Page 73 of Last Night with the Duke
Tonight.
Chapter 23
Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish.
MISSMAMIEFORTESCUE’SDO’SANDDON’TSFORCHAPERONES, GOVERNESSES, TUTORS,ANDNURSES
Esmeralda’s hurried footfalls were silent as she came down the stairs. The hour was growing late. She wanted to be below stairs and in the book room waiting when Griffin arrived. After she and the twins had returned from the garden party, she’d sent a note to Griffin asking that he come over early to pick them up for the evening so she could discuss a matter with him.
Josephine wasn’t happy to be hurried into her nightclothes and put to bed with a book, but Esmeralda wanted to get her sister settled before she dressed for the evening. And then as Esmeralda started out the door, Josephine surprised her by asking for a book of poetry. Her sister hadn’t wanted to read or write poems since her father died. Seeing this as a good sign, a sign of healing, Esmeralda couldn’t deny her the request. But it put Esmeralda even further behind because she had to make a dash to the book room to pick out an appropriate poetry book for a twelve-year-old girl. Thankfully, the duke’s library was in perfect order and all the books of poems were lined up together.
At last, when Esmeralda made it to her room to dress, she saw that Madame Donceaux had delivered yet another new gown. It was breathtaking. Esmeralda couldn’t resist the temptation to wear the alabaster-colored shift with a sheer biscuit-colored gown flowing over it. It was simple but beautifully elegant. The scooped neckline plunged low as was the fashion and, having no jewelry, Esmeralda tied an inch-wide band of gold velvet ribbon around the base of her neck to draw attention away from the expanse of her chest.
For once, she was happy that it took the twins a ridiculously long amount of time to dress, have their hair swept up and entwined with ribbons, pearls or combs, and don their jewelry in the evenings. After all that, they would make a stop by Lady Evelyn’s room so that she could give a final inspection and approval.
When Esmeralda finally entered the book room she stopped suddenly. Her heart felt as if it swelled in her chest. Griffin stood in front of the window, looking magnificent in his black evening wear. All her senses were instantly on alert to everything about him. She wanted to run and throw herself into his arms and shower him with kisses.
Instead, she said, “You’re already here.”
His gaze swept her up and down. Oh, she was so smitten with him. For a moment she would have sworn to anyone that he was looking at her as if she was the most beautiful woman on earth.
“When I get word you need to see me, Esmeralda, I will come to you.”
I will come to you.The words were a soothing balm to her soul, beautiful music to her ears. She gloried in them and savored how they made her feel that she was special to him whether or not he intended them that way.
She walked farther into the room. “An idea came to me today, and I thought it might be worth discussing.”
He met her in the center of the room and stopped close to her. Close enough she caught the clean, enticing scent of shaving soap. Close enough she felt warmth from his body. Close enough that if she were bold enough and had the courage, she could raise up on her toes and press her lips to his without having to take a step.
“What were you thinking about?” he asked so softly it almost sounded like an endearment.
She willed her heart to stop beating so fast and forced herself to stop thinking about kisses. This was the first time they’d been alone since their passionate embrace. She was finding out quickly that it was much easier to control her desire for the duke when others were around.
“I don’t know anything about Sir Welby, of course, but do you think it’s possible he made up the entire story about some gentlemen’s reckless talk because he wanted to cause you undue worry about your sisters?”
His eyes searched hers. “I recently had reason to consider that. I’ve talked with him twice and I have no evidence to back up that line of thinking.”
“Is it possible he’s in some way related to any of the young ladies who were wronged in your prank?”
Griffin grimaced. “Wronged?”
“It may seem harsh for me to put it that way, but you must accept they were. You made them all think they had a secret admirer when they didn’t. That was wrong.”
He studied her intently. “I thought I’d already admitted that.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “Did you?”
“Maybe not in those exact words but yes, I think I did admit it.”
How could she have forgotten? He was a peer. That was the best she was going to get out of him.
“What happened today that brought you to this conclusion about Sir Welby?”
“I am only trying to look at this objectively,” she said. “I have now met most, if not all, of the young bachelors attending the Season. I’m not sensing that any of them want to do harm to the twins. I wondered if you had considered that Sir Welby or whomever it was he heard make these unscrupulous claims simply wanted to seeyoudisturbed and fretting over the twins’ Season and never had any intentions of harming them at all.”
A wry grin lifted one corner of his masculine mouth. He reached up and cupped her cheek. An intake of breath caught in her lungs. His hand was warm, gentle, and it too had the scent of shaving soap. Why did he have to touch her? Surely he knew she had longed for his touch and had no willpower to resist him.
“I don’t fret, Esmeralda.”
