Page 27 of The Moonstone Governess
Their waltz was something he would not soon forget.
He removed his jacket, waistcoat, and cravat before sitting at the edge of his bed to remove his boots. He had not bothered with more fashionable footwear, since the villagers did not have the funds for such luxuries as dancing slippers, and he refused to look like an elite toad among them. He left the trappings of wealth and rank to Hollingsworth and Danson.
Next, he shrugged out of his shirt and took a moment to wash his hands and face before pouring himself a glass of port wine, then dousing the lamplight to leave him in the dark. He settled into the elegantchaise longuein his sitting room to think about Brenna once again.
She was afraid of her feelings for him, and he could not blame her. Whatever was simmering between them was going to erupt eventually, and could end badly if he did not handle it properly.
He had meant it when he promised never to hurt her.
Still, what if she fell in love with him? It could happen even if he made no attempt to seduce her.
He had never been in love.
He wondered what it would feel like to fall in love with Brenna.
But he quickly shook out of the thought, because it was a terrible idea for so many reasons. What did he know about love, anyway?
Nobody had ever shown him love beyond a motherly affection from his stepmother. How desperate her family must have been to force a marriage between her and his odious brute of a father. Well, she hadn’t long to suffer, since he had died within a month of their marriage.
He used to wonder whether she had poisoned him and gotten away with it, but the woman he now referred to as his mother was genuinely kind and compassionate. If anyone had done away with his father, it was likely Daire’s odious older brother, Morgan.
He sighed and took a sip of the sweet port.
As had become his custom, he had ordered the windows left open to allow in the night air. Despite what others thought, he never found this cooler air to be harmful. In fact, it was quite a relief, since thoughts of Brenna now had him in a fiery roil.
Gad, he adored Brenna’s hot body.
He had been completely in the wrong when refusing to give up his seat in Mr. Priam’s curricle. He would have done it for anyone else, for the walk back to the village was mostly downhill and easily accomplished in spite of the heat.
But the chance to have Brenna up against him… Well, it was not well done of him. He really had to do better whenever he was with her.
She seemed to have come to terms with their curricle incident, and he was not going to raise it again.
Blessed saints.
She did look beautiful when angry, though. Her eyes genuinely sparkled, and he could only hope one day they would sparkle for him in passion.
It was not such a stretch, for even though she hid behind a prim façade, the girl was incandescent. It only required the expert touch of a man—namely him—to set her body on fire.
But he needed to keep her in Moonstone Landing long enough for them to get to know each other. He did not mean getting familiar in the physical sense, although that possibility was never to be ruled out.
He meant it in an abiding friendship, mates of the soul way. Hearts united. Troths plighted.
He now had her house, albeit merely a leasehold. She had now agreed to the repairs he wanted. What he needed was something more.
He would sleep on it, and perhaps the answer would come to him. He wasn’t certain how she had gotten in his blood and become this important to him in the span of a day.
Did he hope to win Brenna’s heart? Marry her and make her his duchess? He could not imagine anyone more qualified for that role.
He shed his trousers and fell naked atop his sheets, falling asleep to the strains of a violin and the scent of a light, salty breeze off the water.
*
The sun filteredinto Daire’s elegant suite shortly after dawn, and the bright light momentarily blinded him as he awoke. He rolled out of bed with a grunt, shoved into his riding clothes, and managed a quick ride through the countryside on Scipio, both of them working up a lather before returning to the village.
Once back at the inn, Daire shaved, washed, and dressed at his leisure, since he still had a little time before Brenna was scheduled to fetch him.
He ordered breakfast brought to his suite, since he had received a mail packet late last night that he had yet to go through. He wanted to get the most important items addressed before hopping onto the wagon with Brenna and her family in what promised to be a glorious morning.
