“You remember my name,” he murmured. “I'm honored.”
“What are you doing here? This room is for ladies.”
He shrugged. “Any lady who attempts to enter will find only a locked door. Lucky for them that the Lindworthys set up another retiring room on the other side of the house.”
Victoria rushed past him and tried the door. It didn't budge.
“I invite you to look for the key,” he said insolently. “It's on my person.”
“You're mad!”
“No,” he said, pinning her against the wall. “Just furious. No one makes a fool out of me.”
“My husband will kill you,” she said in a low voice. “He knows where I am. If he finds you here—”
“He will assume you are cuckolding him,” Eversleigh finished for her, stroking her bare shoulder with a revolting brand of tenderness.
Victoria knew that Robert would never believe the worst of her, especially in light of Eversleigh's past behavior. “He will kill you,” she repeated.
Eversleigh's hand slipped down to the crook of her waist. “How did you manage to trap him into marriage, I wonder. What a devious little governess you turned out to be.”
“Get your hands off me,” she hissed.
He ignored her, cupping the curve of her hip. “Your charms are obvious,” he mused, “but you're not precisely marriage material for the heir to a marquessate.”
Victoria tried to ignore the revulsion rolling in her stomach. “I will tell you one more time to remove your hands from my person,” she warned.
“Or you'll do what?” he said with an amused smile, clearly not believing that she could be any kind of threat to him.
Victoria slammed her foot down on his with all the force she could muster, and then, while he was howling with surprise, she brought her knee up and jammed it into his groin. Eversleigh immediately collapsed onto the floor. He hissed something. Victoria thought he might be calling her a bitch, but he was in so much pain that his words were unclear. She brushed her hands together and allowed herself a satisfied smile. “I've learned a thing or two since our last encounter,” she said.
Before she could say any more, someone started pounding on the door. Robert, she thought, and then was proved correct when she heard him bellow her name in the hall.
She grabbed the doorknob, but the door wouldn't budge. “Damn,” she muttered, remembering that Eversleigh had locked it. “Just one moment, Robert,” she called out.
“What the devil is going on in there?” he demanded. “You've been gone for hours.”
It certainly hadn't been hours, but Victoria didn't see any point in arguing the issue. She wanted to remove herself from the washroom just as badly as he did. “I'll be right out,” she said to the door. Then she turned around and regarded the pathetic heap on the floor. “Give me the key.”
Eversleigh, even in his emasculated state, somehow managed a snicker.
“Who are you talking to?” Robert yelled.
Victoria ignored him. “The key!” she demanded, fixing a furious stare on Eversleigh. “Or I swear I'll do it again.”
“Do what again?” Robert said. “Victoria, I insist that you open this door.”
Exasperated, Victoria planted her hands on her hips and yelled back, “I would if I had the bloody key!” She turned to Eversleigh and ground out, “The key.”
“Never.”
Victoria flexed her foot. “I'll kick you this time. I wager I could do more damage with my foot than I did with my knee.”
“Stand clear of the door, Torie!” Robert yelled. “I'm breaking it down.”
“Oh, Robert, I really wish you—” She jumped back in time to avoid a splintering crash.
Robert stood in the doorway, heaving with exertion and seething with anger. The door swung drunkenly on one of its hinges. “Are you all right?” he said, rushing to her side. Then he looked down. His face turned nearly purple with rage. “What is he doing on the floor?” he asked, his words chillingly even.
Victoria knew it wasn't the right time to laugh, but she couldn't help it. “I put him there,” she said.
“Would you care to elucidate further?” Robert requested, kicking Eversleigh onto his stomach and planting the sole of his boot on the man's back.
“Do you remember our carriage ride up from Ramsgate?”
“Intimately.”
“Not that part,” Victoria said quickly, blushing. “When I…Ah…When I accidentally nudged you—”
“I remember,” he cut in. His voice was clipped, but Victoria thought she could detect the beginnings of humor in it.
“Right,” she replied. “I do try to learn from my mistakes, and I could not help but remember how incapacitated you were. I thought the same might work on Eversleigh.”
Robert started to shake with laughter.
Victoria shrugged and stopped trying to hold back her smile. “He had the requisite parts,” she explained.
Robert held up his hand. “No further explanation is needed,” he said, chuckling all the while. “You are ever resourceful, my lady, and I love you.”
Victoria sighed, completely forgetting Eversleigh's presence. “And I love you,” she sighed. “So very much.”
“If I might interrupt this touching scene,” Eversleigh said.
Robert kicked him. “You may not.” His eyes flew back to his wife. “Oh, Victoria, do you really mean it?”
“With all my heart.”
He reached out to embrace her, but Eversleigh was in the way. “Is there a window in there?” he asked, flicking his head toward the washroom.