Page 47 of A Lady's Lesson in Scandal
Two incredibly unpleasant thoughts had taken root in Drake’s mind over the course of the afternoon, choking out everything else like ivy. First, Drake’s earlier suspicion aboutFranklin divesting Millicent of her virtue was gaining traction in his mind, which brought on the second and far more troubling question. What if she still wanted St George? It defied logic, but if Franklin had been Millicent’s first love, her feelings about him would be powerful and difficult to dismiss. A tryst would explain why the two of them came into the room together and were acting so awkward.
But Millicent wants me as much as I want her.
At least physically. He knew by the way her eyes warmed when he approached. How she teased him when everyone else ran and hid from his nasty temper. How her body melted against him when he held her. How she moaned when he nuzzled her delicate throat.
And sheloathedFranklin St George. She’d not said as much, but she didn’t have to use words to convey her feelings. She had stiffened her spine when his coach approached Alder House. Throughout the afternoon, any time St George came close to Millicent, her whole body leaned away from him. Though Drake well knew, sometimes a person avoided what they wanted most. It begged the question, what exactly had transpired between them before they re-joined the group that afternoon?
Patricia had warned Drake that Millicent would cuckold him before the week was out, but nothing that vile woman said rang true. So, what was his devious wife-to-be playing at? And was it a coincidence she was speaking privately with the very man Drake had been tasked to investigate?
There was only one way to find out. With a determined growl, he marched to the door and flung it open.
‘Bloody hell! Drake! You scared me half to death.’ Millicent had been sitting on a padded stool in front of her vanity, but at his abrupt entrance, she jumped up, her hands disappearing into her emerald skirts. She looked magnificent in a scoop-neckeddress. Drake wanted to lock the door and devour her. Instead, he focused on his suspicions.
‘What occurred between you and Franklin St George this afternoon?’ Not exactly subtle, but Drake wasn’t some sonnet-spouting idiot. His gentleness from the night before was an anomaly. Best she get used to his rough ways.
Millicent raised her brows, her full lips parting in a prolonged breath. ‘I ran into him after returning to my room to deposit my gloves and coat.’
‘That doesn’t exactly answer my question, does it? It’s the second question I’ve asked today that you’ve evaded.’ Drake slowly walked closer, stalking her like some limping beast. He knew his behaviour was unforgivable, but he didn’t care.
Millicent’s luscious mouth curved in a smile as she looked away. ‘You’re right. A novel experience, I’d wager.’
He wouldn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he prowled closer.
She huffed out a breath. ‘I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.’
Drake’s cock hardened, and his heart thrashed in his chest. ‘I notice everything when it comes to you, Millicent. Even when I wish I didn’t.’
Millicent’s skin darkened into a shade of red he was beginning to crave. ‘As my future husband, you deserve to know some things about my past. Franklin is the man who…’ She fumbled.
‘He was your lover?’ Drake spat the accusation at her like a poisoned dart. ‘Hardly a mere “family acquaintance”, darling.’ Perverse pleasure in using her own words against her twisted his lips into a painful smile. He hated the anger boiling in his blood, burning away his control. What did he care who she’d been with in her past? Or who she would be with in her future? That is what a distant marriage entailed. Both partners were free to take discreet lovers, and yet the very idea filled him with fury.
Millicent paused, a soft, husky laugh escaping. ‘Neither of our descriptions are true. He was not just a family acquaintance, yet calling him my lover implies there was some level of love involved, and there wasn’t. Certainly not for Franklin. But, yes. He was the man who took my virtue. Though in fairness to him, I offered it up freely. And while I fancied myself in love, it was really only girlish infatuation.’
‘Yet, despite this lack of love, he wishes to renew a physical relationship with you?’ Drake was going to kill Franklin St George. He cared not if the man was guilty of any crime other than propositioning Drake’s almost wife.
Millicent’s beautiful eyes widened and her blush spread, painting across her ample breasts. Breasts Drake dearly wanted to bury his head in, forgetting everything except her scent and softness. ‘How did you know?’
The harsh sound he emitted couldn’t be called a laugh. ‘He’s a man. And you are far more desirable than you think.’
Millicent bit her bottom lip. Drake suppressed a groan as her white teeth buried themselves into plump, red skin.
‘I don’t think I’m… That’s really not the point.’
‘What did you say to his proposition?’ Drake held his breath and pretended her answer didn’t have the power to shatter him. He shouldn’t have allowed his useless heart to defy him.
She took a halting step closer. ‘I told him if he ever dared approach me again about the subject, he would be duelling with you at dawn.’
Drake’s relieved exhale left no doubt as to his fears.
‘Did you think I might accept his offer?’
He couldn’t answer. Instead, he stood silent, blinking hard and wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole. Of course he thought she would choose her unbroken first love over the stern, angry, scarred man Drake had become. To expose such vulnerability in front of her was excruciating.
‘Well, that doesn’t say much for your opinion of me, does it?’ Millicent huffed out an exasperated breath. The woman could speak volumes with no words at all. ‘Neither of us have much trust, it would seem.’
He was close enough to smell citrus and cotton. One more step, and she would be within arm’s length. ‘No. We don’t. Explain something to me, Millicent. What exactly is your connection with the Duchess of Dorsett?’
Her gaze flitted away from him.
