“Tomorrow night my carriage will be here at seven o’clock,” Lord Grimstone said, “and I shall be counting the hours until then.”
He bent forward as he spoke and took her hand in his.
Then, before she could prevent him, he raised it to his mouth.
As she felt his lips hard against the softness of her skin, she shuddered and tried to take her hand away.
But Lord Grimstone would not let it go.
“You are very lovely, Novella!” he breathed in a thick voice. “And I not only want to look at you, but also to talk to you when I have the opportunity.”
Somehow he made what he said sound sinister. It was with an almost superhuman effort that Novella prevented herself from saying that it was something she did not want and then running away.
Instead she managed to extract her hand without seeming r
