Page 38 of A Duke But No Gentleman
Even in the shadows, the colorful patches on her skirt were visible as he escorted her up the walkway to the front door.He paused to remove the key from his waistcoat, and used his fingers to find the keyhole.
“I am surprised you do not rent the house this time of year,” Imogene said, resting her cheek against his arm.
“Over the years, I have considered it,” Tristan admitted.He grunted with satisfaction when the lock yielded.“Most of the furniture belonged to my grandmother.My mother had her bedchamber decorated to her tastes, but she did little else to the house.No one resides here, but the servants visit once a week to keep the floors and furniture clean for when I invite guests.”
Her sudden stillness made him apprehensive.He wondered if she had guessed the reasons why he brought people to this house instead of his private residence.“How often do you entertain guests here?”
Tristan shrugged.“It depends on the year.”He paused.“Norgrave has a key and my blessing to invite whomever he wants.”
“What about you?”
“You are the first guest I have invited here in over a year,” he answered truthfully.“I sometimes come here when I need to think.The quiet is soothing, and no one would think to bother me here.”
She stepped into the house, and wrinkled her nose at the slight staleness scenting the air.“Not very recently.”
“No,” he said, shutting the door and turning the key.“I have been too distracted by an enchanting blonde who knocked me off my feet.”
Imogene’s laughter filled the front hall.“How long do you plan to tease me about our first meeting?I cannot believe I was so clumsy!”
Tristan lit a candle behind her before he pulled her into his arms.“You were perfect.I have never been so flattered, even though the dragon caught us together.”
She winced.“You have to cease calling my mother a dragon.She has enough reasons to dislike you.”
“Is it important to you that she likes me?”he asked, untying her half-mask so he could see her face.
“Yes.”
The simplicity of her reply understated how complicated their relationship had become.Nor would it deter him from what he longed to claim.
Picking up the candleholder, he took her hand and led her toward the stairs.“Come with me.”
Hand in hand, they made their way up the stairs.Tristan had lit the candle for her benefit.He had lost count of how many times he had climbed the stairs, only to fall into bed with or without a lover.Abruptly he halted and startled Imogene.
“Is something amiss?”she whispered.
How could he tell her that he had made a mistake?He did not want to lay her on the same mattress where he had bedded so many women in the past.
“For a minute, I lost my way,” he lied.“This way.”
His mother’s bedchamber had the newest furniture, but he avoided the room.He released her hand so he could turn the doorknob of one of the spare bedchambers that had been used for guests.If the servants had been shirking in their weekly duties, he would sack them all.
Fortunately the room was free of noticeable dust and the room smelled faintly of freshly laundered linens.He set the candle down on a table beside the bed and he reached for the woman who often invaded his thoughts when he should have been working.
“Come closer, my lovely and impudent Columbine.Your Harlequin has been hungering for a taste of your honeyed lips,” he growled against her mouth.
Playing along, she rubbed her hips against him.“My husband might protest,” she whispered, tilting her head and offering him her neck.
Norgrave had considered dressing up as Columbine’s husband, but he disliked the notion of being the cuckolded husband to Tristan’s Harlequin.The plotting Pantalone held more appeal, but he had also been deceived.
“If we are careful, no one will ever know about us,” he said, nipping her ear with his teeth.He did not know if he spoke for Harlequin or himself.
Without warning he swept her off her feet and into his arms.Imogen gasped and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.“Harlequin—Tristan!”
“Right on both counts,” he said, teasing her mouth with his.He carried her to the bed and eased her down until her backside settled onto the soft surface.“Do you trust me?”
She nodded.
His hands shook as he removed the red spencer, peeling her slender bared arms from the snug sleeves.Tristan went to work on the buttons of her dress.Proficient at his task, he set about removing layer after layer of clothing and discarding them until she sat in her shift.
