Page 3 of Tempted By the English Marquis
“Serafina. Serafina,” Gideon muttered to himself. He was terrible with names but after his earlier faux pas, he was keen to make amends.
When Lady Anne reached him, she held out a hand. “Serafina, would you please join me?”
“Gideon, Lord Holwell, may I introduce Signorina Serafina de Luca, recently arrived from Rome,” announced the duchess.
His gaze shifted from his mother to the young lady who stepped forward, bowing her head as she dipped into a deep curtsy.
Time and the world stopped for Gideon.
Stunningly beautiful.There wasn’t any other way to describe Serafina. Gideon took in her sable tresses. The way her hair gleamed in the light from the chandelier was like seeing the moon reflected on the midnight waters of the sea.
As she rose, Serafina gifted him with a smile that set his heart racing. Full, red lips drew him in. When she fluttered her long, dark eyelashes at him, Gideon feared he might faint. Her deep brown eyes had him swaying on his feet. This girl. This woman. Incredible.
His mother’s voice came to him from somewhere distant. “Gideon, are you alright?”
He nodded. “I am magnificent. The picture of utter perfection.”
A loud indignant huff reached his ears, and he turned to find his sister Augusta, or G, as she was affectionately known, glaring at him. “Oof, you are far from perfection. But you are being perfectly rude to Serafina.”
“Serafina,” whispered Gideon, still in a half daze.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Holwell.”
I can assure you that the pleasure is all mine.
“Serafina will be our guest at Mowbray House for the next two weeks. While Count Nico and Signore de Luca are busy with their business, we thought it might be nice for her to come and stay with us. She can spend time with the girls and also see some of the city,” said the duchess.
“And where are you from, Serafina?” asked Gideon. He wasn’t about to leave his daze anytime soon.
A cool hand was pressed to his forehead.What the devil?
Gideon shied away from his mother’s touch. He wasn’t a young boy. “Mama. Please,” he protested.
“I was just checking to make sure you were not unwell or coming down with something. You are behaving most peculiarly, Gideon,” said the duchess.
He wasn’t ill, but he could confess to feeling a touch odd. “Perhaps I need a drink.”
Yes, that would solve his problems. A stiff drink, preferably a large one.
A warm hand brushed against his fingers, and Gideon glanced down. As Serafina slipped her hand gently into his, he swore he heard a choir of heavenly angels. Unlike his mother, this touch was most welcome.
“Lord Holwell, I am from Rome. The Eternal City,” she said. Her heavily accented words slipped beneath the buttons of his linen shirt and settled on the naked skin of his chest. There they rested, softly stroking over his erratically beating heart. “Have you ever been to Italy?”
Stirring as best he could from his trance, Gideon slowly shook his head. “No, though I have always wanted to visit. It would be wonderful to see the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and of course Saint Peter’s Basilica.”
Get your head together. Stop making an ass of yourself.
A footman handed him the long-awaited glass of wine. Gideon took it with his left hand. The fingers of his right were still entwined with Serafina’s, and as far as he was concerned, it would take a horde of gladiators to prize them apart.
He had heard that Italians were an expressive people and less reserved than the English. Gideon was enjoying his first experience of this cultural difference. His gaze remained settled on their joined hands.
Her skin is so warm and soft.
When Matteo de Luca cleared his throat, Gideon snapped out of his daze. He immediately released Serafina’s hand.
“Palazzo Lazio, our family home, is situated not far from the Colosseum. And we have relatives who work within the Holy See,” said Matteo.
Gideon nodded. “That sounds wonderful.”
