An Invitation to Seduction by Lorraine Heath

simply deadly serious. Not nearly as much fun as Lord Farthingham.” She patted her sister’s back, finding comfort in the contact and Emily’s innocence. “I’ll tell you all about the opera tomorrow.”
    “I could wait up, and you could tell me about it tonight.”
    “Best not. I shall be very late, I’m sure. Besides, I’d have to take it up with your governess first, and I really don’t have time. Be a good girl and do as she says.”
    Emily made a comical face that at any other time would have caused Kitty to burst out in laughter, but she was too anxious about the coming evening to do anything more than offer her sister a winsome smile.
    Then she began her descent down the stairs into what would surely be hell—an evening spent in the company of Weddington.
    Damnation! As she neared, she saw approval in his eyes and wished she’d chosen to wear something a little less flattering. A potato sack, perhaps. Anything that might make it appear she’d not gone to great lengths to prepare herself for her evening with him.
    He bestowed on her a devastatingly handsome smile. “Each time I see you, I am amazed to discover how my memory of your beauty pales when compared with the reality.”
    “I am very close to being officially engaged, Your Grace. I think we should keep that in mind as we go out this evening.”
    His smile dimmed. “Believe me, Miss Robertson, when I say that particular thought is never far from my mind.”
    He settled his hat on his head and extended his bent arm. “Shall we go?”
    The challenge in his eyes forced her to place her hand on his arm as though being so close to him mattered not at all. The butler opened the door.
    “Have an enjoyable evening, miss.”
    “Thank you, Robbins,” Kitty said, surprised the dryness of her mouth allowed her to speak at all while she walked through the doorway as though she were being escorted to her own execution.
    The black coach with the duke’s family crest emblazoned on the door loomed before her. While the vehicle was grand, it suddenly seemed too small to hold both of them. She thought of being enclosed within its dark interior with his scent wafting around her, suffocating her, his presence pressing in on her. Within the confines of the coach, she would find no escape from his powerful masculinity.
    A footman dressed in full livery opened the door, and the black abyss yawned wide and threatening. She thought if she fell into it, she might never escape. It was only when her fingers started to ache that she realized how tightly she was gripping the duke’s arm. Avoiding his gaze, she snatched her hand free, placed it in the hand of the waiting footman, lifted her skirt, stepped up, leaned into the coach, and froze.
    “Good evening, Miss Robertson,” Lady Anne announced, sitting in the shadowy corner, her smile bright enough to dim the darkness.
    “Lady Anne, what an unexpected pleasure.”
    “Surely you didn’t expect me to risk tarnishing your reputation by taking you to the opera without some semblance of a chaperone?” Weddington asked near her ear, his breath skimming along the sensitive skin at her neck, the collar of her gown suddenly seeming not nearly high enough.
    She jerked her gaze around to glare at him, to offer him a smile of appreciation for his thoughtfulness, to chastise him for confusing her, to thank him for his consideration. “I wasn’t certain what to expect.”
    “I assure you that I have no wish to cause you any unhappiness, Miss Robertson.”
    “You have a strange way of accomplishing that goal.”
    “If you will recall, I was not the one who suggested the wager. I also firmly believe you would have been more angry at me had I purposely lost.”
    She couldn’t stop herself from truly smiling then. “You are quite right, Your Grace.”
    “Then let us make the best of the evening.”
    She wasn’t exactly sure how to interpret that comment, but decided that she’d been reading much too much into his actions.