The Veiled Heart (The Velvet Basement Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

reasons he should tell her ‘no’. Because looking at the compartment make its small motions and imagining what she was doing, nothing this side of hell would stop him from stepping back in that carriage, no matter what the consequences.
    But there was something else.
    She was perfect.
    Too perfect.
    She was a reminder of the ghost he had decided to forsake.
    Tonight he was getting sheaths so he could go whoring. Get ‘Miss Unattainable,’ ‘Miss Heartbeat-of-his-youth’ out of his system once and for all.
    The trouble was a part of him, a mad part of him, wanted it to be her. Imagined her under that damn effective lace that hid her from view.
    Lily was the closest thing in physical form he could possibly get to having her.
    Was he going to walk away from that after her invitation?
    Not bloody likely.
    No man would. Although he had his morals and his scruples, the pull she had on every fiber of his being was not something a man ignored.
    No, he was going to take everything she offered. Take it and cherish it. And if he were even remotely lucky, he would find a way to see her again. Make himself known to her in an honorable way.
    “Ha! Found the bugger.” The cabbie held the pin in the air, a champion among champions.
    A mechanic. It made him smile as they lifted the wheel and maneuvered it to slide the pin back in place. His father would be horrified, but his grandfather would be proud. His father was all about what a gentleman did not do for a living; his grandfather thought a man was made by his abilities. You might own the land; but if you couldn’t work it, you were an impostor. As Lord Worthington, he was more his grandfather than his father, something he was proud of, even if tonight he used those qualities for somewhat nefarious ends.
    Worthington slapped the cabbie’s back and they shook hands, a job sorted out amongst men. Even if he had been the cause of the problem.
    “So where were you heading?”
    “Chelsea.”
    “I need you to drive around until I give you the signal. Two knocks on the roof. Then drop me off a block before her address. I’ll sort you out at the end.”
    “I don’t want no trouble for the lady.”
    “None given, you’re a fine man to worry. I appreciate that. The lady and I are unexpected acquaintances. You can check with her, though it may make her uncomfortable.”
    The cabbie looked at the cab, back at him, and then nodded his head.
    “Very well, sir.”
     
     
     
     
     

5

CHAPTER FIVE
     In a suspiciously short time, the carriage was in motion and Blue-eyes was seated opposite her with no more than a shrug at how fast he had sorted out the problem.
    He removed his gloves and loosened his necktie.
    “So, Lily, are you going to tell me why I have this rather enchanting opportunity?”
    Miriam looked for any sign of mockery but it wasn’t there. Instead, a tension and focus was in him that matched and perhaps surpassed her own.
    She cleared her throat, a delicate sound belying the fact that her underwear lay next to her and the softness of her petticoats pressed against her nakedness.
    “Well.” Her voice came across very matter-of-factly, something that pleased her very much at this moment. “The sheaths have no instructions.” She held up her hand to stop him. “I know the basics. I am not weak minded. But I need to know everything short of where they were made and by whom.”
    “It isn’t difficult to imagine how they are used past the basics. You could work that out with your husband.”
    This time there was a tightness in his response as he waited for her answer.
    Husband.
    Of course, a man would worry about that. A powerful man driven by anger and jealousy to hire thugs to track him down and beat him senseless for trespassing on another man’s happiness. Ha! Not bloody likely.
    “No, I don’t have a husband.” It sounded triumphant.
    The stiffness eased out of him and he gave one of those devastating smiles.
    “I take it that is something that