Page 41 of The Duke Says I Do
“I can’t help it. You’re just so damned beautiful.”
Rankin emerged from the thinning mist. He dismounted and led the horses up to Granville and Portia. Hopefully the fellow thought that they’d been talking about Jupiter. Which reminded him…
“Jupiter!”
In an ebullient mood, the dog bounded out of the shrubbery. Grenville gagged, as he clipped the lead to his collar. “Good God! What have you been rolling in?”
Portia laughed. “You’ll need to give him another bath when you get him home, Your Grace.”
“Without your help this time.” He turned to the dog. “Sit, you troublesome hound.”
While Jupiter obeyed, Granville advanced on Portia. “Let me help you into the saddle.”
It was a chance to touch her again. He didn’t want to let her go, just as he hadn’t wanted to let her go last night. It seemed wrong that she should be anywhere but at his side.
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Granville caught her by the waist, taking a moment to appreciate her vivid presence. Soon all that spirit and vitality would tumble into his arms and he’d be in heaven. Intoxicated with the untold joy that extended before him, he tossed her onto the gray mare’s back. She gathered the reins and settled in the saddle with a wriggle that beggared his good intentions.
Impatience came close to overmastering him. He wanted her now. He hated to wait.
But he must play the game. The stakes were too high now to abandon strategy. So he kept his voice light, while his desire for her coiled tight as a spring.
Her lips twitched, as she regarded him. “I’ve enjoyed our conversation, Your Grace,” she said with a theatrical formality that made him want to laugh.
He wanted to laugh anyway, he was so bloody happy. She was a minx, and he loved it. Nobody ever teased him. Except Portia. “As have I. I wish you good morning, my lady.”
Granville stood on the path with Jupiter beside him and watched Portia canter away. Now the mist dissipated, he realized that the park was jammed with riders.
“Shall we continue our walk, old man?” he asked Jupiter.
A twitch of a tail expressed approval. Yesterday Granville’s life had changed. Forever. Not just because he’d finally recognized Portia for who she was. He’d also gained a canine friend who, inthe space of less than twenty-four hours, had claimed a place in his heart.
“By Jove, Granville, what have you got there?”
The mocking voice emerged from another universe. Granville raised his head to give Lord Colville a jaunty smile. “Come and meet my new friend, Jupiter.”
Colville rode with his wife, the once-scandalous Lady Verena Gerard. The couple had been married for two years and remained inseparable. The union of the wild duke’s daughter and the punctiliously correct viscount had society predicting disaster. So far, Lord and Lady Colville had proven society wrong. Good heavens, the Colvilles were almost as ill-suited as he and Portia.
“I’ve never seen you with a dog before.” Verena dismounted and approached Jupiter with her gloved hand outstretched.
“Are you sure that’s a dog?” Colville asked.
“A very fine one, I’ll have you know. Looks aren’t everything.”
“Don’t listen to him, boy,” Verena said, as Jupiter sniffed her hand. “I think you’re very handsome.”
“What do you know?” Granville asked. “You think that your husband is handsome.”
He liked the Colvilles. Eliot Ridley’s pristine reputation rivaled his own. Or at least it had until he’d married Verena. Looking at a couple so obviously relishing each other’s company, Granville couldn’t help thinking that Colville had made the right choice.
Verena laughed and sent her husband a sultry glance. “Colville’s handsome enough for me. And so is this excellent fellow.” She scratched Jupiter behind the ears until he closed his eyes in ecstasy.
“He’s a bit smelly.” Granville’s understatement bordered on an outright lie.
“He’s not too bad,” Verena said. “Where did you get him?”
“A friend gave him to me.”
