Page 10 of Her Duke at Midnight
Regardless, Bennett shot up from the chair he’d been occupying, spilling a bit of what looked to be port on his suit coat.
“Goodness, man, you’ll be the death of me.” He swiped at the splash of port and glared at Adam as he settled into the comfortable leather chair he’d arranged at the edge of the Derwents’ conservatory. “What have I lied about, anyway?”
Adam dropped onto a settee nearby. Their hosts had decorated their conservatory as lavishly as their drawing room.
“Women. You led me to believe there would be fewer of them than seem to have descended on this Kentish country house.”
Bennett sipped his remaining port and turned narrowed eyes on Adam. “I was never precise as to quantity. Truth be told, I never knew. But it’s a house party, Everton, and Lady Derwent is nothing if not scrupulous about having even numbers.”
“Yes, well, I already feel outnumbered.” Adam clenched his hand into a fist to rid himself of the memory of a particular lady’s satin-soft skin.
“What’s gotten into you?” Bennett turned to give Adam his full attention.
The man had been sitting sentinel, looking out onto the garden, not because he had any particular affection for greenery but because Lady Lara Mercer did. Despite the chill in the air, the afternoon sun had added some warmth to the day, and several guests had taken to wandering the extensive gardens at Greenmere. They were even provided with baskets and cutting shears and encouraged to snip holly and other greenery to decorate the house for the season.
“What, or perhaps I should saywho, has you so…” Bennett’s brow arched as he assessed Adam’s clenched fist and the way his boot heel bounced against the conservatory’s tile floor. “Unsettled?”
“I do not know her name. Though I know she’s no debutante. Do you know the various ladies in attendance?”
“I haven’t seen a list, but I met a few in the drawing room earlier.” Bennett lifted his glass. “They were offering refreshments as guests arrived. Perhaps there’s still some left.” Bennett shot him a sympathetic look. “A drink might do you good.”
“Liquor be damned.” Adam stood and began pacing the black-and-white honeycomb pattern of the conservatory floor. “Come, man. Perhaps you know her. She’s petite. Curvaceous. Red haired. And she has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.” Adam thought it best not to mention the way her pursed lips made him long to kiss her, or that her skin was warm and soft and smelled faintly of jonquils.
“Oh heavens, no.” Bennett set his glass aside and came to stand in front of Adam. “You vowed to avoid women. We’ve been here an hour, Everton.”
Adam shoved a hand through his hair. “I heard a scream. I was trying to be chivalrous.”
“A scream?”
“Emanating from the room across the hall from mine. A lady cried out, and then I heard a thud. She’d fallen down as she was trying to don a gown and—“ He began gesturing with his hands and noticed Bennett’s eyes bulge.
“Trying? You saw this lady half-clothed?”
“No.” Adam bit his lip. “Not entirely.”
Bennett began pacing now too. “So let me understand.” He stopped and scratched his head. “You heard a scream. You entered her room. She was partially clad—“
“More than partially. Fully. The dress was—“ Adam shook his head to dispel the mental image of the gorgeous woman he’d found in a heap of blue-green velvet. He’d tried not to notice the upper edge of her pale pink corset. And yet he had, and, even now, the flash of memory made his mouth water.
“But nothing else happened?” Bennett sounded wary. “You rang for help and bid her good day, yes?”
“She refused help, but I did make sure she was steady on her feet before departing.” Adam gripped his nape. “I will admit that I touched her.”
“You didn’t.”
“Only to help her get to her feet.”
“I don’t dare askwhereyou touched her.”
“Her elbow, Bennett. Nothing scandalous. Nothing happened. Nothing untoward.” But for some reason, that simple, truthful explanation didn’t match the effect the encounter had had upon him.
The moment he’d opened the door and seen her, he’d wanted to touch her. And the moment he’d touched her, he’d wanted more.
“And you didn’t introduce yourselves amidst all this touching?” Bennett had slumped into his chair again.
“A lady. Not a miss. That’s all I know.” Adam settled onto the sofa again too. “She thought I was someone named Fiona when I knocked on her door.”
“Lady Fiona Prescott?”
