Page 45 of His Tempting Duchess

She had never been out on the streets at that hour. At least, not that she could recall.

Nobody else was about, and that was a relief. The streets glistened, slick with rain, and puddles crowded along the gutters. The sky above was pitch black, not a star to be seen. The moon sailed in and out of the clouds, providing a little silvery light.

Emily reached the meeting point and stopped, exhaling softly.

I did it. I’m here.

I’m such a fool.

She had no watch on her person, and so no real way of counting time. Seconds ticked by, dragging. She thought back to the clock in her room, reading quarter past eleven. How long had it taken her to change and come out here? Fifteen minutes? Twenty? Half an hour?

How long did she have to wait?

Closing her eyes, Emily breathed deeply, trying to soothe her nerves.

Perhaps this is a mistake. Perhaps I could just go home, go to bed, and lie there feeling silly. Perhaps?—

She started as the distant, muffled sound of carriage wheels on cobbles caught her attention. Craning her neck, her breath caught in her throat. She could see the blocky shape of a carriage lurching towards her, pulled by black horses, their flanks glossy with sweat and rain.

She held her breath as the carriage pulled up alongside her. Curtains covered the windows, and a lantern bobbed on the side, throwing a buttery light across the cobbles.

The door swung open, pushed from the inside, and there was the duke, leaning forward with a most wolfish grin on his face.

“Miss Belmont,” he drawled, his grin widening. “I wasn’t sure you would be here.”

“Let me in quickly, before I change my mind,” Emily muttered.

His smile never wavered. Extending a gloved hand, he gestured for her to climb into the carriage.

This is it, then. The point of no return.

Emily glanced over her shoulder just once at the dark and silent house far behind her. Letting out a long, slow breath, she took the duke’s hand and allowed him to haul her inside.

The carriage was warm, carpeted with furs which also spread over the seats. Emily sank back with a sigh, and the carriage took off.

Her pulse returned to normal, and she began to think a little harder about the situation she found herself in.

The duke sat opposite her, his legs stretched out, and was regarding her with a broad grin. He was all in black, with a dark velvet cloak not unlike hers—minus the red velvet lining, of course.

“I must confess, Miss Belmont,” he said after a while, “I rather thought you’d be more curious than this. I expected a barrage of questions.”

She flushed. “Well, I’m already taking quite a chance on you, Your Grace, don’t you think?”

He chuckled and said nothing.

A dawning sense of unease began to creep on Emily. What if this were all some convoluted ploy to humiliate her, the way she had humiliated him at the altar? Perhaps he was going to deposit her miles from home and leave her to walk back in the dark. Perhaps he was going to throw her in the river. Perhaps…

“Wherearewe going?” Emily asked, her voice tight with worry.

Maybe the duke sensed her unease, because he flashed her an almost reassuring smile.

“You’ll like it, I promise. We’ll be enjoying a different society altogether tonight.”

“And what doesthatmean?”

He regarded her for a long moment. “I’m sure your courage can buoy you up a little while longer, Miss Belmont. We are not far away at all. In the meantime, I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” she managed.

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