Page 28 of A Duchess' Irresistible Tutor

“Daisy, may I embrace you?” Philip asked, looking more than a little relieved, and his question caught her a little off guard. Having just agreed to forget about their kiss and all the trouble it had caused, this was the last thing she had expected him to suggest. As if he sensed her reluctance, he quickly added, “I merely wish to thank you for forgiving me.”

Though she was entirely certain that he was making the suggestion innocently, Daisy couldn’t help feeling it might be dangerous. After all, the last time they had been close to each other, they had kissed, and all hell had broken loose.

“I suppose we are friends, after all,” Daisy said once she realised that she couldn’t fight the urge to know what it felt like to be embraced by him. She was well aware that many young noblewomen might have killed to be in her situation right then, and although she had never allowed herself to be that kind of woman, she couldn’t help feeling some satisfaction as she held open her arms to him.

Regret washed over Daisy the moment that he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. It wasn’t because she had allowed his embrace but because the moment he did, she longed for him to kiss her again.We are just friends, and friends do not kiss!she snapped at herself, fighting the urge to lift her head just to see if perhaps she might be able to entice him into kissing her again.I am not that kind of woman!

When the earl’s son squeezed her gently, she felt the strength of his muscular arms around her, and her knees grew weaker still. Heart racing and head spinning, Daisy was relieved that he didn’t immediately release her when he stepped backwards out of the embrace. The last thing she wanted was to fall merely because she could no longer hold herself up due to his closeness.

How are we ever to merely be friends?she wondered, but she was pleasantly surprised by his distraction when he reminded her, “Daisy, there are rumours around the university that Jupiter shall be low in the sky in a few days’ time. The hour might grow late to see it, but I have a telescope, and I was hoping you might be able to share the experience with me.”

Fluttering in her chest made it almost impossible for her to speak for several moments. Instead, she smiled at him warmly and breathed deeply until she could find her voice again. “Philip, are you asking me to sneak out and look at the stars with you?”

“Daisy, Jupiter is a planet,” Philip reminded her.

At the very same moment, she said, “Yes, Philip, I know that Jupiter is a planet.”

She had seen the amusement on his face, and having spent much time with him, she had known exactly what he had been about to say. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment at having got it exactly right, yet Philip looked almost impressed.

“Am I so predictable?” he asked, and although the moonlight wasn’t very strong, Daisy was certain she saw his cheeks starting to blush.

“Yes, Philip, you are,” Daisy responded playfully, squeezing his forearms where she had gripped hold of him again as he slipped out of their embrace.

“Then I must work harder to surprise you,” Philip vowed with a brilliantly charming smile. He then added with a sigh, “I know it is not exactly appropriate for me to ask you to sneak out during the night, but it is the only time that Jupiter shall be visible.”

“I have managed it tonight, haven’t I?” Daisy replied mischievously. “I think I can find a way of doing so again.”

“Only if you are certain?” Philip said, looking a little shy suddenly. Daisy had to admit the expression was rather endearing on such a handsome face.

“Are you so silly that you think I would miss a chance to see Jupiter?” she said, filling her voice with sarcasm and placing her hands on her hips. At that moment, she wasn’t sure where things would go, but she was definitely relieved that what they’d shared hadn’t entirely messed everything up.

Bertha is adamant that I can do much worse than Philip,she told herself, already trying to come up with a plan.I am sure she will have no qualms about helping me sneak out.

Before he could say anything, she told him, “My sister will take any chance she can to go behind her mother’s back.”

Chapter 15

Philip sat upon a checkered blanket on a secluded yet fairly open lawn within the outer boundaries of Christ Church Meadow. It had been several nights since visiting Lady Daisy at her bedroom window during the middle of the night. Just as it had then, the moon was shining, cold yet comforting, though not comforting enough to stop Philip from worrying.

What if Lady Daisy had not managed to sneak out? What if she had been caught? What if instead of helping her, her sister had exposed her, and she was currently being dragged before her father and his wife to face whatever punishment they would dole out upon her?

The hour was growing later and later, and he was beginning to think that he ought to pack up his telescope and go in search of the young lady. Maybe something had happened to her. Maybe she had come into some trouble on her way to the meadow. The thought that she might have been hurt, fallen, or even attacked on her way to meet him made him feel sick to his stomach.

I should have argued with her until she agreed to let me escort her!he thought angrily, remembering how Daisy had been adamant that she was a big girl and she could quite easily sneak out of her house and walk to meet him at the meadow.

That’s it!Philip decided when he realised that more than an hour had passed since the time they had agreed to meet. He pushed himself with frustration to his feet and turned towards his telescope, groaning at the idea of having to take the damned thing apart after it had already taken him half an hour to put it together in the first place.

Perhaps if it had not been so expensive, he might have risked leaving it where it was to go in search of her, but his father would never forgive him if anything were to happen to it. It wasn’t the money or even the fact that it wasactuallyhis father’s telescope; it was merely the principle.

He had just begun to unfasten one of the bolts on the scope when he heard a gentle hissing whisper from the bushes nearby. “Philip? Philip!”

His heart skipped a beat the moment he recognised the voice, and he whipped around just in time to find Lady Daisy fighting with a bramble thicket that had gripped hold of her dress. Refastening the bolt, Philip rushed away from the telescope, racing across the open space between them to rescue the lady from her prickly attacker.

“Here, let me help you!” he exclaimed, hurrying to drop down into a crouch and remove the skirt of her simple shift gown from the thicket. It was a gown so unlike her usual multi-layered day dresses and ball gowns that it took Philip by surprise. Even half-hidden by her emerald-green cloak, the gown was still elegant and accentuated all the lady’s curves.

Philip had to bite back the urge to tell her that she looked beautiful. He was sure that she would not appreciate the compliment, especially after the fact that they had promised merely to be friends and forget about any kind of romantic entanglement that had begun between them.

“I am glad that you could make it,” he said instead, smiling as he held out his hand to guide her to the telescope.

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