Last Night's Scandal Read Online Free Page B

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    In a corner of his mind, the voice that warned him of snakes, scorpions, and cutthroats lurking in the darkness said, Watch out .
    But he already knew that, because he knew Olivia.
    She was dangerous. Beautiful or striking, with or without breasts, she exerted a fatal fascination. She easily captivated otherwise intelligent men, most of whom had already seen her destroy the peace of other equally intelligent men.
    He knew that. Her letters had been filled with her numerous “romantic disappointments,” among other things. He’d heard other stories since entering this ballroom. He knew what she was like.
    He was merely temporarily unhinged because he was a man. It was a purely physical reaction, completely natural when one encountered a beautiful woman. He had such reactions all the time. This was disturbing only because he was reacting to Olivia .
    Who was his friend and ally, practically his sister.
    He’d always thought of her that way.
    And that was the way he’d continue to think of her, he told himself.
    He’d had a bit of a shock, that was all. He was a man who encountered shocks nearly every day of his life, and thrived on them.
    “Having fixed my attention for the moment,” he said, “perhaps the lady would be so kind as to grant the next dance.”
    “That’s mine,” said one of the men hovering at her shoulder. “Miss Carsington promised.” Olivia snapped her fan shut. “You may have another, Lord Belder,” she said. “I haven’t seen Lord Lisle this age, and he’ll soon be gone again. He’s the most elusive man in the world. If I don’t take this dance, who knows when I should have another? He could be drowned in a shipwreck. He could be eaten by crocodiles or bitten by a viper or a scorpion.
    He could succumb to plague. He’s never happy, you know, except when risking his life to advance our knowledge of an ancient civilization. I can dance with you anytime.” Belder looked murder at Lisle, but he smiled at Olivia and yielded his claim.
    As Lisle led her away, he finally understood why so many men kept shooting each other on her account.
    They all wanted her and they couldn’t help it; she knew it and she didn’t care.
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    Chapter 2
    T he gloved hand Olivia had taken was warm, and stronger and firmer than she remembered. When it clasped hers, she grew warm everywhere, which startled her—and that was by no means her first shock this evening.
    Had she ever taken Lisle’s hand before? She couldn’t remember. But it had been instinctive to do so, to go with him, though he wasn’t the young man she used to know.
    For one thing, he was much larger, and not simply physically, though that change was impressive enough.
    When he first drew near, moments ago, he blocked her view of the rest of the room. He’d always been taller than she. But he wasn’t a lanky youth anymore. He was a man, exuding virility to a dizzying degree.
    She wasn’t the only one he made dizzy. Among the hordes of men about her were a few women friends. She’d seen the way they looked at Lisle when he entered her circle. Now, as he and she passed into the crowd proper, on their way to the dancing area, she saw heads turn—and for once it wasn’t only men, and they weren’t all staring at her.
    She’d stared, too, when she’d first spotted him, though she knew him so well. He captured one’s attention because he wasn’t like anybody else.
    She studied him surreptitiously, sizing him up as she sized up everybody, as any Dreadful DeLucey would do.
    The Egyptian sun had darkened his skin to bronze and lightened his hair to pale gold, but that wasn’t the only way he was different.
    The black coat hugged his broad shoulders and lean torso, and the trousers outlined his long, muscled legs. His linen was immaculately white, his evening slippers glossy black.
    Though he wore the same impeccable