Page 6 of The Duke's Treasure
Mariana raised her brows, surprised that he would call attention to her scrutiny, for she guessed that he would not have been raised to be so forward with a lady. But perhaps it was only the fair Englishwomen he would be delicate with.
“You are not what I would expect,” she said truthfully, not sure why she admitted such a thing, but she found herself unable to look away from him.
“And whatdidyou expect?” he asked, his plush lips curving into a smile.
“I suppose I expected a tall, thin man with a dour face and lack of humor,” she said, eliciting a loud, booming laugh from him.
“I possess none of those things?”
“Not that I have witnessed so far,” she said with a shrug. “You are a large man with a quick smile. Not what I expected from an Englishman.”
“While you are exactly what I would expect from a Spanish woman.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, her spine straightening. She knew she shouldn’t be offended when she had been just as quick to make suppositions based on his heritage, but somehow it seemed different.
“Itmeansthat you are a beautiful woman unafraid to speak the truth.”
Mariana lifted her chin. “That does not sound like a trait an Englishman would admire.”
“I am not like most Englishmen.”
“So it seems.”
She leaned forward, staring him in the eye.
“What is it that you want, Englishman?”
“I am usually referred to as ‘Your Grace’.”
“You are not in England anymore.”
“So it would seem,” he said, mimicking her by leaning even closer toward her, his lips curling into a smile that could only be described as sultry. He was close enough now that were she to move forward any more, their bodies would be touching, if not their lips. “So it would seem.”
He might not have beenwhat the Spanish woman had expected, but when Edward had planned this visit, he most certainly wasn’t expecting a beauty such as she to greet him.
He had been expecting a man who would slam the door in his face.
This woman possessed more than beauty, however. She had a quick wit about her, the words that rolled past her red lips as enticing as her mouth itself.
He reminded himself that even if she was not faithful to her husband, she was still a married woman, and he did not entangle himself with married women – no matter how alluring she might be. His pulse raced slightly as he shifted to adjust his pants, telling himself to calm down. This was not what had brought him here and certainly any advances would only serve to put him further behind in his quest.
“You haven’t answered me,” she said, the breathiness of her voice giving away the fact that she was equally affected. “What is it that you want from me?”
Edward could think of many answers to that particular question, and he wondered if she was aware that when she leaned forward as she was, her breasts strained against the fabric of her gown, her stomacher gaping enough that he could see the round, soft curves beneath.
He had never been particularly enamored with the young debutants who were thrown his way back home. At his age of five-and-thirty, he far preferred a woman with curves that could fill his hands, who was not afraid to tell him exactly what she wanted, what she thought, and had the grace that age brought with it.
This woman was all of that and more.
“I want…” He paused, allowing the words to roll off his tongue as he met her eyes, seeing the desire reflecting back. “I want to know what your husband was doing about a year ago.”
He saw the flash of annoyance cross her face, although she quickly hid it.
“My husband was doing what any nobleman does. Paid a man to look after his affairs, made investments, gambled, and bedded his mistresses.”
Edward’s nostrils flared in anger on behalf of the woman sitting before him. How a man could have her waiting at home for him while he went out and found others was beyond him.
“I see,” he said, controlling his tone. “Did he leave for any extended periods of time?”
