Page 3 of Never a Duchess
He laughed, the sound so deep and seductive it would bring most women to their knees. “Rest assured, I have nae intention of marrying an Englishwoman. My clansmen would never forgive me.”
So why did he keep asking her to dance?
Why had he bothered putting his name on her card?
He stepped closer—too close.
“Don’t move. Stay where you are.” Lillian raised her hand, hoping he would remain on his side of the invisible barrier. “How did you get in? I locked the door.”
“I followed ye to the retiring room, watched ye cling to every dark recess before mounting the stairs. Then I paid a footman to show me the secret passage.” He motioned to a section of the wall behind him, which he pushed open to reveal a narrow wooden staircase. “Kinver said every bedchamber in the house has one.”
Lillian stared, unable to say anything but, “Why?”
“So the servants can move freely, I suppose.”
“No. Why did you follow me?”
He shrugged, his coat stretching tight across his muscular shoulders. “Since we danced at the Pemberton ball three years ago, ye’ve let me claim every waltz but disappear when the orchestra strikes the first chord. I’m curious why ye feel the need to deceive me.”
“Deceive you!”
He made her sound like the scoundrels who prowled the garden, making empty promises, collecting broken hearts. Still, she could not tell him the truth.
“Explain the problem, Miss Ware, and I shall leave ye alone.”
Alone.
The word was like icy claws squeezing her heart.
She blinked, her mind whirling in confusion. Part of her wanted to touch him, kiss him wildly, be one of the foolish girls who threw away their virtue. Part of her wished he would prove himself false so she might remove him from her thoughts altogether.
“When we danced at the Pemberton ball, you mentioned taking a wife. I panicked, worried you had set your sights on me.” And this man could tempt a nun to sin. “You know my feelings on love and marriage.”
“Aye, ye refuse to marry, and crave a life of adventure.” His tone carried a hint of mockery. “Whereas I have nae choice but to further my bloodline and sire an heir. We’re opposites in every regard, Miss Ware.”
She closed her eyes against his misconception.
She wasn’t chasing her next thrill.
She sought freedom from pain, freedom from a crippling childhood memory. A betrayal by the person she’d trusted most.
The harrowing images lived with her. Waking to her mother’s soft kiss on her forehead in the dead of night. Waking the next morning to news they had pulled her lifeless body from the lake.
Happiness was an illusion.
Humankind’s greatest deception.
“Then let us make a pact,” she said, keen to get rid of him and settle her pulse. “You will not ask me to dance again.” The thought roused a profound sense of regret. “And I will have no need to deceive you.”
“Agreed.”
His blunt reply hit her like a blow to the stomach.
He had grown tired of her antics, understandably so.
Her hands shook, and she turned to the window, tears stinging her eyes. “You should go now so I can continue my work. Please don’t reveal my whereabouts to my friends.”
In a few days, he would head north.
