Page 51 of A Virgin for the Duke of Thorns

“Oh.” She smiled up at him. “I would have asked you—nicely, of course—to clamber out through the window and find someone to help me out.”

His response was a sharp bark of laughter. “You would have me risking my life to help you out of the door.”

“Naturally, since you are the gentleman,” she said with a brilliant smile, feeling more at ease now that he was smiling and talking to her like a normal person.

“And if I refused?”

She pursed her lips and paused a little. “Well, I can assure you that I am most capable of clambering out of my own windows, and since I spotted a rather large tree with some sturdy branches by your window, it would have been a simple feat.”

“And you would call for someone to help me?” he teased.

She looked at him as if that was the most insane question in the world. “Why, no, of course! If you had seen fit to let a lady climb out of a window on your behalf, then I do not see why I should be obliged to help you.”

“Why, you naughty little minx!” he exclaimed, reaching out for her.

She danced out of his reach with a slight laugh. “I thought I was ‘little lamb’? Am I now a minx?”

He shook his head at her silly antics and fell into step with her once more. “Can you really climb out of a window?” he asked her in an incredulous tone.

“Of course,” she replied with full confidence. She shot him a cheeky smile. “How did you think I got into Blackthorn Estate, anyway?”

His laughter followed them all the way back to the parlor, where the Dowager Countess had instructed them to meet once they had found their respective “treasures.”

They had been gone for a considerable amount of time, and Alice began to worry that perhaps somebody had an inkling of what had transpired in the study. If anyone ever saw it, she would be ruined, and Colin would be forced to marry her.

Strangely enough, she did not hate the idea of marrying him, but deep within her, she knew that he would not take kindly to having such a union forced upon him.

She felt a steadying hand on her back, and she looked up at him in surprise. He simply smiled slightly at her as he steered her towards where the Dowager Countess was seated.

“Took you both long enough,” Lady Wellington remarked, shooting them a knowing look.

Alice simply ducked her head to avoid the older lady’s sharp eyes, but Colin looked completely unperturbed.

“It was your fault for making it so difficult to find, Grandmother,” he replied, smoothly passing the blame to his grandmother.

Alice looked around them and found that Phoebe and Ethan had already returned as well as Scarlett and the Duke of Wolverton. “Are we the last ones, then?”

“Oh, not quite.” Phoebe smiled at her. “Lady Evelyn and the Duke of Ashton have yet to return.”

“In that case, we had better send out a search party,” Colin muttered wryly.

Phoebe looked confused and turned towards Ethan. “Why would we need a search party?”

“Because,” Ethan chuckled, “they might have already killed each other. Evelyn and Daniel have been at odds with each other for as long as he and Colin have been friends,” he explained to her.

Both Phoebe and Alice laughed kind-heartedly at that.

“It is getting extremely late,” Lady Wellington remarked, worry creasing her brow. “Even if they have not found the treasure yet, they should already be back by now.”

Colin raised an eyebrow at his grandmother. “Evie is still probably burying the body. I would not want to disturb her when she is in a murderous mood.”

“Colin,” Alice chastised him softly, “that is not a nice thing to say about your sister.”

Colin merely smiled at her, and she looked up at him, smiling back. He had a really nice smile, she realized. It simply lit up his features, making him look rather boyish and incredibly sensual at the same time.

A study in contrasts. He truly is a study in contrasts.

Then, just as suddenly, his smile dropped, and Alice was left a little dazed. It was almost like the sun coming out at the cusp of spring, only to be suddenly plunged back into winter. It was most disconcerting.

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