Page 30 of The Scarlet Lady's Duke of Desire
Calmly, he stated, "I have no intentions of doing so any time soon."
But even as he said the words, he found himself thinking of Miss Thornton, the only woman whose presence he had been able to stomach for more than a few minutes for quite some time. What would it be like to be married to a woman such as that?
His mind wandered astonishingly to Miss Thornton, festooned in white, walking down an aisle covered with rose petals. And for the first time, he realised he could imagine getting married, if it was to the likes of her.
For so long he had been proposed the idea of marriage to the likes of Lady Florence or even Miss Blackford. Though the latter was mild-mannered and quite pretty, she lacked a certain fire about her, that which her close friend Miss Thornton appeared to have in abundance, and not simply because her hair was the colour of flame.
The way she had looked at him when he had forced her up against the tree trunk in her garden left him conflicted as to whether she would actually agree to such a thing.
Don’t think on such things!He told himself firmly. The last thing he wanted was to give his cousin any reason to give his mother a sniff of the fact that he was considering thoughts of marriage—to anyone.
Determined to end the conversation swiftly, and not let his thoughts wander any further, he hissed at his cousin. “Tell your mother that when I am ready,Ishall be the one to decide on marriage and nobody shall force me into such things until that day. Nor shall anyone else be the one to pickwhomI shall marry.”
The suspicion in Edward’s gaze deepened and James thought he might question whether he was thinking of marriage to Miss Thornton. He wasn’t sure whether he would be able to deny the thought if the question was voiced.
Luckily for him, his cousin said instead, “My mother will likely shoot the messenger for saying such a thing.”
Though there was humour to his voice, they both knew just how serious the undertone was. James almost felt sorry for him, though he was not going to face his aunt himself. He’d had quite enough of her meddling in his life already.
Perhaps that is why I find myself so drawn to Miss Thornton?He wondered. He had always had a rebellious streak where it came to his family members trying to tell him what to do.
“Better you than I,” James scoffed. “She would never shoot her own son.”
“I’ll tell her the bad news on one condition,” Edward said with a sigh. He furrowed his brow at James and insisted, “You had best be at Mama’s luncheon tomorrow.”
A flash of surprise coursed through James. With the excitement of all that had happened over the last few days, he had quite forgotten.
To hide the fact, he quickly joked, “Shall Miss Thornton be in attendance?”
The scowl that erupted upon his cousin’s face was enough to answer the only half-joking question. Edward snapped back at him, “She most certainly will not be in attendance though her cousin, Lady Florence, shall be.”
James did not even attempt to hide his discomfort. “In that case, I most definitely shallnotbe attending.”
His cousin’s frustration was clear in the way he tightened his fists. For a second, James thought he might attempt to throw one at him. Though he was quickly reminded that whenever they had play-fought as children, Edward had always come out worse off, and he doubted that as adults the outcome would be any different.
“James, if you do not come my mama shall be absolutely intolerable and the likelihood is she shall be even more forceful on the subject of your marriage,” Edward pointed out and with a begrudging sigh, James realised he was right.
Chapter 14
Melody tried her hardest not to think about what had happened with the duke in the garden. The fact was that she couldn't help it. Even when she slipped back into the house afterwards, all she could think about was how hard the tree bark had been against her back, how warm the duke’s body had been against her own, how much she had desperately wanted him to kiss her.
Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw his hazel ones shining back at her. The devilish intent she saw within them was terrifying and yet entirely intoxicating, and she knew it was a tremendously good thing he had left as quickly as he had. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if he hadn't.
His hand brushed a strand of hair from her face and cupped her cheek, thumb caressing her face just as it had at the Faversham ball, though this time there were no tears between them. She panted for breath, unable to do anything but lean back against the tree as the duke gripped the skirts of her gown and hitched them up to her hips. Instinctively, she angled her pelvis towards him, meeting the softness of his fingertips between her thighs.
"Melody, are you quite well?"
Melody shot bolt upright from where she had caught herself against the wall beside the back patio door. Heat raced to her cheeks as she met her mother's suspicious gaze. "Has your guest gone?"
Her mother eyed her suspiciously, one greying brow raised.
Gulping past the lump in her throat, Melody nodded hurriedly. Then she stammered, "The duke has somewhere that he needed to be."
She couldn't imagine it was truly a lie. After all, dukes had to have far more busy lives than either she or her mother led. She was still quite surprised that he had even had the time to turn up on their doorstep.
"Be careful, Melody," her mother warned her, stepping up and offering both her hands in a friendly manner.
"Pardon?" Melody responded, uncertain.
