Claire Thornton by The Wolf's Promise Read Free Book Online Page A

politely. ‘I trust you slept well.’ She thought she detected a glint of amusement in his brown eyes, but in the dimly lit hall it was hard to tell.
    ‘Very well, thank you,’ she replied calmly, although her heart was beating faster than she would have wished. ‘My maid tells me there was quite a storm last night, but I’m afraid I was dead to the world.’
    ‘I’m glad you were comfortable,’ said Benoît. ‘Come and have some breakfast.’ He held open the dining-room door for her.
    ‘Thank you.’ Angelica went into the room, feeling a strange frisson of something that wasn’t quite nervousness as she passed beside him.
    For a man who could only have had a few hours’ sleep, he looked surprisingly vigorous. She was profoundly disturbed by what she’d just overheard—yet she couldn’t suppress an unruly surge of excitement at being once more in his presence. There was a virile energy in his lean body which provoked an immediate response in her own ardent nature.
    But she wasn’t entirely comfortable with that piece ofself-awareness, so she tried to distract herself with more mundane considerations. She noticed that he was once again dressed entirely in black—apart from the white cravat. She wondered vaguely if he took it off when he went out smuggling, or whether he just took good care to cover it up. She supposed it must be very convenient for him to be always dressed for business, whatever the hour of day or night.
    There was no one in the dining-room, and Benoît pulled on the bell rope. Angelica hesitated. She was feeling extremely unsettled, and she knew if she sat down at the table she would feel trapped. The curtains were open so, partly out of curiosity, partly from a desire to appear at ease, she went over to the window.
    The dining-room looked out to the front of the house. After the previous night’s storm, the sky was a surprisingly bright and clear blue. She saw a holly tree close to the window, and in the distance some short-stemmed daffodils were dancing in a light breeze. They were the first she had seen that year.
    ‘Spring is on its way,’ said Benoît behind her, making her jump. She hadn’t realised he was so close. ‘You should have a relatively pleasant journey back to London.’
    Angelica gasped, all coherent thought driven from her mind by his unexpected proximity. She was grateful she had her back to him and he couldn’t see her confusion. It would never do to let him think he had her at a disadvantage.
    She bit her lip, her eyes fixed on the daffodils, at a loss for an immediate reply. She had discharged her errand andshe had no real grounds for refusing to go; but she didn’t want to leave. She couldn’t abandon Harry’s fate in the hands of a man about whom she harboured such terrible suspicions.
    ‘It certainly is a beautiful day,’ she compromised, turning to face Benoît just as the maid came in.
    It was a mistake. He was too close and she had no avenue of retreat. He looked straight into her eyes for a few seconds, almost overwhelming her with the electric force of his personality. Angelica felt as if she had been stripped naked by the unexpected intimacy of that brief contact. She struggled to appear cool and unflustered, but her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she lifted her chin almost defiantly to meet his gaze.
    He smiled, and turned his head to speak to the maid.
    Angelica relaxed slightly, and discovered she’d been holding her breath. She controlled a desire to drag in a shaky lungful of air, and began to breathe normally again, berating herself for acting so foolishly. Surely she was far too sophisticated to be overawed by a provincial smuggler? But she couldn’t resist the urge to watch Benoît as he spoke to the maid.
    His black hair glinted blue in the bright sunlight. She could see the tiny lines around his eyes from all those times when he must have squinted to see in poorly lit conditions; but he was far more tanned than she would have