Page 50 of His Highland Duchess
She hurried outside, grateful for the darkness that cloaked the balcony in full. It ran the entire length of the ballroom also, so she was quick to hurry down its length and out of sight, needing the isolation to fix her dress and calm herself.I have never felt so stupid. And after Lysander defended me, exposing himself like that, only for stupid me to embarrass him like this!
Despite her best efforts, she began to sob.
“Margaret…” Lysander’s voice was softly spoken, coming from behind her.
She jumped but did not turn around, sniffing and wiping her nose. “Da nae come over here. Please.”
He ignored the request, hurrying to where she was standing with her back to him. “What is wrong?” He reached her, his hands resting on her elbows, but she pushed them away, refusing to look at him. “Was it Lady Brimstone? I am so sorry that she said those things. I will make sure to have a word with her husband at –”
“It was nae her,” Margaret said, sniffing again.
“What then?”
Is he being daft? Surely he saw what had happened! And surely he is as embarrassed as I am? “My dress…” She sniffed and wiped her nose. “It was almost completely open at the front.And everyone…” She sniffed again. “Everyone saw it. I am so embarrassed.”
“Oh…” His sighed. “Margaret, there is no need to be –"
“Of course there is!” She sniffed again and wiped her nose. “I am so sorry, Lysander. I dinnae mean to embarrass ye.”
“Is that… is that what you think I am? Embarrassed?”
“Are you nae?”
Again, his hands found her shoulders. This time, however, he did not let her push him away, forcing her to turn and face him. She tried to hide her face, for surely her make-up was running and her nose was blotchy, but he reached up and rested a hand under her chin so she had no choice but to look at him.
He wore a caring smile as he looked down at her. It was dark, his features mostly obscured, but she could sense it in him. And she could see the way his eyes glimmered in the moonlight. There was no embarrassment there. No anger or disappointment. Not even close.
“I am not embarrassed,” he said softly, still with his hand under her chin.
“But –”
“Nor do I care what everyone else thinks,” he spoke over her. “Not about this, anyhow. A wardrobe mishap…” He laughed. “It is not the first to ever occur, nor will it be the last. I promise you, Margaret, nobody but Lady Brimstone took note. And she only did because she was made to look a fool and was desperate to recover.”
She believed him. Of course, she did. But now Margaret felt a fool for overreacting!Out of the frying pan and right into the fire. Why am I so hopeless at this?Because she cared was why. Now that she had begun to commit to this marriage and give it a chance, she could not help but think about the future, wonder how that might look, while finding that she liked what she saw very much.
It was still early days. Anything might happen yet. Still, Margaret had felt the change taking place between herself and the duke. She liked it very much. And more than that, she knew now that she was desperate not to ruin everything.
“I feel like a fool…” she said softly, unable to meet his eyes.
“There is no need to.”
“But I do.”
He studied her closely. Then he glanced about the empty balcony quickly. “May I be honest with you?”
“I guess…”
“I do not care about the wardrobe mishap.” He lowered his hand from her chin, taking both her hands instead, holding them as he continued to look down at her. “At least not as it concerns what other people think of you. And the only one here who should be embarrassed is me.”
She frowned. “What dae ye mean?”
He shook his head to himself. “Honestly? I have been distracted all evening, and it has everything to do with that dress and how it looks on you. And each time I see that shoulder slipping…” He bit into his lip, his eyes roaming south to her exposed shoulder. “I find myself unable to concentrate. Truthfully, when I snapped at Lady Brimstone, that was as much to cover my own wandering eyes as it was to chastise her and her tongue.”
Margaret could feel herself blushing. “Truly?”
“Margaret…” He stepped in a little closer. Squeezed her hands a little tighter. “Do not let these last three days fool you. Where I have been well behaved and desperate not to make this relationship purely physical, I wanted to prove that it could be more than that. But I cannot tell you how hard it has been.”
“Really…” She felt her pulse quicken under his hungry gaze.
