Page 64 of My Secret Duke
He wanted her. He had wanted her from their first moment. Remembering their heated kisses made him ache, in his heart and his groin. This was his moment, and he wasn’t going to let it slip away.
The sisters had broken apart. Justina was returning to their grandmother, and Roberta was speaking to their brother. Olivia was alone, and this was his chance. He stepped up to her and leaned in, his voice low enough not to be overheard.
“I accept your dare.”
She looked up at him in surprise, as if she had forgotten. “Do you? Are you…?”
“Sure? God yes,” he said, heartfelt.
That made her choke back laughter.
He gave her a searching look. He had to ask, the man he was now demanded it. “You haven’t changed your mind? I would understand if you did.”
She shook her head. She had that mulish look that meant she was determined to see something to its end. “God no.”
It was his turn to laugh. “Then I will send you instructions of where and when. Don’t worry. I will be discreet. You are safe with me, Olivia.”
She tried to smile, but her lips were trembling. “I know I am,” she said softly.
Ivo bowed, and then went to join his mother and sisters. He could feel her gaze on him as he walked away. Soon, he would have her in his arms, in his bed, and once he had her, he was going to do everything in his power to keep her.
“No one will ever forget my debut!”
Justina was lying on her back on the bed, staring up at the canopy above. Olivia and Roberta lay on either side of her.
Olivia tried not to laugh. It wasn’t funny. How could their mother take precedence over her own daughter? But that was Felicia, wasn’t it? Selfish to the last.
Thank goodness she was going away for a long visit to the continent.
“I suppose she’ll come back eventually,” Justina said.
“Then we’ll face it when the time comes,” Roberta said.
She was being surprisingly mature, but ever since the horse riding lessons, Olivia had noticed her sister was no longer a child. She still behaved like one sometimes, but there were moments of real maturity.
“I suppose we could always go back to Grantham and hide. Imagine Mother strutting about the ton with her new husband!”
They all shuddered.
“I miss Grantham,” Roberta admitted. “I love being there. Being free. But I am quite liking London too. There are exciting things to do here too. Especially when my sister races the Duke of Northam along Rotten Row.”
Olivia couldn’t shush her soon enough and Justina lurched up from the bed with a muffled shriek. “What! Tell me. Tell me at once!”
Chapter Thirty
It was sheer luck that Olivia was able to attend the Longhursts’ ball. When the invitation arrived two days after Justina’s coming-out, the dowager was deeply involved with Felicia’s wedding. Although it was a family affair—her wish to be married at St. James’s Church had been rejected by Gabriel—Felicia had a great many wishes she wanted fulfilled, and the dowager, whether from a sense of guilt or a desire to see the back of her, seemed happy to comply.
“What is that?” the dowager had asked, seeing the invite in Olivia’s hand.
“Another ball,” she had said airily. “I may not go.”
Her grandmother frowned. “You should take every opportunity to be seen. I wonder if Carey is going?”
Luckily, Felicia chose that moment to appear, informing everyone that the material for her dress wasn’t the same as the one she had chosen. The dowager turned away to deal with this latest disaster, and Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. Hastily, she replied to the Longhursts’ invitation, saying she would be at their ball, and dispatched the message.
She knew this was Ivo’s doing. He had sent her a note the day after Justina’s coming-out, informing her that he would see her at the Longhursts’ ball and to wear a mask.
Then, on the evening, when she was preparing to set off, having ordered the coach, Gabriel almost put a stop to it. “What on earth are you wearing?” He was eyeingher mask warily.
