Page 18 of His Duchess' Wicked List

He just kissed me.He kissed me against the old elm tree in the gardens, while my best friend was searching for a kitten.

It was the very first time she had ever been kissed like that by a gentleman. And, oh, what a kiss it was! Never in her wildest imagination had she ever dreamt it could be so divine. She had felt like her bones were melting—as if she were dissolving into a puddle on the ground.

She knew that she shouldn’t have agreed to meet him tonight. She knew very well that she was playing with fire. She had kissed a rake—exactly as she had written on her list—and that should have been the end of it. But it wasn’t, and it couldn’t be. Because she wanted to be kissed again by him, quite desperately.

She simply didn’t know how she was going to endure the rest of the day until that moment arrived.

“Did you have a pleasant walk?” Lady Ollerton asked, turning her attention to Maddie.

“Very pleasant,” Maddie murmured, trying to ignore her flaming cheeks. “It is a beautiful day.”

The Dowager Duchess coughed into her hand. “Now that everyone is here again, I should inform you that we are hosting a house party next week at Stansgate,” she said, with a small smile. “And I am very pleased to invite you and your charming daughters for the duration, Lady Ollerton.”

Maddie jumped a little. She had never been to Stansgate, the Huxleys’ ancestral home in Kent. Selina often talked about how beautiful their country manor was and how much she missed it when she was in London.

Maddie tried not to look at the Duke. But once again, she couldn’t seem to help it. Her cheeks flamed further when she realized he was staring at her. His eyes were so grey that they were almost silver, she marveled, feeling her heart flutter in her chest.

“Oh, thank you, Mama!” Selina cried, clapping her hands together in delight. “I am so very glad that Maddie and her family will be coming!”

“You are going to be there, are you not, Your Grace?” Lady Ollerton asked, gazing at the Duke pointedly.

The Duke nodded. “I am, Lady Ollerton. It will be my first time back at Stansgate in a very long time, indeed.”

Augusta finally finished playing the pianoforte, getting up and rejoining the group. She looked a little dazed, as if she had returned from another world and wasn’t fully in this one.

“Did you hear, my dear,” the Dowager Duchess asked, smiling at her, “about the invitation to our house party in Kent?”

Augusta shook her head. “I am afraid not.”

“You areespeciallyinvited, my dear,” the Dowager Duchess added, her smile broadening. “I simply will not take no for an answer, Lady Augusta.”

Selina raised her eyebrows so high that they almost reached her hairline. She turned and looked at her brother, rolling her eyes discreetly. The Duke scowled a bit.

Maddie’s heart lurched. It was patently obvious that the older ladies were conspiring to match the Duke and her sister. It was probably all that the ladies had talked about while they had been in the gardens. And now, she recalled that her mama had received a note last night, very late, after she had returned from Grosvenor Square. It had probably been from the Dowager Duchess, telling her that they were planning to call today, and outlining exactly what the call was hoping to achieve.

Maddie felt faint.

Two birds with one stone.Both ladies hope to marry off their troublesome offspring, after all. And what better solution than to marry them off to each other?

It was still a mystery to her why the Dowager Duchess was suddenly so taken with Augusta, targeting her so obviously. The lady had always been disapproving of Maddie’s bluestocking sister, after all. Perhaps she had grown desperate, thinking she could tame Augusta.

It would be a lost cause. Augusta would never lead a conventional life.

It bothered Maddie, and she still didn’t know exactly why. She shouldn’t care in the least if her mother and the Dowager Duchess succeeded in their matchmaking endeavors, except as to how it would affect Augusta, who was violently opposed to matrimony. She wanted her sister to be happy, in any way that suited her, and if that was as a spinster, then so be it. Of course, she still had a secret wish that Augusta would find her love match, but the chances of that were slim, and growing slimmer by the day.

Maddie took a deep breath. Perhaps that was the root cause of her disquiet at the thought of the match. She just didn’t want her beloved sister forced into a loveless marriage with anyone. And especially not an acknowledged rake, who would probably never make her happy.

“I would be honored to attend your house party, Your Grace,” Augusta replied in a monotone voice, without a flicker of emotion on her face. “Thank you for the invitation.”

The Dowager Duchess nodded in satisfaction, rising to her feet. “And on that happy note, I believe we should depart!” She turned to Lady Ollerton. “I shall send details of the party so that you know what to bring, Lady Ollerton.”

“Very good, Your Grace.” The Marchioness nodded, looking very satisfied as well.

“Come along, then,” the Dowager Duchess barked to her children.

Maddie and her mother and sister curtseyed as their guests walked out of the room. Maddie tried to keep her eyes firmly on the ground. But as the Duke swept past, she couldn’t resist peering up at him. He was watching her intently, and then, to her shock, he whispered something that only she could hear.

“I will be waiting for you tonight,” he said, his grey eyes filled with desire.

---