Page 64 of A Duchess Bound
“I am taking precautions, Your Grace.”
“Gerard.”
“Gerard,” she agreed. “I promise.”
Still, he was right. As loath as she was to admit it, the night presented greater dangers than being caught engaged in an affair. Still, the thought of finding a confidante was intimidating. Such a person would have the means to ruin her.
“I shall consider your advice,” she said, “just as you will consider practicing more discretion.”
He sighed and smiled wryly. “I suppose that is all I can ask from you.”
“Indeed, it is.”
Feeling brazen, she placed a brief kiss on his cheek and then turned to leave. At least, she had accomplished what she had set out to do. If Dorothy was honest with herself, she would also—reluctantly—concede that she had hoped this visit might result in just the smallest amorous encounter.
CHAPTER 22
Gerard was in agony. He could not believe that spinster, Dorothy, as he had resolved to call her, had offered torelieve his agony. What a prim, proper way to refer to a man’s aching loins. By God, he had been tempted to let her! It would have been but a small matter to release his cock. A single thrust of his hips would have been sufficient to penetrate her, and Dorothy had already been wet and ready.
He had refrained.
Pontoun collapsed into a chair beside him, looking miserable. “I do not want to hear a single word about love,” Gerard warned. “Just so you are aware.”
“You are so unkind,” Pontoun said.
Gerard pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am not unkind. It is simply that I have little patience for men who wish to complainabout their problems but will not heed good advice for how to resolve them.”
“Your good advice is to abandon my quest entirely,” Pontoun said. “That is not helping me resolve the problem.”
Gerard waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway.”
Pontoun sullenly took a swallow of brandy. “Fine. What other matters do you wish to discuss? Are you enjoying the Season?”
“Immensely.”
Pontoun paused and considered him for a moment. “You have seemed more sociable than usual.”
“Have I?”
“Yes,” Pontoun said. “Usually, you have found a lover and retreated from the Season’s events by now. Why have you delayed?”
Gerard offered a one-shouldered shrug. “No lady has yet garnered any interest from me.”
“I find that difficult to believe.”
“I suppose I am unimpressed with what the ladies have to offer,” Gerard said smoothly. “Perhaps, I have already entertained myself with all the interesting ones.”
Pontoun said nothing, but he did not need to. Gerard could clearly discern the suspicion glinting in his friend’s eyes. While Gerard had chuckled and dismissed Dorothy’s concerns about discretion, he was forced to concede that she had been right to mention it. Pontoun had suspicions, but not for the reasons Gerard would have guessed.
“I see,” Pontoun said at last. “I suppose it is a difficult Season for both of us.”
“Indeed.”
But what was Gerard to do? If Pontoun was suspicious about Gerard’s lack of lovers, there were only two solutions to that plight. The first would be to admit that his newest lover was Dorothy. That would be the easiest solution, and he had revealed his lovers’ identities to Pontoun before. There was no reason for him to treat Dorothy any differently from the others, but the thought of revealing her sent a twinge of guilt through his chest.
The other solution would be to flirt with other ladies, but he strongly suspected that Dorothy would be upset if he did that. Any lady would be.
“That is the reason I have been attending so many events,” Gerard added abruptly. “I am hoping that some lady will capture my attention.”
