Page 21 of The Scarred Duchess Deal
“I share your struggles, but I can deny you no longer – being parted from you is driving me mad,” Leo whispered, giving her one last moment to change her mind before he surrendered to his passions and kissed her. She tasted just as sweet as he would have imagined. Her body seemed to soften in his hold, molding to him perfectly as his strong arms wrapped around her. She returned his kiss with every bit of passion that she had been holding inside of herself, only waiting for an outlet such as this one.
Her hands slid softly up and over his shoulders until she could wrap her arms around his neck – and she lost herself to the moment. If this was the only one that she got, then she would remember every second of it.
ChapterTwelve
“There you are! Where have you been?” Aunt Anna’s voice cut through the cacophony of noise presently rattling about in Tessa’s mind. She could hardly register the words being spoken to her, so great was her distraction.
She hardly remembered walking back into the ballroom. Tessa hadmeantto come up with an excuse on her way back inside. She hadmeantto have a reason for her absence that was believable and witty. She had thought that perhaps a lie could be the easiest – claim that she had been off crying for some reason or another, but given that she was now publicly courting the Duke, nobody was likely to believe that she would have a reason to cry. She was lucky – she knew.
Perhaps if the threat of discovery had not become so quickly evident, she might still be out there in the gardens.Kissingthe Duke! Her! She hadkissedthe Duke! She could still feel his hands on her. She could feel the ghost of his lips pressed against hers – his tongue dancing with her own in a way so sensual that she had not even been able to fathom such feelings could exist inside of her body. Could such a small encounter really change a worldview so quickly? It felt impossible and lovely, and she wished to do it again… that much she was certain of.
“Answer me, child! I have been looking for you everywhere! It has been at least half an hour since your dance with His Grace. Where have you been?” Anna demanded an explanation. There would be no living with her if she did not get one either. Tessa scrabbled for an excuse, but nothing but murmured sounds left her lips that were curving themselves into a half smile. She could not think clearly. Everything felt as if she was in a daze.
“I was worried about you!” Anna repeated, hoping for repentance from her niece. She folded her arms sternly across her chest and waited with a raised brow.
“I… I did not mean to cause you to worry, Aunt. I simply needed a moment of fresh air to compose myself, that is all.”
“For half an hour?” Anna exclaimed in shock. Then she seemed to consider her own words and sighed. “I remember those days. I know that it might not seem that way now, but when I first met my husband, we were very much in love. I remember watching him from across the room and seeing the way people swarmed around him to hear his stories. I never thought that he could be interested in someone as plain as myself… but then he was. I do remember what it is like to have a young and infatuated mind, but that does not give you an excuse to give me such a fright. Never mind that your intended might have been looking for you as well. You cannot keep a duke waiting!”
Tessa saw an opportunity and tried to seize it. “You are right… how very selfish of me. Perhaps I ought to go and seek him out now, so I can ensure that he was not missing me as well.”
Anna started to nod, but Sophie interrupted her. She looked like the cat who had caught the mouse. The smile on her face was smugger than any expression that Tessa had ever seen her adopt. Truth be told, it was frightening.
“I do not think that she ought to bother doing anything of the sort, Mama,” Sophie huffed. She placed her hands on them as she gloated over her cousin.
“Whyever not?” Aunt Anna sounded just as appalled as Tessa felt.
Sophie smirked, savoring the moment before jabbing her finger into Tessa’s shoulder. “Because she is a vicious little liar! I do not know how she has managed to do it, or how she managed to get His Grace to play along with her little scheme but I have found out the truth and now I am intent on exposing her!”
“Expose me?” Tessa scoffed a touch louder than she would have liked. It was impossible for Sophie to know anything about the deal. She was bluffing. She simply had to be bluffing, yet panic sent icy chills down her spine nonetheless. “For what?”
“For being a pretender! For stealing the attention of a man whooughtto be looking at me! I am the one who should be with the Duke. Not you,” Sophie hissed viciously.
“Now, now, girls… perhaps it would be best to have this conversation somewhere else, hmm?” Aunt Anna attempted in an effort to diffuse the situation. It was a blessing that the conversation they were having, however, barbed the words were, was said in a voice just above a whisper.
“I have it from very reputable sources, Mama, that the Duke has very publicly announced that he will never marry and that he will never have children. That means that this whole courtship is nothing but a lie! Do you not think that if the Duke were to change his mind and suddenly wish to take a wife that it would be somebody like me who he is looking for instead of somebody like her? Honestly,” Sophie said to her mother.
Shocked, Anna turned to Tessa and asked “Is this true?”
Tessa noticed she said nothing to her daughter about the insulting way that Sophie had spoken to her.
Tessa rolled her eyes. She tried to push the panic of discovery down into the pit of her stomach. There was no way that Sophie could have heard; Leo would never have told her. If nothing else, he would not have had the opportunity to – if he had ever spent even a true minute alone with Sophie, she would have been rubbing it in Tessa’s face every opportunity that she got. Which meant she was bluffing. Tessa reminded herself that it was nothing more than a bluff. She hoped, anyway–
“Absolutely not. I will have you know that during our dance he even mentioned to me that he would need a private audience with Uncle Theodore this evening. I am sure you can guess the reason for needing to speak to him privately, Aunt. I can only assume that Sophie had heard ofthatand has chosen to twist the wonderful news into a vicious lie to suit herself.”
Tessa was rather proud of herself for lying so calmly.
“That is a lie! Mama! You will side with me, not her!”
Anna looked between both girls, one and then the other. “If Tessa is to be engaged, that would be most wonderful news indeed. I cannot think of anything that should make me happier than that.”
Sophie’s jaw dropped. “Me! You would rather seemeengaged!”
“Of course, darling,” Anna said over her shoulder as she focused her attention on Tessa.
Tessa knew that the only reason Anna cared if she got married or not was that she did not wish to hear the same comments from the women in her embroidery group regarding Tessa’s face over and over again. She wished to restore her gathering to its former days of glory, and if they did nothing but sit and insult Tessa's face, the meetings became impossibly dull very quickly.
“I do not have to listen to this. Please excuse me,” Tessa said to her aunt. Anna nodded her head softly, and Tessa turned to take her leave of the room. This time it was Sophie who followed her – a far less welcome intruder. Sophie was going to ruin Tessa’s whole night if she did not stop quickly, and Tessa could not allow that. She had only just had her very first kiss with a man that she feared she might be falling for very quickly, only to have Sophie tarnish everything with her vile words.
