Page 10 of A Wicked Duke's Redemption
“Then why ruin the mystery?” Leo asked, his heart pounding so loudly that it echoed inside his head. “I can be whosoever you desire, my lady.”
He added a flamboyant bow to the declaration, which earned him a small, bell-like laugh and a delicate curtsey from the young lady. That was promising. Leo knew that the young lady would probably not assume that he was the Duke of Farnham. Even if she knew his Christian name, there were many men in Britain named Leopold. Still, it was better to be cautious than regretful.
“Whosoever I desire?” she asked, her lips twitching into an amused smile. “Let us suppose that I wish for you to be someone that you do not. What, then?”
“Impossible,” Leo replied. “I would be any man in the world if it meant that I could spend more time in your presence.”
“You are skilled in words, good Sir.”
“I am well-practiced.”
The lady smiled. A new dance began, but Leo did not move to join the dancers. Nor did she. “Tell me who I am and who you are,” Leo said. “I must call you something. Perhaps, proud Titania?”
“If I am Titania, that would mean you are Oberon, and I doubt you would like the comparison.”
She knew Shakespeare! Leo arched an eyebrow. “How does a young woman from this tiny village know the works of the Bard?”
“I have a great love for books and the written word,” she said. “The Bard and many others besides. And how do you know Shakespeare’s works?”
“Ah, I am afraid that I have never been much inclined to read, but my father was a…” Leo trailed off, searching silently for a suitable lie. “Well, he was a great admirer of the theater. He ensured that I knew all of Shakespeare’s plays.”
“But you did not enjoy them.”
“I found them passable.”
She hummed. “Onlypassable. Are you quite aware that many consider William Shakespeare to be the most talented author in the whole of English literature?”
“I am. And I fear those people are wrong.”
“Oh, indeed? Who is better?”
Leo had not the faintest idea, and he supposed that he ought to have. “I would need some time to ruminate upon that answer, my Lady. However, I am certain it is not Shakespeare.”
“My Lady? I am hardly worth of that address, Sir.”
“I thought you were Titania, Queen of the Fairies,” Leo teased. “Is she not worthy of such an address?”
“I believe the correct address would beYour Majesty.”
Leo grinned and bowed his head. “Just so. I apologize for my error.”
“I might forgive you,” she said. “After all, I did not especiallywantto be Titania.”
“Then who would you like to be? You can be anyone tonight.”
“Can I?”
Leo’s face softened, although it was impossible to determine if she would notice. He wore a mask, after all. “Of course.”
She tilted her head a little, seemingly contemplating the question very seriously. “I wish to be a romantic heroine.”
Aromanticheroine? As Leo gazed into her eyes, his heartbeat quickened. The woman’s eyes were wide and soft, hopeful even. He could sense that, like him, she wanted this night to be something new and different. She wanted to be the heroine in a story of true love, which meant he was supposed to be her prince. Her lover, the man who would swear his eternal devotion to her. Leo swallowed hard.
This was some young country girl. He doubted she had an inkling of what lovers did behind closed doors and when no one was about to see. His fingers ached to touch her, to press her body against his and whisper about how he would be her prince and take her to a grand estate and keep her there for as long as she wanted.
“Then…” he trailed off, trying to think of an appropriate heroine to liken this young woman to. Leo was having a difficult time with that, as it seemed all the romances he knew ended tragically, and he knew that it would be highly inappropriate to tell this young woman of the scandalous direction his thoughts had turned. “I suppose you are Dame Ragnelle. Do you know of that tale?”
She smiled. “If I am Dame Ragnelle, you must be Sir Gawain.”
