“Sebastian,” Olivia said gently. And then: “Sebastian.”
“What?”
“My arm,” she said.
He saw her swallow, then looked down. He was clutching her forearm with a ferocious grip. He let go immediately. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t realize.”
She smiled weakly and rubbed the spot with her other hand. “It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing, but he didn’t want to go into it. “Who is shooting in the park?” he asked irritably.
“I believe there is some sort of competition,” Olivia said. “Edward mentioned it to me this morning.”
Sebastian shook his head. A shooting competition in Hyde Park. Right during the busiest time of the day. The foolishness of his fellow man never ceased to amaze him.
“Are you all right?” Olivia asked.
He turned, wondering what she thought she was talking about.
“The noise,” she clarified.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s not—”
“It’s nothing,” he said curtly. And then, because he felt like an ass for using such a tone of voice, he added, “I was taken by surprise.”
It was true. He could sit and listen to guns exploding all day as long as he knew it was coming. Hell, he could probably sleep through the cacophony, assuming he was able to fall asleep in the first place. It was
just when he wasn’t expecting it. Hehated being taken by surprise.
That, he thought dryly, had beenhis job.Senor Sniper . Death by surprise.
SenorSniper. Hmmm. Maybe he should take up Spanish.
“Sebastian?”
He looked over at Olivia, who was still regarding him with some concern. He wondered if Harry had reactions like these, too; if his heart raced like a rabbit at unexpected noises. Harry hadn’t said anything, but then again, Seb hadn’t, either.
It was a stupid thing to talk about.
“I’m fine,” he said to Olivia, this time in a considerably more typical tone of voice. “As I said, it was just the surprise of it.”
Another gunshot cracked in the distance, and Seb didn’t even flinch. “See?” he said. “Nothing to it. Now then, what were we talking about?”
“I have no idea,” Olivia admitted.
Seb thought for a moment. He didn’t remember, either.
“Oh, the Gorely books,” Olivia exclaimed. “You had asked about Harry’s work on them.”
“Right.” Funny that he’d forget that. “How is it coming along?”
“Quite well, I think.” Olivia gave a little shrug. “He complains all the time, but I think he secretly adores them.”
Sebastian perked up. “Really?”
“Well, perhaps notadores . He still thinks they’re dreadful. But he adores translating them. It’s ever so much more fun than the War Office documents were.”
Not the most ringing of endorsements, but Seb could not take offense. “Perhaps Harry ought to turn them into French when he’s done.”
Olivia frowned thoughtfully. “Perhaps he will. I don’t know that he’s ever taken something and translated it into two separate languages. I imagine he’d enjoy the challenge.”
“He does have a ferociously mathematical brain,” Sebastian murmured.
“I know.” Olivia shook her head. “It’s a wonder we have anything to talk about. I—Oh! Don’t look now, but someone is pointing at you.”
“Female, I hope?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “They’re always female, Sebastian. It’s”—she squinted—“Lady Louisa McCann, I think.”
“Who?”
“The Duke of Fenniwick’s daughter. She’s very sweet.”
Sebastian thought for a moment. “The thin one who doesn’t say much?”
“You have such a way with words.”
Seb smiled slowly. “I do, don’t I?”
“Don’t scare her, Sebastian,” Olivia admonished.
He turned to her with not entirely unfeigned indignation. “Scare her? Me?”
“Your charm can be terrifying.”
“I suppose if you put it that way I cannot help but be complimented.”
Olivia gave him a dry smile.
“May I look now?” he inquired. Because it was starting to grow tedious, this pretending not to know he was being pointed at.
“Hmm? Oh yes, I’ve already waved. I don’t know the other one, though.”
Sebastian hadn’t had his back to the approaching pair, so he only needed to do a quarter turn to face them. Still, he was extremely glad that this movement turned him away from Olivia, because when he saw who was walking toward him—
He liked to consider himself a master at maintaining his unflappable facade, but even he had his limits.
“Do you know her?” Olivia asked.
Sebastian shook his head as he watched her, his curly-haired goddess with the gorgeous pink mouth. “Not at all,” he murmured.
“She must be new,” Olivia said with a slight shrug. She waited patiently for the two ladies to finish crossing the distance, then smiled. “Ah, Lady Louisa, it is so good to see you again.”
Lady Louisa returned the greeting, but Sebastian wasn’t paying attention. He was far more interested in watching the other one studiously trying to avoid eye contact with him.
He kept his own gaze on her face, just to make it all that more difficult.
“Have you met my dear cousin, Mr. Grey?” Olivia said to Lady Louisa.
“Er, I believe we have been introduced,” Lady Louisa responded.
“It’s silly of me to even ask,” Olivia said. She turned to Sebastian with a hint of sly mischief in her eyes. “You’ve been introduced to everyone, haven’t you, Sebastian?”
“Almost,” he said dryly.
“Oh, do forgive me,” Lady Louisa said. “May I present my, er—” She coughed. “Excuse me. Sorry. It must have been dust in my throat.” She motioned to the woman at her side. “Lady Olivia, Mr. Grey, this is Miss Winslow.”
“Miss Winslow,” Olivia said. “How nice to meet you. Are you new to town?”
Miss Winslow bobbed a polite curtsy. “I am. Thank you for asking.”
Sebastian smiled and murmured her name, and then, because he knew it would befuddle her, took her hand and kissed it. It was at times like these he was rather grateful for his reputation. Olivia wouldn’t think twice about his flirtatiousness.
Miss Winslow, however, colored the most charming shade of pink. She was even more fetching by the light of day, he decided. Her eyes were a very nice shade of greenish gray. Combined with the rest of her coloring, it almost made her look a bit Spanish. And he rather liked the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She would have looked far too sultry without them.
He also approved of her emerald-green walking costume. It suited her far better than whatever pastel she’d been wearing the night before.
But he could not allow his perusal to last overlong. She might read too much into it, and besides, he mustn’t ignore her friend. He turned away from Miss Winslow without even a pretense of lingering. “Lady Louisa,” he said with a polite bow of his head. “How lovely to see you again. I am bereft that our paths have not crossed thus far this season.”
“It does seem to be an uncommonly large crowd this year,” Olivia said. “Did no one decide to skip?” She turned to Lady Louisa. “I’ve been away for several weeks, so I’m hopelessly out of date.”
“Were you in the country?” Lady Louisa asked politely.
“Yes, in Hampshire. My husband had some important work, and he finds it difficult to concentrate in town.”
“My fault,” Sebastian chimed in.
“Note that I do not contradict,” Olivia said lightly. She motioned toward him with a tilt of her head. “He’s terribly distracting.”
Sebastian could not let that pass. “It’s one of my finest attributes.”