Page 46 of A Duke in Disguise
“I meant to send them to your solicitor.”
“I came in person to see if you had taken leave of your senses,” he clarified. “You’re going to aid and abet me becoming a duke?”
“I’m going to aid and abet you, full stop,” Verity retorted.
He regarded her for a long moment. “Thank you, Plum.”
Upstairs in the study, she took the letters out of her desk and waited for him to read them.
When Ash finally looked up, he frowned. “Why wouldn’t Roger have told me?”
“Ash, he thought you were in danger.?Youwerein danger, and you still are.?Or maybe he thought you were better off not knowing. For heaven’s sake, you were better off not knowing, and so was I.” She set her jaw. “But things are different now. You’re the only thing stopping your uncle from doing a great deal of harm. So?all that’s left is to ensure that you win next week.”
She hoped he recognized this for what it was: an overture, a concession, a tiny sign that she was willing to accept Ash’s new role.
He stepped towards her. “Is that all that’s left, Plum?”
She shook her head.
He peeled off his greatcoat to reveal a tailored coat that suited his broad shoulders and a pair of pantaloons that gave her thoughts an obscene turn. His linens were whiter than she had ever seen them, his hair smoother, his boots polished to a mirror shine. On his hand was a ring that gleamed red in the firelight.
“You look terrible,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “I’ve missed you, too, Plum.” It had been only a day since they had seen one another at Arundel House, but she knew what he meant.
“I hate your coat and your stupid ruby ring.”
He tossed his hat onto the sofa. “I think you’re glad to see me.”
“Whoever did that to your hair ought to be shot out of a cannon.” She was saying all the wrong things, but it seemed that as long as she kept saying them, he kept moving closer, stalking towards her. She must have been moving towards him, too, because now they stood toe to toe and she could smell the new costly soap he used. “You smell bad too,” she whispered.
He took her chin in his hand and looked down at her. She didn’t move away, but held his gaze steadily. When he bent his face towards hers, he paused when their mouths were an inch apart. When he finally brushed his lips across hers, the contact sent a shiver coursing up her spine, a breath stuttering out of her lungs that made a sound mortifyingly close to a whimper. She stepped away, dragging her body from his.
“If you want me to leave, I’ll go,” he said. “But I don’t think you do. I think you want me here, like this, as much as I do.”
“What happened to making a clean break of it?”
“I was a fool. I tried to tell you yesterday but it came out all wrong.”
“I hate all of this.” She poked a finger at his ring. “And this.” She indicated the gold watch chain that dangled from the pocked of his well-cut silk waistcoat. “And this.” She smoothed a hand down the soft wool of his coat. “I hate all of it.”
“Why?”
“Because—” Her voice nearly broke, and she took a steadying breath. “Because it took you away from me.”
He put his hand to her cheek, as if there was something he could do or say to make things right. “It doesn’t have to be that way.”
She grabbed his wrist. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t you dare.” She looked into his dark, dark eyes, and for a moment she thought she might be able to tell the truth. But not yet. “Take it off,” she commanded.
“Pardon? Take what off?”
“All these things I hate.” She pointed at his clothes.
He blinked. “Sometimes I hate them too.”
“Get rid of them.”
“Well, Plum.” That moment of raw honesty between them was gone and they were once again Ash and Plum, him cool and detached, her hard and angry. But he was already unwinding his cravat. “Far be it from me to deny a lady’s—”
