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“His Grace is very handsome,” Eleanor agreed.

“Oh, have you even looked at him, my dear?” Margaret asked. She placed two fingers under Eleanor’s chin and lifted her head up.

And there they were again, those deep, brooding, blue eyes, one still flickering with the reflection of the fire. The duke held her gaze, the smirk gone from his lips as he challenged her to make an assessment.

He was athletic and strong. His garb left everything to the imagination, but she could see from the shape of him that he had a pleasant body beneath. Eleanor had never seen a man’s body. Maybe she had seen him in her youth, when they had sometimes swum in the lake, but not as a man. And now, she found herself imagining how his body might look.

When she felt the warmth come to her cheeks, she quickly looked away. The index finger of his right hand twitched a little, perhaps a subconscious moment or a tic? Her eyes had moved on, but her mind hadn’t. She thought about her own body and how it might feel to be touched.

Stop before you give your thoughts away!

“Yes,” Eleanor said, looking the duke in the eyes again. She pushed her shoulders back a little more. “His Grace is very handsome, and I am honored that he will take the time to monitor my movements this Season.”

The duke watched her the entire time, not saying a word. He didn’t glare at her, but he didn’t look away either.

“Oh, this will be the best Season ever!” Margaret gushed. “Well, I can’t stay and talk all evening. Till we meet again.”

With that, the Dowager Viscountess of Blackridge spun around in almost a full circle to face the door, and she skipped out of the room.

I have barely left my teenage years, yet she is the one skipping about, and I am the one who is worried about her.

“This has gone splendidly,” Nathaniel announced, straightening his jacket. “I shall, at once, take my leave, and the two of you can get to know each other better.”

Eleanor had been staring at the open door when her mother had exited, and it took her a few seconds to register what her brother had just said. She spun to look, not at Nathaniel, but at the duke. His eyes were ready to lock with hers, and his stare almost knocked her back.

She quickly averted her eyes, and her head spun around so she could glare at her brother.

“We should not be left alone without a chaperone,” Eleanor stuttered.

Just the thought of it caused her stomach to turn. She had never been left alone in the company of a man. Eleanor immediately regretted her words. She had heard the trepidation in her own voice.

He must think I’m scared to be alone with him. I have no such fear. It is only improper.

“I trust His Grace implicitly, Ellie,” Nathaniel pointed out. “I have known Devereux since childhood. Still, I do not intend to leave the two of you completely alone. A maid will be up soon. You have no need to worry.”

“I’m not worried about anything,” Eleanor protested, folding her arms across her chest, and then quickly dropping them to her sides so she didn’t look defensive.

“Then, it is settled,” Nathaniel said. “I will leave you both alone to discuss arrangements for the Season.” He said a couple of words to the duke as he walked toward the door, and then her brother was gone.

Eleanor stood, looking toward the fireplace where her brother had been. Out of the corner of her eye, the duke stood still like a statue. She could feel his eyes on her.

She wasn’t afraid. Perhaps it was wrong to be left alone in the company of a man, even if her brother trusted him implicitly, but it was not fear in her heart. A mischievous excitement had grown, pushing down the trepidation she refused to acknowledge.

The situation was all wrong, and that was what made it new and exciting.

Eleanor turned to face her fate and the duke.

CHAPTER 3

Gabriel watched Eleanor closely. She had taken some time to compose herself, and now she turned to face him.

He knew she was scared, and she had every right to be, having been left alone with him until the maid arrived. He wanted to step over to her and pull her into his arms to comfort her. Gabriel almost smiled at the thought. That would do more to startle than comfort her.

She did everything right to convince him that she was unbothered by the situation. Her soft blue eyes were neither opened too wide in shock or surprise, nor narrowed with fear or suspicion. Her body wasn’t tense; her shoulders were pushed back. And when she looked at him, she looked him in the eyes, not averting her gaze.

Yet, the fingers on both hands rubbed at the fabric covering her upper thighs. She obviously hadn’t noticed, or she would have put a stop to the action.

Gabriel almost smiled, but didn’t. Her actions gave away her fear, no matter how much she tried to hide it. He had been thrust into a situation he didn’t want to be in, but that didn’t mean he should be rude or make the poor woman feel worse about herself.