Page 19 of Five Nights with a Rakish Duke
“Ah, I see. Thank you, Walker. I shall deal with the matter.” Asher clapped Walker’s shoulder in comfort and turned toward the parlor door. He waited until the butler had retreated elsewhere before he opened the door and stepped in.
The parlor was one of the smaller sitting rooms in the house, draped in cream and white settees, with accents of mahogany wood and two grand windows that looked out over a fountain in the garden. Being so small, it was impossible to miss a person standing directly in the middle. Her back was turned, and she had a long pelisse over her shoulders with a hood pulled up over her head, hiding her identity.
“You seem to have caused my butler some concern, My Lady,” Asher said, intrigued as to who it could be.Lady Hamilton perhaps?“I presume the matter is urgent to come to see me with so much secrecy.”
Chapter Seven
“Lady Penelope?” Asher gasped, his voice hitching high in surprise.
He found his body walking toward her, involuntarily reaching out for her hand to take because of the desire within him. She was so startled that, though she backed up from him, she didn’t retrieve her hand from his. He lifted her hand and kissed the back, closing his eyes with the movement and indulging in the kiss for as long as possible.
“Well…” she said, her tone a little strange. “I was not quite expecting that.”
“Could you have doubted it would happen?” he replied as he opened his eyes again, though he did not release her hand. She was blushing that pleasant pink shade dappling the tops of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose, but she wouldn’t look him in the face. Her gaze rested somewhere in the center of his chest, apparently reluctant to look at him. “You have not left my mind since that night of the ball. The desire is unabating.”
“Are you sure no other lady has managed to distract you?” she asked in a tease with a small smile.
“None,” he replied with feeling. This time, her eyes flitted up to his, going wide in surprise. She had to be here because she had felt the connection too; why else would she come to see him in this guise of secrecy?
Perhaps there is a way to work Lady Penelope out of my system after all. A few nights of passion, and we can both be satisfied, delighting in one another before we part ways. A few nights of being tumbled together between bed sheets, working through this lust, and I’ll be free of thinking of her.
He lifted her hand again, ready to kiss it another time, so certain she was there for that reason when she snatched her hand away.
“There seems to be some confusion here,” she said, backing up away from him.
“Confusion? About what?” he asked. “Had I been able to find you in your cousin’s house before I left, believe me, I would have come to see you.” He followed her as she walked around one of the nearest armchairs. “I’m thrilled you have come to find me instead.”
“Your Grace, please stop!” she demanded, holding up a hand. He immediately abided by her wish, letting his feet fall still. She was a little breathless, staring up at him with her lips parted.
“Is something wrong?” he asked quietly.
“Very wrong indeed. Whatever reason you think I am here, you must know it is a misapprehension,” she said, her words jumbling together.
“Ah…” he paused and glanced toward the door, ensuring it was closed before he said his next words. “So, this has nothing to do with that kiss?”
“Nothing whatsoever,” she said with a shake of her head. He couldn’t stop the pit of disappointment that opened in his stomach.
“Then why the secrecy?” he asked quietly, gesturing to the pelisse. “Most of the time when ladies come to see me in secrecy, it is for one thing only.”
“What?”
“Can you not imagine what that is?” he answered with a devilish smile, watching as her lips parted, and she blushed all the more.
“I have not come to share your bed,” she whispered in panick. He couldn’t help being disappointed at the response.
“It could certainly be a memorable night, My Lady,” he said, stepping toward her, watching as her hands fidgeted, clearly conscious of how close he was.
“No more of this, Your Grace. I have come to discuss the wager you made with my cousin.”
“Ah, I see,” he said, sighing and looking away. It seemed where Lord Larson could not persuade Asher to give up the estates, he had sent his cousin to ask instead. “I have already told your cousin that I cannot undo the bet. These are my estates now.”
He reached into the inside pocket of his tailcoat and pulled out the deeds. Nearby, there was a pianoforte with the lowered bass bridge inlaid with rose wood. He dropped the deeds onto the surface, slapping the wood with them. Lady Penelope stepped toward the deeds as though wanting to snatch them back.
“I am amazed Lord Larson would send you here to do his bidding.”
“You are still under a misapprehension,” she said, waving her hands in the air. She turned away from the deeds and fixed him with a rather pleading gaze. “They weremyestates.”
“What?” Asher asked, uncertain he had heard her right. “Then… why did he wager them?”
