patiently some distance away.
He noted that the little thinking lines on her brow eased as she fell into sleep. As time passed, as her slumber deepened, her lips parted a bit so her pretty mouth took on a sensual air. He very much wanted to kiss those lips, but he did not. He wanted to place his hands against the softness of her waist, run them over the silhouette of her breasts and hips, so erotic beneath the propriety of her gown. He wanted to clasp her to him and bury his nose in the curve of her neck, breathe her in and then lick the steady pulse that jumped just under her skin.
She was too vulnerable and sweet in sleep for him to think about the carnal things he’d like to do to her then. Instead he admired her delicate blonde lashes resting against pale skin, and thought how very many wishes they might bring him if only he believed. Then those lashes fluttered open. For a moment the big blue sky was reflected in her sleepy, unguarded gaze. He could not have looked away from her at that moment, not for any amount. Then the thinking lines were back. She looked past him, around them, remembering where she was.
“Oh, bother,” she said. “I fell asleep?”
“For a short time.”
“You ought to have woken me up.”
“You looked tired.” She still looked beautifully, drowsily tired, but they couldn’t tarry much longer. Their small escape out of time and place was at an end. “We must return soon, Miss Barrett.”
A frown chased away the last of her sleepiness. “I would rather not.”
He watched her, but no, still no acknowledgement of their situation or the repercussions thereof. So be it. He would rather travel back with her in a state of comfortable companionship than hysteria over impulsive mistakes. There would be enough hysteria later, from all concerned parties. His mother would keel over dead.
“My brother will be so, so angry,” she sighed as she sat up. “Really very angry.”
Court rose to his feet and extended a gloved hand to help her rise. “He will get over it. Everything will be settled soon enough.”
“And I shall have to travel all the way back to London with him tomorrow. A whole week’s time to endure his endless scolds.”
“I’m sure it will be nothing like that.”
Her gaze met his with resigned sadness. “I shall miss you very much when we part, Your Grace. Perhaps I shouldn’t say such a thing, but it is the way I feel in my soul.”
How dramatic she could be. He turned away from her to brush at the sleeves of his coat. “You forget. I have made promises to you. To give you some of my books, at the very least. There is no need to speak of missing one another.”
It was quite ridiculous to speak of missing one another, considering the scene that would play out when they returned. He could not decide yet if their situation was tragic or hilarious.
Somehow, he imagined it would end up being both.
Chapter Seven: Discussion
They rode the few hours back to Danbury House in comfortable silence. Harmony was too caught up in her memories of the day to carry on polite conversation, and the duke seemed reluctant to talk. She enjoyed that about him, his reserved, taciturn nature. She liked his stares, his mysterious expressions, because they gave her more to wonder about.
She liked him .
She looked up at him furtively for what must have been the hundredth time. She liked him very much indeed, and would miss him when they parted. She would miss his thoughtful blue-green eyes and his large, capable hands that looked only slightly more civilized in gloves. His hands were too large to be gentlemanly, it must be said, but he was an eminently civil man. One got the feeling around him that he rarely became flustered or lost control, which was a rare trait in her experience. Her brother was the opposite. He was constantly fretting and whining, and doing things that showed an intolerable lack of restraint. Of course, she probably appeared the same to the Duke of
He noted that the little thinking lines on her brow eased as she fell into sleep. As time passed, as her slumber deepened, her lips parted a bit so her pretty mouth took on a sensual air. He very much wanted to kiss those lips, but he did not. He wanted to place his hands against the softness of her waist, run them over the silhouette of her breasts and hips, so erotic beneath the propriety of her gown. He wanted to clasp her to him and bury his nose in the curve of her neck, breathe her in and then lick the steady pulse that jumped just under her skin.
She was too vulnerable and sweet in sleep for him to think about the carnal things he’d like to do to her then. Instead he admired her delicate blonde lashes resting against pale skin, and thought how very many wishes they might bring him if only he believed. Then those lashes fluttered open. For a moment the big blue sky was reflected in her sleepy, unguarded gaze. He could not have looked away from her at that moment, not for any amount. Then the thinking lines were back. She looked past him, around them, remembering where she was.
“Oh, bother,” she said. “I fell asleep?”
“For a short time.”
“You ought to have woken me up.”
“You looked tired.” She still looked beautifully, drowsily tired, but they couldn’t tarry much longer. Their small escape out of time and place was at an end. “We must return soon, Miss Barrett.”
A frown chased away the last of her sleepiness. “I would rather not.”
He watched her, but no, still no acknowledgement of their situation or the repercussions thereof. So be it. He would rather travel back with her in a state of comfortable companionship than hysteria over impulsive mistakes. There would be enough hysteria later, from all concerned parties. His mother would keel over dead.
“My brother will be so, so angry,” she sighed as she sat up. “Really very angry.”
Court rose to his feet and extended a gloved hand to help her rise. “He will get over it. Everything will be settled soon enough.”
“And I shall have to travel all the way back to London with him tomorrow. A whole week’s time to endure his endless scolds.”
“I’m sure it will be nothing like that.”
Her gaze met his with resigned sadness. “I shall miss you very much when we part, Your Grace. Perhaps I shouldn’t say such a thing, but it is the way I feel in my soul.”
How dramatic she could be. He turned away from her to brush at the sleeves of his coat. “You forget. I have made promises to you. To give you some of my books, at the very least. There is no need to speak of missing one another.”
It was quite ridiculous to speak of missing one another, considering the scene that would play out when they returned. He could not decide yet if their situation was tragic or hilarious.
Somehow, he imagined it would end up being both.
Chapter Seven: Discussion
They rode the few hours back to Danbury House in comfortable silence. Harmony was too caught up in her memories of the day to carry on polite conversation, and the duke seemed reluctant to talk. She enjoyed that about him, his reserved, taciturn nature. She liked his stares, his mysterious expressions, because they gave her more to wonder about.
She liked him .
She looked up at him furtively for what must have been the hundredth time. She liked him very much indeed, and would miss him when they parted. She would miss his thoughtful blue-green eyes and his large, capable hands that looked only slightly more civilized in gloves. His hands were too large to be gentlemanly, it must be said, but he was an eminently civil man. One got the feeling around him that he rarely became flustered or lost control, which was a rare trait in her experience. Her brother was the opposite. He was constantly fretting and whining, and doing things that showed an intolerable lack of restraint. Of course, she probably appeared the same to the Duke of
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