Forbidden to Love the Duke by Jillian Hunter Page A

appear so from our present position.”
    He laughed to subdue an uncontrollable urge to prove her right. His throat tightened as he fought his baser instincts. He was used to acting on his urges. But then he hadn’t found a woman this appealing in a long time. “I’m not surprised that another man desires you.” What surprised him was his resentment of the fact.
    â€œThat isn’t at all what he said. He wants to make amends.”
    Amends, his sweet arse. James recognized an overt move on a woman when he saw it. She ought to have recognized it for the cheap trick it was, too. Playing on her sentiment. Returning her mother’s necklace. Surely she wasn’t so easily swayed by the rogue’s gesture. James could smother her in pearls if that was her pleasure. The thought of her in nothing but pearls brought his blood to a boil.
    â€œHow did he come into possession of that necklace?” he asked, deciding that there was a gap in her explanation.
    Ivy balked, eyeing the door. James decided that if she moved another inch, he would be justified in taking her into his arms until she regained her composure. Or he did his. “I pawned it,” she whispered.
    â€œBefore or after you signed our contract?”
    She moistened her lower lip with her tongue. He realized, in the midst of lusting for her, that she had come to him out of sheer desperation and that he could have been more bloody helpful. “Why didn’t you ask me for the money? I would have been happy to give you an advance of your wages to cover whatever you needed.”
    â€œI was afraid of what you would demand in return.”
    â€œThat isn’t fair. Have I asked you for anything yet that you did not expect?”
    â€œYes. You’re asking me for something right now.”
    She had him there. “Anything you give me of yourself has to be given willingly.” And would be willingly and most gratefully accepted.
    She raised her face. “Your Grace, you say that now, but your actions speak otherwise. Pardon me for saying this, but you are rather acting like a wolf.”
    He frowned. “Would you like for me to give you an advance on your wages?”
    â€œI shall have to be a better governess to Mary and Walker in order to deserve that, which reminds me. It’s time for history.”
    â€œHistory. My favorite subject.”
    She rose and skirted the chair, curtsying twice while she backed away. “Mine too, Your Grace.”
    â€œRecent years, I meant,” he said as she slipped into the hall, the jewelry box clutched in her hand.
    He felt thwarted, aroused, infatuated. Both determined he would find out about her admirer and puzzled that she mattered enough for him to bother. She had taken care of herself for five years. She needed an income, not his personal interference. And he needed—well, so much more from her than
Aesop’s Fables
.
    *   *   *
    Ivy didn’t know how she managed to hide her vexation from the children until her day off. She avoided their uncle, although she could have sworn he kept her under his surveillance, and it was all the fault of that presumptuous poet who had made her appear to be a deceitful woman. One with a secret admirer, no less.
    She left the house as planned before breakfast and headed toward the gates where Foxx was to pick her up for the drive to Fenwick. She hurried through the mist, feeling guilty for no actual reason. It
was
possible that Sir Oliver had only meant to send the necklace as an act of penance. The duke’s insistence that he witness her opening the box had transformed a simple gift into an artful deed with covert motives.
    Ivy had let the duke influence her.
    She was afraid that, given enough time, he could influence her in any number of ways. But it had felt rather nice to have the masterful man make a fuss over her and show concern for her well-being, even if she knew what he had in mind. And she