Page 27 of The Love Potion
“Good God, what happened to the sharp-tongued woman who took me to task for destroying Lady Zoe’s reputation? I swear you were here a few days ago, but lately, you have done nothing but scrape and bow before me.”
Kynthea reared back at his sharp tone. “I’m sorry?”
“I’m sorry, too! Miss Petrelli, pray tell me what has happened to your spunk?”
Her spunk? Was he joking? “I have had my likeness ridiculed on broadsheets! If I did not scrape and bow, what do you think would become of me?”
He winced as he stepped closer to her. They were well into the shadows of the tree now and exactly where a proper chaperone would never be alone with a gentleman. And yet, she was so besotted that even arguing with the man, she would not leave.
She sighed, trying to steel herself to be proper. “I should go inside.”
“Not yet,” he said as he tilted his head to the sky. He couldn’t see anything but the budding branches of the tree, but there was enough light for her to see the masculine shape of his neck, the strength of his profile, and the exact shape of his mouth. She took way too much interest in his mouth. “I enjoy your company,” he finally said. “You have a subtle wit that most people don’t catch. You’re icily polite to those who deserve to be spanked. And I like your smile. Your eyes crinkle at the edges even if your mouth barely moves. I know you have found something absurdly delightful, and I want to know what it is.”
She stared at him, her body flushed with heat. How did one answer when a duke made such a study of her?
“You don’t even smile,” she blurted. “But I see it, too. Your brows raise and you catch my eye to see if I found something funny too.”
“And you do. Every time,” he murmured. “You do.” He shook his head. “Not even Nate has the same sense of humor as I do. We’ve come to understand each other over the years, but at the beginning we had to explain our jokes to each other.”
“That’s always awkward.”
“You have no idea,” he answered, and the words echoed with loneliness.
She felt the pull then, stronger than ever. His eyes were dark here in the shadows, but they mesmerized her nonetheless. What would she do for the chance to be in his arms? What would she give up to be a duke’s lover?
She was afraid of that answer, and so she looked away. Best to focus on his words instead of the way he made her feel.
“You sound weary,” she said. “Didn’t you enjoy dinner?”
He fell back against the tree trunk, heedless of how the dirt might mar his clothing. “It was nice to take Sara on an outing. She did well, I think. She seemed happy when she headed home.”
Sara was his younger sister and since she was not yet out, she could not stay for the ball. She was also a safe topic. No one could think lustful thoughts when speaking of a man’s sister…right? “Tell me about her. From what I saw, she seems a very poised young woman.”
“Sara? I suppose so. She’s been taught since birth how to behave in public. But that’s not how she is with me.”
“No? What’s she like then?”
He closed his eyes as he seemed to think on his answer. “She has a laugh that sounds like bells to me. I have not heard it often of late, but when she lets it free, I know she is truly happy.”
“What does she like?”
“She is the opposite of Lady Zoe in that horses hold little interest for her. She likes to mix things.”
“Things?”
“Potions. Chemicals. Alchemy. What happens when one mixes one powder that I do not understand with another liquid that I’ve never heard of.”
“What does happen?”
He chuckled. “Usually nothing, though I wouldn’t advise drinking her concoctions. Sometimes they bubble, sometimes they change colors, and sometimes…they explode.”
“What!” She laughed, sure he was joking.
“Only four times that I can recall. No, five. And several more that she never tells us about. Mother gave her an entire barn to do things in and we do not ask.”
She couldn’t imagine a child given such leniency. “Why does she do this?”
“Because she’s a bluestocking. Because she’s hiding from my mother who wants her to be feminine. And because no one has the will to say no to her. She took my father’s death very hard.” He glanced back at the house. “She’s the same age as Lady Zoe. Mother hopes my wife will bring some guidance to Sara.”
