Page 19 of Drawn to the Duke
No, fully alert to what Lord Chauncy might look like in repose.
For the last two days, she’d studied his every expression. She was familiar with the dilation of his eyes when he was curious or animated, though he kept his other responses contained. She’d learned to decipher the subtle cues of his expressions. A faint lift of the right corner of his mouth denoted amusement, while the slight flattening of his lips revealed his contemplative state.
But what about the rest of him?
What might he feel like if she ran her hands down him, just as he’d done to her the previous night?
She cut the thought off at the root and might have berated herself for her unmaidenly thinking had another noise not intruded.
The soft opening of the door.
Not preceded by any knock.
“Chauncy?”
The breathy voice was difficult to place, but it was not a servant, as no servant would address their master in such a manner, and the tone was well bred.
“Catherine.”
She heard His Grace sit up, and then something like a sigh before he murmured, “Not tonight.”
“If it’s my husband, he?—”
“No, Catherine. It’s over.” His tone gentled before he added, “Go back to your husband. He loves you, don’t you know?”
“But not as I loveyou. How can you deny all that we have shared?”
“I deny none of it, Catherine. But our time together is at an end.”
“Then why did you invite me here?”
“I invited you to Chauncy Manor because your husband is my friend and we had business. Not because we were once lovers, Catherine. That was a long time ago.”
Lady Saunders. Selina stifled her shock. How could she have missed the clandestine looks that would have indicated such a relationship when she prided herself on being so observant?
She heard a soft sob, then the sound of Lord Chauncy getting out of bed, gently reminding Lady Saunders of her proposed dawn ride with her husband in just a few hours as he escorted his visitor to the door.
When it clicked behind him, his soft footsteps indicated he was returning to the bed.
Selina could see the faint halo of light from his candlestick, which illuminated his ankles beneath his banyan. She studied the elegant feet, the well-muscled calves lightly covered with dark hair, and her heart did strange things as she tried to ward off the accompanying wicked thoughts.
She should have realized that the legs remained too long where they were.
That the fact he didn’t climb into bed indicated something had alerted his senses.
“You can come out now, whoever you are,” came his voice, soft but harsh. “I have a pistol pointed at the floor, so do not think you can surprise me. I am prepared.”
Selina gasped, immediately affirming her presence.
What else could she do?
Dry-mouthed, she inched her way from beneath the bed. How could she explain being here? If he squeezed the truth out of her, Edward would be exposed. He would never forgive Selina for revealing their ruse. He would never?—
“Good God! Lady Boothe?”
Sheepishly, Selina straightened before him.
“Youarebold. Were you planning to insinuate yourself into my bed but were frightened away by my former lover?”
