Page 26 of Never Dare a Duke
And then the duke reached forward, and she realized she was supposed to offer her hand. Awkwardly she did so, and to her surprise, he bent over and pressed his lips to the back of her gloved hand.
And inside her, a blaze caught fire and smoldered, though she tried to put it out.
People were openly staring, including his mother and sister. Lady May and Lady Theodosia fumed and sulked, whispering to each other. Their enmity toward her had suddenly made them allies.
He paused, his face just above her hand, his eyes full of a dark heat. She wished she had forgotten her gloves, so that his lips would have touched her bare skin. And then as if on cue, since only she could see him, those eyes seemed to light with secret amusement. They were fooling all the guests, and he was enjoying it. How often was it that he did such things since becoming the proper duke of Madingley?
“Good evening, Miss Shaw,” he said in his deep voice, straightening at last to his full, impressive height.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” she answered breathlessly.
He glanced at Gwen and Mr. Wesley, and Abigail was impressed that he let them think he was startled by their presence. He nodded to them both, then turned back to her, his smile fading. It was almost rude…or as if he couldn’t be distracted.
Gwen put her hand on Mr. Wesley’s arm, and he gave a little start. “Come, Mr. Wesley, we can continue our discussion,” she said. They smiled at each other and disappeared into the crowd.
Leaving Abigail alone with the duke. Or almost alone, since they were in a drawing room with over a dozen people. Abigail looked up at him again, and any words she was thinking seemed to fade away. They shared a strained, tense silence. She licked her lips, and she could have sworn the duke’s eyes followed her tongue.
“Your Grace, I am quite impressed,” she murmured, wishing she had a glass of lemonade to hold up so as to disguise her words from others.
He arched a dark brow. “And all I did was walk over here and greet you.”
“But you did it so superbly. Perhaps you could not see the reaction to your single-minded attention to me, but everyone else did. And the way you so easily chased away Gwen and Mr. Wesley—”
A frown flickered in his eyes. “Chased away?”
She smiled. “Very well, I think Gwen wished to be away from you, but you made it look like she was chased away.”
But that had been the wrong thing to say, for the duke’s eyes, a moment ago so full of smoldering warmth, seemed to turn into a winter night.
“Why would Lady Gwendolin wish to be away from me?”
“Oh, it is nothing personal, my lord,” she hastened to say. “I think evenshebelieves that you are interested in me.” Another lie to add to her tally.
“But that is not all of it,” he countered.
She might as well tell him some of the truth, and save him from feeling like he was coming between her and Gwen—if he even cared. “To be honest, she is not…interested in becoming a duchess.”
He cocked his head. “I do not mean to sound arrogant, but this is the second time today you’ve told me such a thing. In my own experience, that is usually not true.”
“Oh, I am sure thatmostwomen think that being your wife would be the most fulfilling life imaginable.” Abigail blinked guilelessly at him.
One side of his mouth slowly turned up in a smile. “You are an amusing woman.”
She put a hand to her chest. “Why, Your Grace, such flattery will turn my head.”
A moment later, she regretted bringing his notice to her bosom, for it rather strained against the bodice of her gown in far too common a fashion. But he didn’t seem to mind, for it took him a moment to look back at her face. She did not take his interest personally, for her abundant figure was something she could not control. Men always looked when offered the chance. It didn’t mean anything.
He linked his hands behind his back. “So explain to me why two friends do not wish to be a duchess.”
“I already explained my own reasons to you,” she said matter-of-factly. “As for Gwen—Lady Gwendolin—”
“I like the way you shorten her name. I might call her Lady Gwen from now on.”
She smiled. “Gwen is a different woman than you’re used to. Her father brought her up to believe that people are of equal merit, regardless of their station in life.” She waited, wondering his opinion on the topic.
He only nodded. “Many believe money or position differentiates among people, making some more worthy than others.”
“And what do you believe, Your Grace?”
