Page 65 of The Duke of Daring (The Untouchables)
Another blush stained Grandmama’s cheeks. “I’m far too old for you, dear, but I appreciate the sentiment.” She winked at him, and Lucy nearly hugged Judith as she entered at precisely that moment, saving her from further torture as Grandmama fell even deeper under Andrew’s spell.
Judith, already garbed for their outing, handed Lucy her bonnet and her gloves.
“Thank you,” Lucy murmured.
“Have a nice walk,” Grandmama said, smiling particularly at Andrew. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Dartford.”
He bowed to her again, this time taking her hand and floating a kiss above her knuckles. “I assure you, the pleasure was entirely mine.”
Grandmama giggled softly and waved them off.
Lucy rolled her eyes as she preceded him from the room. Burton opened the door, and she left the house, going down the stairs and out along the pavement without waiting for him.
He caught up easily, coming up on her right. “You’re quite angry with me.”
She glanced at him, her eyes wide. “Why ever would you think that?”
“Because you should be. I was an ass.”
Whatever Lucy had expected, and she’d really had no idea, it wasn’t that. The ire that had propelled her from the house dissipated and was replaced with an uneasy wariness.
“Yes, you were.”
“Good, I’m glad we agree. Now we may move on.”
Lucy stopped short and stared at him as he continued for another couple of steps. Did he mean to just forget about everything that had happened at Darent Hall? “I think you owe me an explanation.”
He’d turned but didn’t meet her eyes. “There’s nothing to explain. I fell out of a balloon, and I behaved in a ghastly manner.”
He meant to blame it all on his accident? She moved closer so she could lower her voice to a near whisper. “Which part was ghastly, exactly—the part where you seduced me or the part where you evicted me from your house forever?” She delighted in the play of emotions across his face—his eyes widening, his brow furrowing, his jaw dropping for an instant.
“Did I really seduce you? I thought, and perhaps I was fabulously mistaken, that you’d shared in the seduction duties.”
“Even if I did, you didn’t answer my question,whichpart was ghastly? Or was it all just a tremendous, horrid mistake?”
He pressed his lips together and looked at her intently. He inched closer, keeping his voice low. “All of it was a tremendous mistake. I wouldn’t, however, characterize it as horrid. Would you?”
His gaze dipped briefly, caressing her body before piercing her with heat and desire. Damn him.
She steeled herself against the arousal he was stirring within her. “That morning was absolutely horrid. I was so worried for you, and you cast me out with no concern whatsoever. I think I deserved better than that.”
He started to touch her hand, but let go. She wished he hadn’t, but they were standing on a public street. She understood why they couldn’t do that. Not here. Not anywhere, really. He’d said what she knew in her heart—it had all been a mistake.
“You deserved far better than everything that happened. I mistreated you badly, Lucy, and I’m deeply sorry. Can we walk?”
Overcome by the depth of sincerity in his apology, she couldn’t find her voice. She nodded.
He offered her his arm, and she took it. She glanced back at Judith, who’d stopped several paces behind them. They exchanged knowing looks. Judith was well aware of who Andrew was. While Lucy hadn’t told her about what had happened at Darent Hall—she hadn’t told anyone, not even Ivy and Aquilla, who’d been frustrated by Lucy’s lack of disclosure—she knew Andrew was the man who accompanied her to the hells.
As they walked to the corner, Lucy reflected on how strange it was to be traversing this path with him in broad daylight and dressed as a woman. He seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he chuckled softly. “This feels somehow wrong.”
Lucy couldn’t help but smile. No matter what happened, she had wonderful memories of the time she’d shared with this man.
“Sometimes I have nightmares,” he said, surprising her with his candor. Like his heartfelt apology, she didn’t quite know how to react to his honesty. “And they leave me somewhat…debilitated. I didn’t want you to have to deal with that.”
“That didn’t mean you had to send me away.”
“But I did. You shouldn’t have stayed in the first place. You must agree that we both lost our heads.”
