Page 56 of Lord of Temptation
“No, it came from my youth. The morning I left England.”
“Why give it to me?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps because of your fanciful tale of stars falling into the sea. Just something to remember me by.”
As if she could ever forget him.
“The oranges. You sent those.”
“Yes. I can’t eat one without thinking of you. I hoped the same could be said of you regarding me.”
As much as she wished it wasn’t so, she did very little that didn’t remind her of him.
“Don’t you have journeys that await you? Obligations that must be met? You transport goods, do you not?”
“The advantage of owning my own ship is that no one commands me.”
Even if he didn’t own his own ship, she suspected no one would command him.
“But you must earn a living, you must ...” She felt as though she had so much to learn about him.
“All I must do, Anne, is dance with you.”
Each time he called her Anne, it spoke of intimacies. She wished he’d revert to calling her Princess. It kept her hackles up, made it easier to deal with him, to keep her distance. He was a lord and it gave a new meaning to everything they’d shared.
“The duke, your brother, I’ve never seen him. Is he about?”
“He’s dancing with his wife, Mary. To your left.”
As unobtrusively as possible, she glanced over her shoulder and nearly lost her footing. The left side of his face was heavily scarred and he wore an eye patch.
“He’s my twin,” Tristan said quietly.
“I can see a bit of resemblance.” The dark hair, the jawline—
“Most people don’t look beyond the scars.”
She studied the duchess. She had vibrant red hair and was smiling up at her husband as though she adored him, as though he had no hideous countenance to look upon.
“She doesn’t seem bothered by them.”
“But then she loves him.”
That much was obvious. She returned her attention to Tristan. “Do all of you bear scars?”
“None we can’t live with.”
Why could others not see what these brothers had endured to reclaim what they’d lost? Why were they not welcomed? Because they’d not grown up within the familiar confines, because they stood out as different.
She realized the music had drifted into silence as their movements came to a halt.
“Will you keep your promise to Lady Hermione?” she asked.
“If would be cruel of me not to, don’t you think? But I want another dance with you.”
“That would be most unwise.”
She hated the words even as she spoke them. He didn’t argue. He simply began to lead her from the dance floor. Tense and bristling, Jameson was standing at its edge. She was surprised he didn’t charge into the fray and snatch her away.
