Page 23 of How to Tempt a Duke

And, God, but didn’t she have a sensual mouth? Full and shaped for kissing, with a slight cleft in her bottom lip. How had he not noticed before?

He watched as she headed in the direction of her mother. Had it been his imagination, or had her cheeks been stained with a blush before she left him...?

Several hours later he found himself in Lottie’s drawing room as they awaited Eleanor’s arrival.

She was fascinating, this daughter of his enemy. Through their conversations he was beginning to obtain a comprehension of what had established her unbending fortitude. Her brazen questions had helped him glean a hint of the woman beneath. There was strength there, of course—an inner strength he did not often see in most people—but there was also a hidden hunger for life, something she was afraid to unleash.

“You’re smiling,” Lottie accused. She pointed at his face. “Did you find what you need for the Coeur de Feu?” She stood up a little taller with excitement. “Do you know where it is?”

Reality crashed into his ruminating. He was consorting with the enemy—enjoying it, no less—and was not a single step closer to obtaining the stone.

Charles ground his teeth in frustration and shook his head. “It still eludes me. Damn them for making this so difficult.”

“If it isn’t the stone...” She pursed her lips and captured him in the line of her scrutiny. Her mouth fell open. “Is it a lady?”

Charles smirked and turned away to fill a glass with liquid resilience, seeing the possibility of a Lottie-mandated inquisition. “I assure you, it is not.”

“Oh, pish. You can’t fool me.” Lottie’s voice drew closer as she did. “Everyone is susceptible to love. Even you.” With the last word, she tapped the tip of his nose.

Love. The idea was laughable. Of all the people to love, the offspring of the Earl of Westix was the last on Charles’s list.

He splashed a bit of Scotch into his glass and slid a sideways glance in her direction. “I find your jaunty assessment reprehensible.”

“It’s all part of my charm.” She propped a hand on her hip and grinned impishly up at him. “Aren’t you supposed to wed now that you’re a duke?”

“After I’ve found the stone,” Charles muttered into his glass, and took a sip of his Scotch.

The butler appeared through the double doors. “Lady Eleanor has arrived.”

Charles kept his face impassive, lest Lottie manage to notice any change in his features. While he did not hold affection for Lady Eleanor, he was anticipating seeing her with pleasure. After all, she was softening toward him through their discussions. It would take a few meetings more, but if things continued he would no doubt convince her to give him the journals.

It was only a matter of time.

Chapter Seven

Being open was extremely difficult for Eleanor at her next set of lessons, despite the allure of it. Her first bout of tedious introductions proved her absent genuine appeal, and the second didn’t let the feigned enjoyment reach her eyes.

In truth, pleasantness was a trying feat to perform when one’s stomach was knotted into a storm of anxiety.

Charles nodded encouragingly at her. “Perhaps think of a humorous thought or event.”

“You know ladies are not to give in to the effects of mirth. It’s common.” She hated her father’s words on her own tongue, and yet she could not fully cast them aside. “And it’s impossible to think of anything comical with the two of you staring so expectantly at me. As if I’m...on display. It’s most unsettling.”

Lottie tapped a finger on her bottom lip in contemplation before jolting upright suddenly. “I have an idea. Do excuse me.”

Charles met Eleanor’s gaze in the empty room—too beautifully blue, too familiar. The unease in her stomach tightened.

“Smile at me,” he said. “I promise not to ravish you in the time Lottie is gone.”

He winked at her, the rogue.

Eleanor stretched a smile over her lips once more. Her mouth trembled with the effort.

Lord Charles cocked an eyebrow in a debonair display of consideration. “You look like you’re trying too hard to smile.”

The man was insufferable.

“I am trying too hard to smile,” she exclaimed.