Page 41 of His Duchess' Wicked List

Her heart was fluttering like a bird in her chest. Determinedly, she bent her head towards the chessboard, considering her next move. It took her a long time to decide that she must be bold, moving one of her knights, feeling satisfied that she had done the right thing. So, she was appalled when he calmly removed the knight.

“But…” She was bewildered.

He laughed, showing her what she had done wrong.

Maddie frowned. Chess was harder than she had anticipated. Sighing crossly, she removed the other stocking. Her heart was pounding now. At this rate, she would be stripped of all her undergarments in next to no time.

“You look adorable when you are pouting,” the Duke teased. “It makes me want to take you across my knee and spank you.”

“What?” Maddie gaped at him. “What did you say?”

“Nothing.” He cleared his throat, looking down at the board. “Carry on.”

The next thing she lost was one of her rooks. That took care of her petticoat. She huffed and puffed as she wiggled out of it, laying it over the desk chair, knowing he was watching her the whole time, and quite enjoying it.

As she sat back down, facing the board, she knew it was hopeless. She was bad at this game and wouldn’t get much better over the course of this evening. She had walked into his trap like a fly into a spiderweb.

When he calmly took one of her bishops, whisking the piece off the board with lightning speed, her heart was racing erratically again. She only had her chemise and stays now. And to remove them, she must remove her gown. It was quite impossible to take them off from underneath her gown.

Slowly, she stood up. She turned around so that her back was to him. “I am afraid you must unlace the ribbons at the top,” she said breathlessly. “I cannot reach behind to do it.”

Her heart started to thump as he slowly stood up to do her bidding. It wasn’t entirely true—she could have managed somehow, but she might risk tearing the gown. And, after all, it was one of her best gowns. She reallydidlike it.

She held her breath as she felt him slowly unlace the gown, one ribbon at a time, in an unhurried manner, as if he was peeling an apple. The gown grew loose. She jumped as she felt his hands on her shoulders, easing it off so that it fell down in a quick swoosh, landing in a puddle around her feet.

“Turn around,” he commanded in a hoarse whisper.

Slowly, she turned around, stepping away from her gown. Her instinct was to use her arms to cover her body, even though she was still wearing her stays and chemise. She felt exposed. The only person who saw her in this state of undress was her lady’s maid.

She felt her whole body flush violently from head to toe as he gazed at her. The silence was deafening. She held her breath.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, eventually. “You look like a nymph that has just emerged from the water.”

Maddie’s skin started to tingle slightly. She glanced at her arm. Goose flesh had broken out. She tried to tell herself it was because it was cold in here, standing in her undergarments, even if there was a fire. But she knew it was more than that. Much more.

To her surprise, the Duke took off his jacket and then wrapped it around her shoulders.

“I saw you shiver,” he said in a soft, almost tender voice. “I don’t want you to catch a cold while we play.”

Before she could respond to his unexpectedly caring gensure, he sat down again, glancing up at her, almost impatiently.

“Well, sit down. We haven’t finished the game yet.” His eyes lingered on her. “You are still in danger of losing some more items of clothing. You reallydoneed to concentrate.”

CHAPTER 17

“Well, it appears that you are at a disadvantage, My Lady,” the Duke drawled, whisking her queen off the board before sitting back in his chair, gazing at her with a satisfied expression on his face. “The last of your garments. If you please.”

Maddie trembled beneath the jacket he had placed around her shoulders. Her stays were long gone, taken along with another one of her bishops. And now, her one and only queen was gone as well.

Shereallyshould have thought this through more carefully when she agreed to this dangerous game.

Her heart was pounding so hard that it was all that she could hear in the quiet room. If she removed her chemise—the very last garment that covered her skin, apart from his jacket—then she would be entirely naked before him.

Run.Get up and run out that door as quickly as your feet can carry you!

She took a deep breath, trying to stay levelheaded. She couldn’t just obey the instinct to flee and scurry through the dark hallways clutching her clothing, looking like this. She would have to painstakingly dress before she did anything.

Anyone might see her in this state of undress, and then she would be in the midst of a scandal… and she was here expressly to get her list back, so shewouldn’tbe embroiled in scandal.

---