Page 49 of The Marquess and the Maiden

She smiled. “I do believe the changes we made to your hair and the shave are working.” She reached out a hand as if to touch his face, then pulled back abruptly. She was drawn to him as he was to her, yet she fought against it so fiercely.

“I’ve heard more than one of the ladies comment on how handsome you are.”

“Have you agreed with them?”

“Oliver, you know you are a handsome man. Are you begging for compliments?”

“Only from you.”

She waved her hand dismissively then reached into a hidden pocket at the side of her skirts and withdrew a folded paper. “I’ve narrowed your list down to these candidates, but I would entertain a different list if you have suggestions.”

He shifted his legs and set his cane on the seat next to him, though he said nothing.

She’d stepped closer. He could smell the sweet scent of her hair rinse. She glanced down at the paper in her hands, then back up at him. “Your eyes are rather terrifying,” she said.

“A pity. I do hate to frighten people.”

“They are so intensely blue though sometimes appear nearly silver. It is as if you have a storm brewing in their depths, much like when something rolls in over the ocean.”

He pulled her to him, and she fell onto his lap. “Have you spent much time thinking about my eyes, sweet Harriet? What else about me do you find terrifying?”

Her eyes widened, and her breath caught. “The way you make me feel.” Then she frowned as if she couldn’t believe she’d actually answered him.

“The way you make me feel is rather terrifying as well,” he said.

He was running out of time. He knew their mothers would be coming by this way, and he needed to time the kiss perfectly, else this plan wouldn’t work at all.

He lowered his mouth to hers as he caught sight of the group coming around the bend. But then the plan was lost as she opened her mouth to him. Her tongue swept forward, and he gripped his hands into her hips to hold her still.

“You have no idea how much I want you,” he said. Then he kissed her again.

“Lord Davenport, I will ask you to please unhand my daughter!”

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