Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

of?”
    Leo crossed his arms over his bare chest. “How much, exactly, did you overhear?”
    Akshay’s grin deepened. “I’ve never seen you this upset over a woman.”
    “I did not say it was because of…” He took in yet another deep breath and forced himself to uncurl his fisted hands. “Tell me about London.”
    He would find his parent’s murderers. He would stay focused on his goal.
    But even as Akshay started speaking about London, Leo’s mind slipped back to Ella and the confusing emotions she stirred within.
     
    He wasn’t coming. She didn’t know why that realization depressed her so. Perhaps because she thought…well, that after yesterday they’d formed a bond of sorts. She sighed and looked longingly out the tall windows onto the gardens. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be here and inside all day. But here she was…waiting for him.
    Always waiting.
    Waiting for Grandfather to get well…waiting for her uncle to return home and whisk her away from the orphanage…and now waiting for Leo. It seemed her entire twenty years had revolved around others.
    “ Mademoiselle Finch,” Jean-Pierre’s deeply accented voice broke into her thoughts.
    She turned to see the man standing there with his hands on his slim hips and his narrow face pinched into a tight frown.
    “I can wait no longer.”
    Her shoulders drooped. “I understand.”
    She’d have to explain Leo’s absence to Lord Roberts, and she didn’t know if she could face the hurt in the old man’s eyes. How badly she wanted to walk out of the room, out of the castle. If she left, she and Fran would be without a home or a coin. With a sigh, she started toward the dance instructor. “I’m sorry. There must have been a misunderstanding. Perhaps he thought the lesson was at another time.”
    Her necklace hummed under her bodice, growing warm, and she faltered. Automatically, her gaze jumped to the open doors. Leo stood there looking relaxed and unconcerned.
    She pressed her hand to the pendant.
    Leo .
    Blimey, did the necklace react to him? But no, it hadn’t yesterday at the pond. Why else would the pendant grow warm?
    His broad shoulders filled out a shirt that hugged his chest, the white linen contrasting against his tanned skin.
    “Monsieur,” Jean-Pierre trilled, floating forward with hand extended. “So good to make your acquaintance.”
    Leo glanced at the man but didn’t bother to take his hand. After a few moments of awkward silence, Jean-Pierre dropped his arm to his side. “Ah, yes. Shall we begin?”
    Ella could scarcely believe he stood there, ready to learn. He’d been late, of course, but he actually came. She gave Leo a hesitant smile. He didn’t respond. She narrowed her eyes and tried to read the man.
    Nothing.
    His mind was blocked as if he’d built a stone wall around it, enclosing any thoughts.
    “Well then.” Jean-Pierre swept away to speak with the woman seated at the pianoforte.
    “I didn’t think you would come,” Ella said.
    “I wasn’t going to.”
    She felt a twinge of annoyance even as curiosity got the better of her. “So why did you?”
    He was silent for a moment. Across the room resounded the soft trill of the pianoforte warming.
    “Because I made a promise. I am honorable, Ella, no matter what others believe.”
    “I never said you—”
    Jean-Pierre clapped his hands, the sound echoing across the room. “Come, come, time to practice.”
    Leo’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, Ella feared he’d throw the dance instructor out the window as he had his paintings that first night. Fortunately, he merely followed Ella to the center of the room.
    “Now, shall we start with the waltz?”
    Ella turned and faced Leo, so close she could feel his body’s heat, and she wondered for one mad moment what it’d be like to run her hands down his chest. She couldn’t meet his intense gaze for fear he’d read her sinful thoughts, so instead she stared at his neck. But then she saw his pulse beating on the