Page 27 of His Sinful Touch

“No!” Alex looked alarmed. “We’ve no idea who might be pursuing you or why. You’d likely walk right back into whatever you escaped from. If you want to see if anyone recognizes you, you should do it here in London, where you have my family and the safety of this house.”

“But—” Sabrina began.

“Yes, yes, I know, it’s unlikely you live here in London, and obviously, you ran away from whoever it is in another town. But you came to London for a reason. Maybe you don’t live here, but you might visit sometimes. You might have a relative or friend who lives here who you believe would help you. The person who wrote you the letter, perhaps.”

Sabrina considered the idea. “That does make some sense. But walking all around hoping someone will spot me seems a bit...haphazard.”

“I was thinking more of accompanying Kyria to some parties or the theater, something like that.”

“But your sister didn’t recognize me.”

“No. But Kyria doesn’t know everyone in Society. And if you haven’t been here before or only infrequently visited, then she wouldn’t know you. But that doesn’t mean she might not know your friend or relative.”

“There’s really no reason to think my friend or relative, even if they exist, would move in the same circles as an aristocrat.”

“She might not. That’s why we would go to the theater or opera as well, get an ice at Gunter’s, visit some of Kyria’s favorite stores. It would cast a wider net. It is haphazard. I’ll admit that. I am flailing about a bit, hoping to hit something. But the thing is, those would all be enjoyable things to do. Wouldn’t you like to go to a ball or to see a play? Spend some of that large amount of money you carried? If no one recognizes you, it’s not a complete loss—you will still have an enjoyable time.” He smiled. “And so will I. I would very much like to show you the city.” He held out his hand to her.

Sabrina hesitated, then slipped her hand into his. “That is what I would like, too.”

Chapter Ten

ALEX SAT AT his drafting table, staring out the window. He had come to his office to work, but so far he’d spent most of the day brooding. For the past two weeks, they had followed his plan to see and be seen around London. They went to a play with Megan and Theo. They attended the opera, visited museums, went to a small soiree. When Alex had to work at his office, Kyria took Sabrina shopping for a hat and gloves and all the sundry little things one needed when all of one’s possessions consisted of a brush-and-comb set and some underthings.

Alex and Sabrina volunteered to accompany the youngest members of the household to Hyde Park, since their nanny was still hobbled by her sprained ankle—frankly, after they’d chased the two little girls about all afternoon, Alex wondered how in the world their nanny managed to do it by herself normally. They took Kyria’s brood to Gunter’s one day for ice creams and wound up back at Kyria’s house playing games, where “the Littles” and their older sister Emily invented more and more outlandish histories for Sabrina and her arrival on a train in London, until they all dissolved into laughter.

Sabrina had clearly enjoyed the time, but they had discovered nothing regarding her identity. What Alex had learned was how very much he hoped Sabrina was not married. He went to bed every night thinking about her, and every morning he woke up eager to see her. Even his nightmare of being locked in a room, which had visited him again twice, did not linger, for thoughts of Sabrina soon filled his mind.

It was dangerous being around her so much. It would be sheer folly to fall in love with a woman in her situation—even Theo, the least likely member of his family to warn against danger, had taken him aside yesterday and reminded him of all the reasons Alex should guard against losing his heart to Sabrina.

Yet he could not seem to be reasonable. Every time he saw her, he wanted her more. Last night, when she had come to dinner in that lavender gown with the wide, off-the-shoulder neckline, it had been all he could do not to take her in his arms and kiss her. It was worse, he thought, having kissed her that one night. If he had not, he wouldn’t have known how she tasted, how she felt in his arms, how her soft body fitted against his.

Her hair enticed him; her wide blue eyes entranced him. Her voice, her quick light laugh and her smile all teased at his nerves. He had to remind himself several times a day that it would be the act of a cad to take advantage of her. Perhaps if it had just been lust he felt, he could have managed to stay away from the house, spend less time with her. But the truth was, he simply enjoyed her company. He liked to talk to her, to make her laugh, to watch her enjoyment of every new thing she found. The time he spent away from her, the minutes seemed to crawl by. He would imagine what she was doing and envy whoever was with her, and he could not keep to any task for longer than a few minutes.

He wished Con were here. He wanted to talk with him about all the crazy new feelings that tumbled around in his chest. And for some reason he could not define, he wanted Con to meet her. He wanted the two of them to get along. He wanted—

His unconstructive thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Tom Quick whistling as he walked up the stairs. Seizing on the opportunity to leave his worktable, Alex sprang to his feet and went to the door.

Tom grinned. “Hello, guv. You must have read my mind. I was just coming to see you.”

Excitement rose in Alex. “What is it? You’ve found out something, haven’t you?”

“No word anywhere on any young lady missing,” Quick told him, coming inside and shutting the door. “But I think I’ve found your house. There’s the address.” He set a piece of paper on the drafting table, then flopped down in a chair as if exhausted. “I tell you straight, it was a piece of work, that. I’ve walked up and down every swanky street in London. There were a couple of others that looked close, but this one fit down to the knocker on the door.”

Alex studied the address. It wasn’t far. “Did you discover anything about it?”

“Haven’t looked at any records. I asked next door, and the servants said nobody lives there. That’s all they knew. T’other side said the chap that lived there died some years ago—six or seven or more, they thought. They agreed it’s been empty these past few months, but before that, it was leased out for the Season every year.”

Alex nodded. It was the custom of many who lived on their estates to rent a home in the city for the months of the social season. A house in this area would have been easy to market. It gave him a bit of a pause; perhaps the watch was connected to someone who had lived in the house for only a few months. In that case, it probably wouldn’t provide them with any clues.

But no, the feeling in the watch had been deep and fond. It was much more likely to have belonged to someone who owned the house for at least a few years—perhaps the man who the neighbors said had died a few years ago. It could have been Sabrina’s father or grandfather. If he had died some time ago, that would explain Sabrina’s finding London unfamiliar.

“What about across the street?”

“The servants there were too proud to talk to some passing stranger. Big place, went all the way to the corner—not as grand as Broughton House, but still... I decided to give up and not ask any farther down the street. I was hoping to catch you before you went home.”

“Yes, that’s good. Tom, I want you to find out whatever you can about the place—who it belongs to now and so on. I’m especially interested in this chap who died. What was his name? Did he leave it to someone? Sold it?”

“Will do, guv.”