Page 19 of Never Dare a Duke
She chuckled. “You seemed quite desperate for my silence. I do not know why you don’t simply ask them to give you a measure of peace.”
“It is not necessary to hurt their feelings.”
“Or your mother’s feelings.”
His teeth were a white flash in the gloom. “You think me a mama’s boy.”
“No, I think you’re a man who is considerate of his mother.”
When he didn’t answer, their silence became awkward. Now that the ladies were gone, Abigail realized they were alone in a dark place and that he could think she was—
“Spying on me again?” he asked almost conversationally.
She sighed, meeting his dark eyes. “We came here to eat and tour the ruins. I’m touring the ruins, just as you are. Or as you were forced to, anyway.”
“I was not forced to. It is only right for me to converse with everyone.”
“Especially the eligible young ladies,” she said, not bothering to hide a smile.
“I am conversing with you, am I not?”
“But I am not the same.”
He leaned his shoulder against a column as he studied her. “And what do you mean by that?”
“We both know that I am not the sort of woman who could be your potential wife. In a sense, you’re safe with me.”
One side of his mouth curved up. “Safe, am I?”
There was a deep timbre to his voice that almost made her shiver. He was teasing her, she knew, but she ignored it. A plan had come into her mind, and she didn’t have time to give it more than the briefest consideration.
“Safe,” she answered firmly. “I am not interested in marrying you—the thought of becoming a duchess frightens me to no end.”
“You, frightened?”
He was almost grinning now, and she was startled by how much more appealing it made him. He suddenly seemed like a different, very dangerous, man rather than a responsible duke. And he was far too intriguing like that, for it made her remember his wild side. Where had it gone?
“I have only been raised on the fringes of your world, Your Grace.” And that was the truth. “I like the anonymity. But I have a proposition that might appeal to you.”
His smile vanished, and his eyes moved languidly down her face. “A proposition?”
A blush of mortification heated her cheeks. “Do not read more into that word than is proper. I only meant that I had an offer for you.”
He arched a brow, and then she really started stuttering.
“I—I mean that I’m making a proposal you should consider.” She closed her eyes so she didn’t have to look into his handsome, amused face. “Let me just say it then. I have no wish to marry a duke, and I know that you are going to marry a woman from your world, someone far above me in consequence and dowry.”
“So now I’m a snob looking only for money.”
“I know you don’t need money,” she said with exasperation, waving her hands about as if two castles were not enough proof. “But there are certainly expectations for a man in your situation. Lady May and Lady Theodosia both realize this. And though it has obviously not occurred to them, their open pursuit of you is ruining their chances of either becoming your wife.”
He cocked his head. “Is it now? Do tell me what I’m feeling.”
She ignored his sarcasm. “I only have to study your expression to know that. You are not quite as enigmatic as you think.”
He suddenly put a hand on the wall beside her head and leaned too close. “Then do tell me what I’mthinking,Miss Shaw.”
She was glad that there was still a playfulness about him, but she knew that this situation could easily get out of hand if he wished it to.
