Page 19 of The Moonstone Governess
She had never been in such close contact with any man before, much less one with a hard, muscled body like his.
“Have a care, Miss Angel,” the duke said with a husky chuckle.
“You too, Your Grace.” Oh, that made absolutely no sense, and now he had to be silently reveling in his smug victory.
A bead of moisture somehow transferred from his neck to her lips, because he was still holding her too close and she was still facing him, though their lips were no longer touching.
She scowled at him.
“I am always careful, Miss Angel. Stop pretending you do not like me.”
She began to sputter in outrage. “Like you? Are you always so full of yourself? The horse suddenly shifted forward and I lost my balance. Were you truly a gentleman, you would have refused a ride in the curricle and walked.”
Mr. Priam was looking on with beady-eyed interest.
The duke must have noticed. “Mr. Priam, as you can see, Miss Angel is out of sorts, and I will admit to having behaved perhaps a bit boorishly toward her. But if you breathe a word of anything between Miss Angel and myself, I shall personally see to destroying your business.”
“Your Grace!” the poor man said, his eyes wide in alarm. “I am the soul of discretion!”
The duke’s eyes were a soft blue, but his gaze turned lethal as he coldly said, “Good.”
Mr. Priam bade her a hasty farewell and ran off as though the devil were chasing his tail.
At first the duke said nothing, merely hopped down and then placed his hands on her waist to assist her off the curricle. “Do not be angry with me, Brenna.”
“That is Miss Angel to you. I did not give you leave to address me so informally.” How could she not be furious? “You are an arrogant, heartless rake. How could you scare Mr. Priam like that? You must apologize to him at once.”
“And have him gossip all over town that I had you on my lap? Or that my lips touched yours? I don’t think so. Before you know it, that accidental touch of our lips will become a heated, tongues-swallowed, passionate kiss, and who knows where they’ll say my hand roamed?”
“Tongues swallowed?” What was he talking about? “Why would we swallow our tongues?”
“We… It’s not… Dear heaven, you are innocent.” He stared at her incredulously for a long moment, and then his expression turned achingly soft. “My point is that the damage would be to you, little dove. Something you might realize if you ever stopped glowering at me long enough to think things through. Dukes are impervious to gossip. We are beloved no matter how naughtily we behave. But you? I would be forced to marry you if your reputation were tarnished.”
She shook her head. “I would never force you to do such a thing. How can you think I would ever impose on you in that manner? Nor would I want to marry someone like you. I think I have been clear on wanting a love match. Why did you not simply walk back to town? Or ride up separately on Scipio?”
“Enough, Brenna. I had matters to discuss with Mr. Priam on the way up, and riding with him made most sense. Nor did I expect you to be walking back and forth on your own. Where was your horse? Or your curricle?”
“I don’t have either.”
He sighed. “So you walk everywhere? You must have been fatigued.”
“I was,” she grumbled.
“I know I behaved like a lout,” he said, his manner gentler. “But in my own defense…it was because of you.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “So we are back to putting the blame on me?”
“I am not blaming you. All I am saying is that you are different from the other ladies of my acquaintance, and I was not ready to part ways with you. I am truly sorry if I caused you any misery. Now, let us put an end to this squabble. I have apologized.” He raked a hand through his hair. “It is quite a concession on my part, for I never apologize to anyone.”
She nodded, for she had done her bit to blow the incident out of proportion. “I apologize for my part in it, too. I am no priggish miss and could have just kept my mouth shut. This might have caused scandal in London, but would have earned me no more than an afternoon of teasing from the village ladies, and perhaps a lecture from my uncles to borrow one of their carts if I need to meet you at the manor house again.”
Her apology obviously surprised him. His eyes widened slightly and his gaze turned thoughtful as he regarded her. “Indeed, you are different from the ladies of my acquaintance.”
“Why? Because I admitted I might have also been in the wrong?”
He nodded.
“I will own up to my mistakes. As for you, is it not obvious you are keeping company with the wrong sort of ladies?”
