Page 23 of The Odyssean Duke

“You do not seem villainous to me,” Evelina said, continuing along the path.

He went alongside her, keeping a respectable distance between them. “You seem to hold a higher opinion of me than many whom I have met,” he said.

“Do I?” she asked. “I cannot imagine that is true.”

“Why not?”

Evelina frowned, trying to recall if anyone had spoken much at all about the Duke of Rothbury. She could remember nothing, but that was to be expected of a man who had been away for ten years. Soon, the ton would be alive with speculation about his return and reminiscences of far-flung memories.

“You keep company with Lord Murrayton,” Evelina said. “He and his wife are both respectable. I do not imagine he would associate with you otherwise.”

“We were in the navy together.”

“So?” she asked. “Did you—well—I suppose you might have displayed some repugnant behavior when you were in the navy. I have been to the tavern enough to know about the sort of behavior that sailors display in ports. But that matters naught to me.”

“Even if we were to be married?”

Evelina shot him a sharp look. Did His Grace realize what manner of man her husband had been?

No, of course not. The Duke of Rothbury had likely never met her husband, and if by chance he had, she doubted that His Grace would remember him well at all. It was simply the thought of having a child with this man that had made Evelina think too much on a man who was best left forgotten.

“A man’s sins are always forgiven more readily than a woman’s are,” Evelina said. “If you indulged in bawdy houses or taverns, I care not. As you said, our marriage would involve remaining removed from one another’s affairs.”

“Very well.”

The street was in sight, black carriages parked neatly alongside it. Evelina’s heartbeat quickened just a little. She was nearing the end of this conversation, and she still had not decided if she should accept this man’s proposal. Evelina bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. There was time yet to decide, but it did not bode well for her that she had been in this man’s company for sometime and still could not determine if marriage to him would be a blessing or a curse.

It would not be what she intended at all.

“Marriage to a duke was not my plan,” she said. “It was not even my second plan.”

“Am I yourthirdplan?” he asked. “I applaud your ingenuity.”

“Thank you.”

“But I believe you are displaying a tendency to move through your plans rather quickly,” His Grace continued. “I would suggest giving this third plan of yours considerable thought.”

They had reached the end of the path. Evelina halted just a few feet from the gates, aware that there were footmen nearby. However, none of them seemed to be paying her or His Grace any mind.

“You say that because it benefits you,” Evelina said.

“Of course. Being an admiral, I have learned that there must always beplans, plural. You never know when one might fail,” he said. “While you are on your third plan, however, I remain confident in myfirstplan.”

“Me,” Evelina said.

“Indeed.”

He bowed deeply and reached for her hand. Evelina noticed that he moved slowly, as if his intention was to allow her the time to escape him if she wanted. His fingertips brushed the fine silk of her glove as he lifted her hand up. The Duke of Rothbury placed a kiss along her knuckles, and Evelina’s breath hitched involuntarily. When His Grace lifted his head, his dark eyes searched her face. “Ah, your blush is even more pleasant in the daylight.”

“You are—you are?—”

“The colors rival even that of the roses,” he continued, seemingly undeterred.

And Evelina’s face was hot. “You are tormenting me,” she rasped.

“Not yet.”

He leaned forward and tilted his head just a little. The duke was near enough that his breath was warm against her lips, and suddenly, there was no space between his mouth and hers. Their lips were touching.