Page 9 of The Duke of her Dreams

“Perhaps they are in the country, preparing. My papa is friends with the Pemberleys. I am sure that he can put in a good word. Besides, going to bed every day with a gentleman from the Finch House is not something I wish for you, Kate. Not even close.”

“Then what do you wish for, Helen? Having rejected most of tonight’s dancers, you will still be sought out because your father will give you a handsome dowry. I am quite sure that your drawing room will be full by morning with visitors bringing presents and flowers. What more do you want?”

Helen led Kate farther into the maze of hedges and leafy sculptures. “Very well, what I want is something every woman should want. A good time with a rake. Then, I want to make my family proud by getting engaged to someone of good standing among theton. Perhaps an earl or a viscount.”

Kate grimaced, utterly displeased. “Becoming a rake’s mistress before getting married? Your reputation could be ruined for life!”

Helen regarded her friend intently with a glint in her eyes. “Any careful miss knows not to get caught. Caution is the key to having your way in a man’s world.”

“Caution?” Kate repeated, simply astounded.

Helen smiled at her best friend. “I can damn well do things on my own. I just have to escape my aunt’s watchful gaze.”

They took a turn toward the hedge of flowers, chatting about the other ladies at the ball. It was a welcome relief for Helen to leave her aunt back at the ball. She followed the sweet scent of flowers and fresh air, leaving the heavy perfumes and jewelry of thetonbehind.

Helen saw a flash of brown from afar, and she pulled Kate’s gloved hands. Their steps became hurried as they moved toward the slouched figure in the corner.

“Where are we going?” Kate asked, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I might have seen my paragon,” she replied, stumbling over her words as her eyes fixated on the figure in the dark.

“What paragon? A rake?”

Helen nodded quickly and started her careful and calculating steps toward the man in the distance. In the soft glow of the lights from the house, his features were hard and stony. His face was turned the other way, so Helen could not see him properly. But, the way he rested on the wall and everything about him screamed to her.

“Do not go, Helen,” Kate whispered, grabbing her best friend’s hand. “You do not know what you are walking into.”

“Let go, Kate. I believe the opportunity presented itself of its own volition. And I must take it with fervor.”

“You do not know who that is?” Kate mused. “That,” she added, “is the worst rake ever known to London. You can’t seriously be thinking of pursuing someone of that undignified status? Perhaps he even came with a mistress to the gardens?”

Helen felt herself spiraling into the much-needed desire that she had been pushing away all evening. Her corset suddenly felt too tight, and she felt delicious sensations run through the base of her neck.

“Only a rake can give me what I want,” she replied. But when she turned around, the man was gone.

Helen threw all caution to the wind and chased after the man as he went deeper into the gardens. All she could see was his silhouette, but the tension in her veins only became tighter and heavier. Soon, she hitched up her skirts and quickened her pace. She hoped that the one chance she would get alone with a rake would not elude her forever.

“Good gracious! Might you be following me around?” A deep baritone rumbled from the figure in her sights as she bumped into him.

All sense of reason eluded Helen when his perfume serenaded her from all sides like an embrace. Masculine yet soft, it brought her world to a sudden stop. Her heart quickened, and passion engulfed her like a raging inferno.

“Outrageous! I simply came out for some air. The vinaigrette did nothing to mask the perfumes of theton,” Helen huffed, seeing how everything was going sideways even before she had a chance to tell him about her proposition.

“Outrageous?” he repeated, more of a question than a statement. “I could see you from the corner of my eye ever since I stepped into these gardens. Do you have a reason for accosting me this way?”

Helen stared at the light stubble on his chin, his blue eyes shimmering softly in the light. He looked nothing like she imagined her Jack to be. Instead, he was a much more handsome version if such a thing was possible. The man before her was almost completely shrouded in darkness, but Helen could see the angled lines of his face and the broad arc of his shoulders.

“Accosting you?” she replied incredulously. “That is a grave accusation, and I want you to take that back immediately.”

The man groaned, lightly throwing his head back out of humor. “Women these days are even less civilized. What are the mamas teaching their daughters? To trail the men they are smitten with?”

All the passion sapped out of Helen, leaving her bereft, and completely confounded. “Smitten? Civilized? How is that a part of this conversation? You accused me of something I did not do.”

“Following a man into the deepest parts of the garden without a chaperone in sight. That is no way a well-mannered lady should behave. You must be one of those mistresses then?”

Now, Helen was getting angry. “Mister, what is your name? I will see to it that you are duly punished for accusing me of being scandalous.”

“Surely, I never said that. But you seem awfully confident in your ability to punish me. Tell me, what is your family name?”

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