absently wrapped it around his thumb. “What, exactly, do you feel for
me?”
“That is a very bold question, Leopold, and I do not wish to answer it because I honestly
do not know what I feel. My head is telling me one thing, but my emotions are pulled
in two different directions.”
He regarded her with those penetrating blue eyes that never failed to beguile her.
“So there is hope, then.”
She scoffed. “Hope for what? That I will have one last fling with you before I leave
for Austria? Or do you imagine I will break off my engagement and pledge my heart
to you instead?”
“Would you, if I asked you to?”
She stared at him in shock. “Good God, what a cowardly question.”
“Me? Cowardly. How so?”
“It is completely hypothetical and requires me to divulge the secrets of my heart,
while you have committed nothing at all beyond a simple ‘what if.’”
Feeling angry all of a sudden, she rose to her feet and brushed the grass from her
skirt. “I am not your plaything. Do not presume I am available to you the moment you
have a change of heart and beckon me with your famous trigger finger.”
He stood up as well. “I presume no such thing, Rose, and I apologize if I have offended
you. That was not my intention.”
She frowned. “Then what was your intention?”
His chest rose and fell quickly as if he had just sprinted a great distance. “To convey
that I have not known a single day in recent years that was not interrupted by thoughts
of you. I cannot purge you from my heart, so if it is a commitment from me that you
desire, it is yours for the taking.”
She hadn’t known what to expect when she rode out to meet Leopold this morning, but
she had certainly not expected this .
“Do you have any idea what you are saying?” she demanded to know. “I am pledged to
another man. Archduke Joseph of Austria! It is a political marriage to unite our two
countries, and it was arranged by my father before he died. You cannot make me an
offer. You have no right.”
He took hold of her arm. “But do you love him, Rose?”
All her haughty mettle sailed out of her body in a wild rush of recklessness. She
was confused suddenly by the grief she felt over her father’s death and the undecided
condition of her heart. Leopold was standing before her, pledging his love. Joseph
was a thousand miles away.
Heaven help her. She had been so sure of her decision to marry Joseph, for not only
was he a kind and courteous gentleman, it was also a great boon for her country. It
had pleased her father on his deathbed and had patched up all the holes in her wounded
pride after Leopold’s terrible rejection.
But here she stood on this gorgeous summer morning with the sun reflecting in the
luminous blue of his eyes while he held tight to her arm, not allowing her to escape
him.
Not that she wanted to. Her traitorous body was on fire with need, and she wanted
him with a ravenous hunger that knew no bounds.
Joseph was polite and thoughtful. He did not tempt her this way. He did not set her
passions on fire.
“I don’t know what I feel,” she said at last. “I just lost my father. Nothing is easy
or clear. Everything feels upside down.”
Leopold’s grip on her arm loosened, and he lowered his hand to his side. “Forgive
me, Rose.”
They faced each other in the hazy summer heat. She felt almost dizzy with confusion.
“Again you ask me to forgive you,” she said. “I should say no. I should tell you that
I am offended beyond repair and I never wish to see you again.”
“But you won’t tell me that,” he insisted, “because it is not true. And you don’t
love the archduke.”
“How do you know what I feel for Joseph? You know nothing about me. All you know is
how to fight for what you want, and how to win it at any cost. I don’t think you even
know how to lose. It is beyond your comprehension.”
Turning quickly, she gathered her
me?”
“That is a very bold question, Leopold, and I do not wish to answer it because I honestly
do not know what I feel. My head is telling me one thing, but my emotions are pulled
in two different directions.”
He regarded her with those penetrating blue eyes that never failed to beguile her.
“So there is hope, then.”
She scoffed. “Hope for what? That I will have one last fling with you before I leave
for Austria? Or do you imagine I will break off my engagement and pledge my heart
to you instead?”
“Would you, if I asked you to?”
She stared at him in shock. “Good God, what a cowardly question.”
“Me? Cowardly. How so?”
“It is completely hypothetical and requires me to divulge the secrets of my heart,
while you have committed nothing at all beyond a simple ‘what if.’”
Feeling angry all of a sudden, she rose to her feet and brushed the grass from her
skirt. “I am not your plaything. Do not presume I am available to you the moment you
have a change of heart and beckon me with your famous trigger finger.”
He stood up as well. “I presume no such thing, Rose, and I apologize if I have offended
you. That was not my intention.”
She frowned. “Then what was your intention?”
His chest rose and fell quickly as if he had just sprinted a great distance. “To convey
that I have not known a single day in recent years that was not interrupted by thoughts
of you. I cannot purge you from my heart, so if it is a commitment from me that you
desire, it is yours for the taking.”
She hadn’t known what to expect when she rode out to meet Leopold this morning, but
she had certainly not expected this .
“Do you have any idea what you are saying?” she demanded to know. “I am pledged to
another man. Archduke Joseph of Austria! It is a political marriage to unite our two
countries, and it was arranged by my father before he died. You cannot make me an
offer. You have no right.”
He took hold of her arm. “But do you love him, Rose?”
All her haughty mettle sailed out of her body in a wild rush of recklessness. She
was confused suddenly by the grief she felt over her father’s death and the undecided
condition of her heart. Leopold was standing before her, pledging his love. Joseph
was a thousand miles away.
Heaven help her. She had been so sure of her decision to marry Joseph, for not only
was he a kind and courteous gentleman, it was also a great boon for her country. It
had pleased her father on his deathbed and had patched up all the holes in her wounded
pride after Leopold’s terrible rejection.
But here she stood on this gorgeous summer morning with the sun reflecting in the
luminous blue of his eyes while he held tight to her arm, not allowing her to escape
him.
Not that she wanted to. Her traitorous body was on fire with need, and she wanted
him with a ravenous hunger that knew no bounds.
Joseph was polite and thoughtful. He did not tempt her this way. He did not set her
passions on fire.
“I don’t know what I feel,” she said at last. “I just lost my father. Nothing is easy
or clear. Everything feels upside down.”
Leopold’s grip on her arm loosened, and he lowered his hand to his side. “Forgive
me, Rose.”
They faced each other in the hazy summer heat. She felt almost dizzy with confusion.
“Again you ask me to forgive you,” she said. “I should say no. I should tell you that
I am offended beyond repair and I never wish to see you again.”
“But you won’t tell me that,” he insisted, “because it is not true. And you don’t
love the archduke.”
“How do you know what I feel for Joseph? You know nothing about me. All you know is
how to fight for what you want, and how to win it at any cost. I don’t think you even
know how to lose. It is beyond your comprehension.”
Turning quickly, she gathered her
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