Page 56 of It's All About the Duke
When she met his gaze, he said, “I like it the way it is now.”
“And how is that, Your Grace? Untidy? No,” she answered herself. “I believe your word wasunruly.”
The duke chuckled huskily, and all the pleasurable feelings swirling inside her multiplied.
“Yes. It reminds me you are innocent, wholesome. Desirable.”
“I suppose Justine is quite desirable, too,” she responded, unable to stop herself from saying it, though she knew she shouldn’t. Why did it bother her so and why was she letting him know?
His eyes narrowed. “Most ladies are, Marlena.”
“So after you kissed me quite thoroughly you bring Justine confections and me smelling salts.”
The amusement he was so obviously experiencing didn’t leave his features. And she was too wrought to do anything about it other than continue her annoyance at him.
“Is that a jealous remark, Marlena?”
“What? Jealous of you favoring Justine? Of course not. I was simply stating a fact.”
“You are piqued at me for bringing her sweets and not you.” His thumb gently rubbed the underside of her wrist.
Marlena was. It was ridiculous. It was horrifying that he knew it. And the duke was enjoying her distress about it. What was wrong with her? Why should it bother her a fig if he brought Justine confections, flowers, or sachets?
It should mean nothing to her.
Yet it did.
He was her guardian, not a beau. Yes, they had kissed. And kissed. Touched, too, but there was a certain amount of curiosity in it. A small amount perhaps but it was there.
“I’m still upset that you brought so many smelling salts,” she said, giving him half of the truth. “Wrapped so lovely. In such beautiful bottles. I will never have to buy more during my lifetime.”
His attractive grin was letting her know she wasn’t fooling him for a moment.
“And I thought a box of confections was the least I could do for Mrs. Abernathy because I didn’t remember our first meeting or the dance she and I had.”
Marlena wanted to tell him that was probably becauseneither of them had ever happened. Justine not only lived to remember the year of her first Season, but embellished it to suit herself.
He let go of her wrist. “I should have brought some for your young friend Miss Everard, too, for always making her faint. How is she? Did she recover with no aftereffects from the strong smell of the salts or witnessing our kiss?”
“She’s perfectly fine,” she answered truthfully. “We didn’t go into any details about that. It was easier for us to just avoid an in-depth reflection about what she saw.”
“I find that unusual, Marlena, considering the effect it had on her. How was that accomplished? I would think our kiss would be the first thing she wanted you to explain when she was feeling better.”
“She’s very shy. I know she didn’t want to pry too much. I, in turn, didn’t want to have to confess anything other than the truth, which was that I had first kissed you. Never having had a kiss herself, she understood my inquisitiveness.”
“Your capability of amazing me amazes me. Inquisitiveness, was it?”
“Yes. I’m sure there’ll come a time when she and I will talk about it in more depth. When she’s a little older. Maybe after she’s had her first kiss. My answer for what she’d seen between us seemed to satisfy her for the time being. Now I hope it satisfies you and we don’t have to mention it again, either.”
“No, Marlena. We will talk about kissing again.”
She was afraid of that.
No, she couldn’t fool herself. She wasn’t afraid they’d talk about it again. She was hoping they would.
Feminine voices drifted in from the corridor.
“But not today,” he added. “However, there is something you can do for me.”
