Page 12 of Denying a Rakish Duke
“Tell me, Lady Vanessa, have you ever been so wholly consumed in a moment of passion so intense that the rest of the world ceases to exist? I fear not, and for that, I pity you. So committed to a life as a spinster, and you have no idea what you are turning your back on. I thought that perhaps your anger might simply be an extension of a hidden well of passion inside of you. Good or bad, whether passion is perfectly timed or happens in the worst of circumstances, it prevails.”
Her throat bobbed, but she could not think of a single thing to say.
“For if you had, then you would know that even a fleeting moment of passion would be worth whatever trouble that it left in its wake—” His voice softened as his gaze dropped her to her slightly parted lips, and he swallowed hard. She willed her mind to concoct a cutting remark, to do anything but hum with awareness of how close he was, how she could feel the warmth of him even through her dress.
Joseph’s hand slowly pulled from behind his back, he brushed his knuckles against the outside of her hip— and she flinched. He paused for the span of a blink and uncurled his fingers to wrap around the small of her back, his torso bending forward to close the height distance between them. He waited, only centimeters above her lips for her to slap him, to shove him away— but she did not.
The heat of their challenge fell into a stalemate as his lips brushed against her own. Feather soft and impulsive, she felt almost as if she had floated from her body into some dreamlike state of sensation. Just the soft suction sound of his lips breaking contact from the soft kiss— only to be continued by hers pressed against his own, learning, curious, and eager.
It was simultaneously overwhelming and not enough. She inhaled sharply through her nose as his hand held her tighter, but when his thumb brushed a soft sweep over the small of her back, the world snapped back into place.
Vanessa’s eyes snapped open, and she realized where she was and who she was with. She had never allowed her body to act on its own before. She had gone wholly against her better judgment and done the thing that she had come into this ball fearing above all else. Only, instead of her sister falling victim to his charms— it had been her.
“Damn,” she swore, guilt and shame filling her to the brim as she pushed the Duke away from her. “Double Damn,” she repeated the curse that her uncle tended to favor when the numbers in his ledger were not aligned properly.
Joseph stumbled backward, surprised at the sudden rejection— his lips parted to speak, and as soon as she found herself looking at his lips, she turned and ran out of the conservatory as fast as her legs would carry her.
ChapterEight
“Get your feet off of the chaise,” the Dowager commanded her grandson, and rapped his weary feet with the head of her cane to force him to comply.
Joseph groaned as if he could not be more put out by anything in the entire world. His feet slid slowly off of the chaise and fell heavily to the floor. He did not sit up from his slouched position, and he did not make any effort to appear more presentable to her. His mind was overflowing. He had experienced more things this evening than he had mentally prepared himself for.
The Dowager elegantly lowered herself into the space now left open for her where his feet had been moments before. She crossed her legs at the ankles and placed both of her hands on the top of her cane as she looked out over the empty ballroom. Servants milled about the space, cleaning and straightening things as they went. The last of their guests had left some time ago, but Joseph had not managed to convince himself to retire to his chambers. He was half of a mind to pass out where he sat.
“Well, I see that you have chosen to remain at home for the evening? Should I be expecting improperly dressed company to come strolling into the room any moment now?”
Joseph ran his thumb over his bottom lip, lost in contemplation. He was hardly even listening to a single word that the woman beside him was saying. He could not stop his thoughts from drifting back to the conservatory. No matter which bit of the evening he chose to focus on, somehow, he seemed to end up in the exact same place. If he closed his eyes, the phantom scorch of desire could still be felt on his lips.
He did not know what had possessed him to do it; he had simply gotten carried away in the moment. He was not attempting to seduce her, and originally his intention had been simply to apologize so that she would get out of his way on the path to her sister … but then everything else had happened. He doubted that Vanessa understood just how plainly her inner thoughts showed on her face. She probably would not care to know. It would probably anger her greatly … but oh, what a fascinating thing to witness her temper.
The Dowager’s cane rapped against the toes of his shoes to bring him back into center, and he finally focused his gaze on his grandmother. “I am speaking to you, Boy; you cannot have gotten that deep into your cups. I watched you carefully, and I know for a fact that you spent entirely too much time dancing to be sloshed.”
“I apologize; I was distracted for a moment. Do you require something?” He forced himself to sit a touch more upright and keep his mind centered on the woman beside him.
“A name, Boy— I have asked you for the name of your intended. You do recall that I asked you to make a selection of the woman that you intend to court?”
“I believe you said that I was to select a wife.”
Her face pinched. “Do not try me this evening, Boy; you will find that I am weary and quick to a temper.”
Joseph smiled. “I will travel to Farbridge Manor in the morning. I have set my intentions on Lady Amanda Farbridge, and I believe that her family will be quite open to the courtship. I have already instructed the servants to place an extensive order with the florist to start my gaudy displays of affection for her.”
“She is a lovely creature; that would be a very wise match indeed.” The Dowager knew her grandson better than perhaps any other soul on the entire earth, and she could see that there was something not quite right with him.
“What?” he asked, feeling her eyes on him.
“Nothing at all.” She was not going to pry into his personal business if he did not wish her there, at least not tonight. If his strange behavior continued, then she would feel that it was acceptable to interject her wisdom. For tonight, though, he had done what she had asked of him, and he had even decided to stay home for the evening, and so, she could not press him for anything more. “Be careful tomorrow, would you?” she added as an afterthought.
“What do you mean, Grandmother?”
“I am very fond of the Farbridge family, and I was only too delighted to be there for dear Petunia after the unfortunate passing of her husband. It has been a very difficult transition for the family. I do not claim to know if there is some sort of internal strife in the home, but it is said that Amanda’s sister, Vanessa, is said to be violently jealous of her sister’s success and has actively acted to sabotage potentially profitable unions. She is practically a spinster now, and you would do best to avoid her if possible. You do not wish to have her in your way while courting her sister. Do not let the downfall of one bring down another. Do you understand my meaning, Boy?”
Joseph understood her meaning perfectly, and he could hardly argue it. While that description of the woman he had encountered earlier this evening might be fitting in a general sense, he had seen the fire in her heart, and that passion inside of her terrified him. “Yes, Grandmother, I understand.”
The Dowager patted his knee comfortingly and used her cane to stand and slowly started out of the room. Apparently, the Dowager Duchess had been informed of much the same rumors as his friend Lord Cardiff had been. He could not help but wonder if perhaps Vanessa was only too happy to allow these rumors to spread about her so long as it allowed her the freedom to do what she considered to be helping her sister.
He wondered if she would be there tomorrow when he arrived.
