Page 58 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

“You know that is not what I meant.”

“Did you not want me to kiss you?”

“I did. I mean I do, but…”

“The door is closed.”

“And the footman will be back any minute now.”

“Then you had better kiss me again.”

She smiled despite her worry over the footman and kissed him hungrily, their mouths slanting over each other in frantic movements. At last Edward released her, and she instantly touched her now swollen lips.

“I love the way you look all flushed after kissing,” he said. “You are very bold to kiss a duke in his breakfast room, Lady Rose.”

“Not when he kissed me first,” she said and picked up her plate again, filling it with eggs and ham. She was suddenly starving. He said nothing but raised a ducal eyebrow. By the time the footman came back in, they were both seated, and Rose was eating her breakfast.

“Thank you, James,” she said as he poured her some tea. “Do you know if the dowager and Lady Marianne have gone out?”

“The duchess has gone to see Lady Lucinda and the baby, my lady. I believe that Lady Marianne is in the garden with Lord Dunstan.”

“Unchaperoned?”

“May is with her, my lady.”

She felt a little silly then. “Of course,” she said. Who was she to sound so appalled that Marianne and Lord Dunstan might want time alone when she had just been kissing her brother? Had they had the chance to kiss?

Once the footman took his place by the door, Rose looked at the duke. His face was unreadable. She was sure he would be smirking or laughing at her. He stood quite suddenly, causing her to jump.

“My apologies. I must attend to some business. Enjoy the rest of your meal.” He bowed and left the room, and she could hear his deep timbre talking to the butler.

The room felt cold now that he was gone, and her appetite had quite left her. She made her way to her room to write to Max, but what could she possibly write about? She could hardly tell a child that she had been kissing her absent father on several occasions now. She felt as though she was betraying Max. Her intention had been to get to know the duke, perhaps to the point where he might tell her his side of the story. Now she realized what a naïve plan that had been. He might never indulge her with the information she longed for.

Rose knew what her father would say. That she was playing a dangerous game and that the duke was not the type of man an inexperienced young woman should dally with. He would be right.

If her father had still been alive, none of this would have happened. She would still be at Brookhaven House tending to her garden, riding her horse, and spending her evenings by the fire reading or sketching. Until her father became bedridden and she nursed him, she had spent her days without a worry in the world. His sickness had changed her. It had made her truly look around her and realize that life was finite. She took more of an interest in the estate and helped her father with the estate business.

Cecil had been away at Oxford for most of the two years her father had been ill. When he was home, he was more interested in the guests he brought with him. The fact his father was dying did not seem to bother him, and one night she overheard him talking to one of his cronies that he could not wait for the old man to die so that he could live his life the way he wanted and not the way his father demanded. When he was the earl, he would demand proper respect. Her brother had never learned that respect was earned, not demanded.

It was a lovely day, and normally she would have gone out into the garden, but she wanted to give Marianne and Lord Dunstan their time together. It dawned on her that her friend might be married by the end of the season, and she had not found one man with whom she wanted to explore a relationship.

How would the duke react if she did start being interested in another man? She was in a delicate position. Either she shunned the duke and actively pursued another man with the goal of marriage, or she gave up her plan to marry and continued a fruitless affair with the duke. She needed him now because of what her brother was threatening. She could not fight her sibling without having the duke at her back.

She sighed loudly and put the paper back in her drawer. She took herself to the window and sat there with her feet tucked up under her skirt. She watched the lives of others move about unhindered by her internal chaos. They had a purpose, and she was starting to wonder what her purpose was.

The ducal carriage pulled up out front, and she peered down to watch the dowager alight and go up the steps. Rose picked up her book and left the room. She wanted to know how baby William was, and she needed an excuse to leave this room.

In the parlor, she was shocked to find the dowager in animated discussion with the duke. She hesitated in the doorway when Edward turned towards her. There was something about his eyes, the way he was looking at her that made her body heat.

“Rose, my dear, come in. I have just returned from visiting Lucinda.”

“Oh, how wonderful. How is baby William?”

“He is the most beautiful child.”

“She has said that about all her grandchildren,” the duke said dryly.

“I would only say it if it were true. All my grandchildren are blessings. Gabrielle, in fact, sent a message this morning inviting us to a picnic after church on Sunday. Do you not think it a lovely idea?”