Page 78 of The Duelist for the Ton
The voices drew nearer, and she slipped through the doorway. Succumbing to impulse, he followed, closing the door behind them.
“Portia, I wanted to apologize for this afternoon,” he said. “The last thing I wanted to do was distress you. I—”
“Hush!” she whispered. “Someone’s coming.”
Footsteps approached, and she leaned toward him, trembling.
“Ask Sarah to have another bedchamber made up, Simon,” a voice said in the passageway outside.
“Are you sure, Mr. Jenkins, sir? He’s unlikely to wish to stay the night.”
“Has his horse been stabled?” the first voice said.
“Sam’s said to leave him be for the moment. Lady Star’s in season.”
“Ah, quite so. The duchess won’t appreciate anything happening to her horse. Well, I’m sure Sam knows what’s…”
The voices faded, along with the footsteps, and Lady Portia exhaled. Then she stiffened, withdrew from his embrace, and moved toward the center of the room.
Stephen’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but most of the room was still in shadow, despite the light from the candle on a large mahogany desk at the far end of the room. The flame cast a soft light that, though it failed to reach the corners of the room, illuminated a book on the desk, picking out the gold embossingon the spine. Shadows seemed to shift about in the corner beside the curtains—a trick of the candlelight, perhaps.
“I ought to return,” she said. “Eleanor will be wondering where I am.”
“The duchess saw me leave the drawing room,” Stephen said. “Something in her eyes told me that she knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That you were distressed—and I’m the cause.”
She shook her head. “I was merely a little out of sorts. Too much sun, perhaps. Dr. McIver’s always warning me about the dangers of it.”
“What about the dangers of being in the company of a judgmental, sanctimonious arse?”
Her eyes widened, two sapphires glowing in the candlelight, and he took her hand and drew her to him once more.
“Permit me to beg forgiveness for what I said. The very last thing I want is to cause you pain.”
“Is that why you followed me here, to apologize?” She let out a bitter laugh. “There’s no need. After all, according to your moral compass, I’m the one in the wrong—you’rethe paragon of honesty and integrity.”
“Honesty, perhaps, but as to integrity, you are my superior.”
“Ah, you’re here to flatter,” she said. “Have I not said that flattery is akin to an insult, for it’s based on the assumption that I’m empty-headed enough to succumb to a few meaningless words?”
“Will you not let me explain myself?” he said. “Don’t you now know why I followed you?”
“Pray tell me, colonel,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion, “why not bestow some of that honesty you value so much upon me? Why did you risk my reputation by following me here?”
“Heavens, woman, must you be so infuriating?” he said. “I followed you here because I love you!”
Her hand flew to her chest and she drew in a sharp breath.
“You…” She shook her head. “B-but what you said earlier…”
“You think I’m only capable of loving a woman who agrees with everything I say?” He reached toward her and cupped her face. She let out a low groan and closed her eyes, and another tear rolled down her cheek.
“On, Portia, my dear one, I love you not in spite of our differences of opinion, butbecauseof them—because you trust me enough to give me your opinion, freely and openly. And dare I begin to hope that your ability to speak freely to me is due to some regard you have for me also?”
Another tear spilled onto her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb.
