Page 17 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
Again, he felt her shiver.
“No, Your Grace. I simply do not like what you are implying,” she said. The tone of her voice suggested that there was a sudden thickness in her throat. “It is entirely inappropriate.”
“And yet, you and I both know you are tempted,” James stated, wiggling an eyebrow discreetly at her.
“Your Grace, I think perhaps this turn about the lake has come to an end,” Miss Thornton suggested, and he felt her hand slipping from beneath his own. He caught her fingertips quickly, readjusting her hand upon his arm. He squeezed gently and reassuringly as he met her once more startled gaze.
“I did not mean to offend.”
Miss Thornton cocked her head slightly. “I am certain you did not.”
Gritting his teeth, James wondered whether he should take a cautious step away from the line. He had already crossed it the once. Could he really dare to tiptoe over it again?
The answer was undoubtedly yes, as it so often was.
“You of all people must be eager to curse theton,” James pointed out with a small scowl. “They have ruled your life for long enough. Why not show them that you won't be kept down?”
Miss Thornton's fingers squeezed his forearm and for a second he glanced down. Just seeing her hand upon him made him quiver with delight. He wasn't at all sure what he might do if he managed to frighten her away.
“What exactly did you have in mind?” Miss Thornton asked, her red brow raised in curiosity.
James gulped at the question. In truth, he hadn't really thought about where the conversation was going.
Just as he started to think of it, an idea popped right into his mind. Immediately, without thinking on it too hard, he suggested, “Join me for the Faversham ball.”
The gasp that followed was enough to make James cringe. He had undoubtedly crossed the line and was certain that there was no way back.
The horror that crossed Miss Thornton's face was almost enough to break his heart. He opened his mouth to say something to ease the blow, but before he could do so, Miss Thornton shook her head and said, “I was not invited to attend.”
Her gaze averted to the ground and her hand loosened its grip on his arm as though all the fight had gone right out of her. And that made James feel angry, not at her but at the rest of society for making her feel so badly.
Simply because she had not gotten an invitation to a ridiculous ball, one that would likely be filled with pomp and arrogance and a chance for the earl of Faversham to simply show off to the rest of thetonjust how wealthy and well to do he was.
“And yet, there are no rules on whom I might take as my plus one to such an event,” James said, his voice dripping with anticipation in the hopes that some of it might rub off on her.
Miss Thornton's gloriously grey eyes whipped up to meet his then and again the colour drained from her face. For someone so redheaded, it didn't half make her look pale, even with all those pretty freckles across the bridge of her nose and her high cheekbones.
“What exactly are you suggesting, Your Grace?”
There was a spark in her eye then, the likes of which made him realise she knew exactly what he was suggesting. But though she looked a little intrigued and maybe even excited, she still looked quite horrified.
It was the spark he saw in her gaze that made him brave enough to glance over his shoulder to be sure nobody was watching or listening too closely before he leaned in and whispered close to her ear once more.
“I am suggesting you cause a little trouble with me, Miss Thornton.”
The shiver he felt pass through her was enough to make him feel one of his own and he wasn't certain who he was having more of an effect on—her or himself.
“I…I…” Miss Thornton stammered and for several seconds James feared she was going to reject his proposal outright. Then, she smiled at him and said, “I shall think about it.”
The dagger that he felt stabbing his heart caused him to think that he would have preferred her to have said no outright.
For the rest of their turn about the lake, though he enjoyed her company greatly, he was forced to tell himself that she would not take him up on his offer. It was easier that way. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to raise his hopes, terrified of how painful it might be to be disappointed by her.
Even if she did not attend the Faversham ball, one glance around the park told him all he needed to know. They had already caused quite the splash, more so than if they had literally thrown themselves into the lake for all to see.
Chapter 8
After two excruciating days thinking over the duke's proposal, Melody realised she couldn't think on it any longer. She had to act. And so, on the very morning of the day of the ball, she hurried to dress, missing breakfast in order to hurry across the street to Petunia's house.
