Page 15 of The Duke and the Spinster

He would have her. Somehow. He stood, unable to bring himself to move, seething.

~~~~~

Juliana had easily slipped away from her family – her father was caught up in a conversation about the perils of investing in shipping, and her mother and Eleanor were circulating, making sure that Eleanor was introduced to every possible eligible man present.

They did not notice her go.

The fact left her with a bitter sense of the inevitability of her spinsterhood, unless some man rashly decided to rescue her from that fate. And, the way she felt about men, even if a man offered, she would most likely refuse him.

She slipped down the hallway, and discovered a library, the door left ajar, and a small number of candelabra standing on the tables which stood in the centre of the room. She could not resist. There were far more books here than in their library at home, and she moved between the shelves, studying the titles which filled them.

A novel that she had not read caught her eye, and she slid it from the shelf. As she did, a small sound caught her attention – had the door just closed? She turned, stepping cautiously out from behind the tall shelves, just as someone else attempted to step around and into the space where she was. They collided.

She knew, instantly, who it was. His scent surrounded her, filling her senses with dizzying speed. How could this be happening? She had tried to hide, had every intention of not being anywhere near him, and yet, here he was. As the initial shock receded, she realised that she was pressed against his hard chest, her hand resting over his heart, and that he held her.

His hands gripped her shoulders, preventing her from falling, which she surely would have from the force of their impact, had he not gripped her so. Warmth spread from where they touched. Suddenly, she could not breathe.

She opened her eyes, with no idea of when she had closed them, and looked up, meeting his dark brown eyes. It was like looking into a deep forest pool, and she could as easily drown in them.

Stillness held them, and neither spoke. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his head, and brought his lips to hers.

It was like nothing she had imagined – it was far more, far better. His lips were soft, supple, gentle against hers. They parted, and his tongue slowly traced the contours of her lips. She gasped, unsteady on her feet, as if all control had been drawn from her limbs. His tongue traced further, following the very inner surface of her slightly parted lips. The book fell from her nerveless fingers, landing on the floor with a solid thump.

The noise broke the spell, and they started apart, both with eyes wide, and panting a little.

“I…”

“Your Grace…”

They spoke at the same moment, and stopped. She did not have the courage to try to speak again. She needed to escape, to be anywhere but here, to not be taken in by his flattery, by his scent, by his very presence. She had to remember that it was all a lie, almost certainly.

“I apologise, Lady Juliana. That was completely inappropriate of me. I… I simply could not help myself, when your beauty was suddenly so close.”

She looked away, feeling cold, all of the pleasure of the previous moments gone. There it was again – the proof that he was false – the flattery that could not be true, the claims of her ‘beauty’.

She lifted her gaze to him again. He was so practiced, his expression looked so genuine. But it could not be.

Her heart ached, though she told it not to. For she wanted him to be sincere, wanted it more than she had ever wanted anything. She wanted the fairy-tale to be true. But it wasn’t. Would never be.

“Excuse me, Your Grace.”

She pushed him gently, and, like the gentleman he was trained to be, he stepped back, allowing her to pass. She fled. She did not leave her mother’s side for the rest of the night, no matter how painful it was to watch men fawn over Eleanor.

~~~~~

Garrett lifted the fallen book, noted with some amusement that it was a Minerva Press novel, and placed it on a side table. A servant would put it back on its shelf tomorrow, he was sure.

He discovered a decanter of brandy on one of the tables, poured himself a glass, and settled into a chair. He needed the quiet of the room more than ever, now. He needed to think. What had just happened? Why had she run? Surely, his kiss had not been that abhorrent, no matter how inappropriate it was?

And the memory of that kiss! Of how she had felt against him, so soft, yet strong, of how her innocent response had been there, causing her to melt against him.

He had felt her heart beating, just as hard as his had been, seen the evidence of her rapid breathing in the rise and fall of her breasts where the neck of the gown dipped low. She had been as affected as he had, perhaps more. And then he had apologised – and she had looked hurt, and almost… horrified?

And moments later, she had fled the room, a look of anguish on her face. How could an apology create such a reaction?

An hour later, though he ached with wanting to find her, and kiss her again, he was no further ahead in understanding her reaction.

He had to hope that, whatever information Mr Sandiford provided him tomorrow would enlighten him. None of it made any sense whatsoever.

As he swallowed the last of the brandy, he found himself darkly amused. For the first time in his life, he actually found a woman interesting, attractive, and wanted to spend time with her. And what did she do? She fled from his presence, as if he were something terrible, worthy of fear.

A writer of farces for the stage could not have invented a more ridiculous situation.

~~~~~

Fondleton had composed himself enough to consider returning to the other rooms, and seeking out a card game to console himself, and taken his first steps in that direction, when the library door opened with some force, and Lady Juliana, unaware of his presence a few feet away, rushed out, and almost ran down the hallway.

The wind of her passing ruffled his carefully structured hair, and he ground his teeth in frustration again. How could this be happening? He had never had so much trouble getting a woman alone before!

He paused. There was no sound from the library. Kilmerstan was not going to follow her. Perhaps they had quarrelled. Well, if that was the case, it would be to his benefit – for if they had quarrelled, surely Kilmerstan would not be in his way, next time he tried to trap Lady Juliana alone.