovered a very interesting diary.”
    She looked at the older gentleman who licked his dry, cracked lips and sighed. His comments confused her because she had tried talking to him a week ago about the diary and he had rebuffed her. “Yes, I have. I am still unsure of its authenticity, however.”
    “Lady Cicely.”
    Douglas’ deep baritone drifted over the crowd and for a moment she did not react. She couldn’t. She was frozen in alarm. She had not realized he was in the room before this, and in and of itself that was a singularly odd occurrence for her. However, it was also odd for him to attend a meeting. As far as she knew, he’d never before expressed an interest in the society.
    Heat infused her entire being as the memory of their last encounter came rushing back. Crystal-clear images, sounds and tastes assaulted her senses. The memory had never been that far from her mind, but every now and then she could convince herself that it had been a dream.
    A rather delicious, decadent dream, but a dream nonetheless. When she turned in the direction of his voice,