Page 5 of The Wrong Duke

“Wait!” She reached out and took him by the arm. “Please don’t... I didn’t mean to... It’s not what you think.”

“Is that right?” he scoffed. “What is it then?”

She bowed her head as if in shame. “The truth is, I have heard about you, My Lord. My friend, she was telling me earlier, and well, I wanted to meet you. That’s all this was.” She kicked lamely at the ground. “I saw you out here, and thought the timing to be perfect, but then we spoke, and when I saw you up close...” Her dark blue eyes flicked up to him and looked away. “I confess, I was more taken with you than I expected.”

“Really?”

She nodded eagerly, reaching out and resting a hand on his arm again. Evan eyed the hand, feeling his heart beating in his chest, knowing he should remove it but unable to take the action. “Really. I don’t want a scandal. And I thank the heavens that nobody saw us. I know the riot it would cause if a marquess such as yourself was thought to be taking advantage of a young lady like me.”

“A marquess...” Evan trailed off as the realization struck him.

The mask he was wearing wasn’t his own. Earlier, catching his reflection in the mirror, he’d noticed a scratch down the side which had irked him terribly. The imperfection, the way it marred his ensemble was... was not important. What was important was that the mask he wore now belonged to his best friend, David, the Marquess of Malnor, and she had come out here assuming it was him who she was speaking to. No, not speaking. Seducing.

Anger boiled inside of Evan such that he had a hard time controlling it. Not because he was hurt. Not because he was feeling betrayed. But because suddenly, he was seeing past the supposed innocent words that Miss Baker was using to spin her web around him. A mistake or no, he no longer believed for a second that their kiss was an accident. What this was, and knowing who her father was and the type of man he was purported as being, was a moment of opportunity. An attempt to seduce his friend because everyone in thetonknew how romantically inclined David was, and something as simple as a stolen kiss was a sure-fire way to trap him in a courtship that he’d mistake as true love.

A year ago, when David had come to him a broken man, Evan had made a promise to protect him from such flights of fancy. And now that he knew what this was, that’s exactly what he meant to do.

“Let’s start again.” Miss Baker was still talking. “Perhaps a stroll around the garden? Even a dance if you were so inclined?” She smiled and held her arm out for him to take.

“No, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Evan said coldly.

“Wh — what?”

He stepped into her, expecting her to retreat, but she held her ground so that their bodies were pressed together. He could feel her heart fluttering inside her chest, her could feel her breathing drifting along his neck. His mind flashed back to that kiss... her lips on his... and it was all Evan could do to ignore it.

“The truth is, Miss Baker, that I don’t believe a word that you’re saying.”

“You don’t?” She couldn’t have sounded more surprised. “But it’s the truth! I swear it. I never meant to —”

“What you meant or not is irrelevant, and I suggest in the future, if you mean to introduce yourself to someone, that you resist the urge to throw yourself at them. It is lucky that nobody saw us, it truly is. And it is for that reason alone that I am willing to forget this ever happened.”

“But what if I don’t want to forget it?” She met his eyes, determination flooding them.

“Then I feel sorry for you because I assure you that the next time I see you coming, I’ll walk the other way.”

Her expression hardened. “Is that right?”

“You don’t believe me?” He cocked a smirk, held her petulant stare a moment longer... and then he turned and walked away without another word said.

Evan could feel her eyes on him as he crossed the garden, heading back toward the Grand Hall. Such was the way they burned into the back of his neck, he had to fight the urge to turn around, and... he wasn’t sure. To chastise her once more, letting her know that this was folly and the end of a dalliance that should have never been? Or to give in to the urges that swirled inside of him and — no. Even if he had wanted to, he had to remind himself that she didn’t even know who it was that she had kissed.

As far as Miss Baker was concerned, it was David who had warned her off pursuing him, and that was the way it needed to stay. Better that David never heard about this. Better that this right here was never spoken about again.

* * *

“Where in the devil have you been?” David asked Evan as he sidled in beside his best friend. “I was beginning to think that you’d left.”

“I wish that I had,” Evan sighed.

David frowned. “And why is that?”

“No matter,” Evan waved him away and forced a smile. “Just one of those nights.”

“Ah, I see.” David grinned knowingly. “Let me guess, a young strumpet has her eyes set on you, and you’ve spent the evening avoiding her. Ha!”

“That’s not —”

“It must be hard being a duke,” he continued jokingly. “Having your pick of the damn litter.” A forlorn sigh as he cast his gaze about the ball. “Meanwhile, I’m left with a drink in one hand and...” He looked at his empty hand and frowned. “Oh, never mind. I might have introduced you to the new apple of my eye, but alas, she’d yet to fall from the tree.”

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