Page 34 of Never Dare a Duke
Abigail waited for the duke to say more, but all he did was smile and offer them both his arms. Each of them set a hand on a forearm as he escorted them back to the other guests.
Abigail’s heart was beating so rapidly she almost felt light-headed. She’d won this skirmish, with further hope that she’d soothed his suspicions. Surely he could not believe that Gwen would lie to him.
Lady Gwen had lied to him, Christopher thought, taken aback by surprise and confusion.
After accompanying both women to the refreshment table, he stepped away and watched them help themselves to lemonade and iced cakes. Elizabeth approached to hear about what they’d done for the afternoon, but Christopher did not remain nearby. He moved through the crowd, nodding, saying a word here and there, but making it obvious that he had pressing business. He would attend his rescheduled meeting with the bailiff, then return to his room to stare at his work once more. He was beginning to see things in his dreams—when he wasn’t seeing the provocative Miss Shaw.
She was intruding too much on his thoughts, and he didn’t like it. He would not forget that Lady Gwen had lied for her, and he wondered if she truly knew Miss Shaw at all. What did Lady Gwen think her friend was up to?
Christopher would normally assume it was another plot to rope him into marriage, but the involvement of his old tutor put a new spin on his usual suspicions.
He had to find out what was going on.
“He’s gone,” Gwen whispered.
Abigail gave a relieved sigh, and the two of them picked up their pace, walking away from the croquet game as if wandering a garden path on a lovely day. Abigail gladly set her glass and cake plate on a bench, convinced she’d gag if she had to pretend hunger for even another bite.
“What happened?” Gwen demanded. “I never even had the chance to ask you in private why you did not join the croquet game or Mr. Wesley and me. And to my astonishment, you did the latter!”
Abigail groaned. “It was horrible, Gwen. I went into the village to see the duke’s old tutor, and on the way back, I met the duke himself. He claimed he was out for a walk, but really, at the time I couldn’t believe it. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“What happened when you met him?” Gwen asked eagerly, her expression full of shock and excitement.
“I told him I had met you at the church, but that I wanted to walk back. Thank God you supported my story.” She choked out a laugh. “What instincts do you possess that you knew how to answer his questions?”
“I simply looked at your face and took my best guess. And I was right?”
“You were. Now he can no longer suspect me.”
“Why would he suspect you of anything other than walking down a country lane?”
“Unchaperoned,” Abigail said solemnly.
“Oh dear.”
“He was quite upset about it, as if I was unconcerned about our fate should someone discover us. I’m not certain I did our pretend courtship any favors today. I even said we could end it if he wished.”
Gwen gasped. “You didn’t!”
“I did. But he refused. Wasn’t that strange?”
Her friend frowned thoughtfully, linking their arms together, and said nothing for several minutes. “It seems to me that he fears being alone with you.”
“Fears?” Abigail gaped, then gave a rueful laugh. “You are wrong, Gwen. He was angry.”
“But perhaps he was angry because when he is alone with you, he is thinking forbidden thoughts, and he’s worried others will guess them.”
Abigail remembered the way he’d stared at her mouth, and she’d simply assumed he could not mean to kiss her, that her weak feelings were her own. She felt confused and worried—and deep down, there was a sinful feeling of delight, for which she quickly scolded herself. She could not allow herself to think about him in any way other than as an assignment. And she had to discourage him from anything too personal. How was she to do that, when he seemed to enjoy this secret game between them?
Gwen was watching her with a knowing expression.
Abigail waved her hands in dismissal. “That cannot be so, Gwen. He has his choice of women, all of whom are more beautiful than I.”
“Beauty is not everything, and if you had more experience with men, you would know that.”
“And you have so much experience?” Abigail said with a friendly laugh.
Gwen smiled. “I have had every man of thetonparaded before me, and many of them were so handsome that a woman’s knees should weaken. But not mine. Again, beauty is not everything.”
