Page 26 of Sincerely, the Duke
“That does it,” Rick remarked and swore under his breath. He wasn’t interested in any woman but Miss Fine. “I’m going over to teach the young tosspot the respectable way to win a match. Since he doesn’t know how to pick up his winnings and move on, I’ll teach him. I’ve had all the braggart I can take.”
“Let it go.” Wyatt put his hand to Rick’s chest to stophim from leaving. “He’s not worth the bother,” Wyatt assured him. “I believe he’s from Lord Derrybrooke’s family. The third or fourth son. They are all soft in the head when it comes to knowing how to behave like a gentleman. He’s not important.”
Hurst handed the reins to Rick and climbed onto his own horse. “Wyatt’s right. Leave him be and let him show off in front of his friends if he wants to. It seems you have more important things to worry about than he does.” Hurst looked at Wyatt. “We need to get him back to London. I’m not convinced he doesn’t have a fever coming on again.”
CHAPTER 10
THE ART OF BEING A FINE GENTLEMAN
SIR DUDLEY SAMSON PEMBERTON FINE
A fine gentleman should be discreet about all things, at all times when a lady is present.
Edwina touched her lips for what had to be the thousandth time in the past few days. Looking out the drawing room window of the modest, leased house in St. James, she could see her reflection in the windowpane. Behind her, Aunt Pauline was busy looking through boxes of fabrics and occasionally humming to herself.
No matter what Edwina was doing, she couldn’t get the feeling, the taste, or the heat of the duke’s kiss off her mind. The freshness of his mouth and scent of newly shaved skin added to the clutter of recollections. She didn’t remember exactly what she’d imagined her first kiss would be like, but it hadn’t been what happened between her and the duke a few days ago.
She’d read enough romantic poetry to know there would be urgent passion from the man she married. Apparently, it was man’s nature to be filled with such emotions. Yet, she hadn’t known the kiss would be so sudden, primal, and shocking in how it made her feel.
One of the confusing aspects was she couldn’t make sense of the little swirls of pleasure that twisted inside herand how it wasn’t as horrific as it should have been given the brashness and lack of tenderness in the kiss. But even all that paled when she thought of how she was so caught up by how wonderful the duke had made her feel when he brought her the unexpected gift of gossip sheets, she was going to allow him to kiss her again. On the front steps of the house! Why? She had no idea. The thought of him kissing her again should send shivers of revulsion through her but instead, it sent shocks of inappropriate desire spiking inside her.
So, every time her contemplations drifted in that direction, she tried to think of other things. Like her sisters. She wondered how they were doing without her. They obviously were not missing her as much as she missed them. Edwina hadn’t received one letter from them. She had written several times since she arrived, including the message the duke insisted she send. And they still hadn’t found their way to London yet.
And, of course, thinking of that made her think of the duke and ponder his admirable qualities once more. That wasn’t as easy to do as one might think.
After she made it past his obviously handsome face and magnificently fit body, there didn’t seem to be much recommendation. He wasn’t even-tempered, in no way malleable or patient. There were times during their discussions when he was only modestly polite. Then again, he had managed to get water for her to drink when she desperately needed it and promised to see her sisters married or betrothed to proper gentlemen.
Some of the scandal sheets she’d read heaped praise on him for his looks, his title, and his marksmanship abilities while others considered him aloof, blunt, and much too querulous to adequately give attention to any one lady. Edwina agreed with all of them. After readingeverything that was written about him, more than once, she wasn’t surprised that when he got ready to marry, he’d picked her name off a list.
Sooner or later, however, when thinking about him, she always came back to her fear of the wedding night. And when she did, she was flooded with a mixture of anxiety and interest, wondering what it would be like. Her father was a brilliant man. He’d taught her history, literature, religion, philosophy, art, science, and so much more. But he never once mentioned the most important night of a young lady’s life. Her wedding night. Would the duke embrace and kiss her with such hunger every night as he had that first time? And if he did, would she feel—
“You’re looking pensive, Edwina,” her aunt said from behind her.
“I am,” she answered honestly.
“You should stop pining for the duke and come look at the fabrics that were just delivered to you.”
Pining?For the duke!
“What a dreadful thought,” Edwina mumbled. She was merely thinking about him. Again. And not because she wanted to. Because he was an impossible man to keep off her mind. That wasn’t pining. Was it?
Edwina turned to her aunt and suddenly smiled. Mrs. Pauline Castleton was bending over a box and digging through its contents with relish, her face almost buried in it. The room was a mess. Swatches of cloth, folds of lace, and sheets of clothing designs were scattered over both settees, a tea table that stood between them, a chair, and most of the floor. It didn’t appear her aunt was trying to maintain any kind of order to the boxes that had been so meticulously packed when they’d been delivered earlier that day.
Picking up lengths of fabric along the way, Edwina stuffed her arms full and walked to where Pauline stood and added her bounty to the collection on the settee.
“The duke’s such an insightful man as to your needs,” Auntie said in a voice that was as soft as the brush of angel’s wings. “Such a gentleman,” she added dreamily.
His kiss came vividly to her mind again. His lips pressing hard on hers, his hand rubbing up the back of her neck and into her hair with such zeal. Were they talking about the same person?
“When we were in his home, he realized I was about to faint and needed to sit down, have refreshment, and rest. Imagine a duke being that attentive of a stranger’s care.”
Edwina had forgotten about that when she was listing his finer attributes. That was indeed perceptive of him. And Edwina appreciated it. Since her aunt’s lung fever illness last winter, she would, at times, have trouble catching her breath and would suddenly become weak and shaky.
“You were right, my dear, to insist we confront the duke face-to-face. Everything has turned out splendidly. You’ll soon be married and can properly chaperone your sisters. I can go back to my quiet cottage in Dover.”
Edwina’s heart pinched. Her mother’s sister had come to live with them when her father became ill. She had been a great help to the three sisters during their mourning. Edwina didn’t want to think about losing her. She walked over and placed her hand on top of her aunt’s hands. “I wouldn’t want you to leave us, Auntie. Besides, I will need you to continue to help me. What would I do if Eileen wanted to go to the park to look for butterflies and Eleonora wanted to go to a bookshop?”
“You would manage to go to both places.”
