Cursed: A Spellbound Regency Novel by Lucy Leroux
“Forgive me, signorina,” Matteo Garibaldi said in his dark velvety accent. “I did not mean to frighten you.”
Isobel stared at him with wide eyes. “My lord! How did you come up behind me without me hearing you?”
She didn’t understand. With his tall muscular frame, she should have heard something: the sound of his footsteps on the stairs or a creak of the floorboards. But there had been nothing, she was sure of it.
Matteo shrugged and smiled. “I walk quietly. Again, my apologies for surprising you. I had hoped to be able to speak with you more. Perhaps you would join me in a stroll in the garden tomorrow?”
For a moment, Isobel was truly flattered. There had never been any young men in her life, none that admired her near her own station. And Matteo was well-built and handsome with elegant manners.
But there was something in his voice, an unnatural intensity, that didn’t match his simple request. His eyes rested on her like dark pools in the dim light, and Isobel ‘s heart picked up speed.
“Er, I’m sorry, my lord,” she said eventually. Her throat was tight, but she made herself say the words anyway. “I’m afraid that would not be appropriate.”