“Well.” Grace tossed her golden blonde curls. “I suppose if you can’t find another man to deflect the duke’s attention, you could send another woman to distract him. The point here is to get a match between the two of you out of your mother’s head.”
“I suppose that would work,” she answered softly. Why did that idea upset her, causing a niggle of jealousy to twist in her stomach?
“Which one of us should it be?” Diana asked, fluffing out her skirt.
Minnie shook her head. “I don’t know. He seems to hate that I’m so saucy, which would lead me to believe that Grace is the better choice, and yet he never left my side the entire dinner party. Does that mean that it should be Diana?”
Grace cocked her head. “That is strange. Though, who knows with men? They say women are too loud, too quiet, too flighty, too strong. Perhaps he just doesn’t know what he likes.”
Diana nodded. “So the question is would he prefer me, who is more like Minnie, or someone more like Grace?”
“What am I?” Grace asked.
“Oh, you’re all pretty and nauseatingly perfect.” Diana patted her sister’s arm.
“Thank you?” Grace answered.
“Isn’t anyone going to suggest me?” Cordelia asked, her chin rising in the air.
Minnie pressed her lips together. Cordelia was beautiful. In fact, she and Grace were nearly identical, but it was hard to tell with her hand constantly in front of her face as she pushed up her spectacles.
“Are you going to take him on a walk and give him a tour of English garden birds?” Diana asked quirking a brow.
“That was only one time,” Cordelia sniffed and all the ladies giggled.
Minnie relaxed as the light banter washed over her. Perhaps she was making a big deal over nothing. Darlington wasn’t that fond of her. At the last dinner, he’d been Jack’s guest. Mayhap, he’d considered it his duty to escort her. Or he’d just been punishing her for her turn
“Excuse me, ladies,” a deep voice rumbled through her, making her insides quiver. “I’m hoping you can tell me where to find Miss Chase.”
Grace gave him a pretty smile, perfected after hours of staring in a looking glass. “Oh, I don’t know where she is, but perhaps you’d be interested in the company of another Chase?” Grace made a slight curtsey. “I’d be happy to accompany you on a turn about the garden, Your Grace.”
Minnie peeked between Diana’s shoulder and Grace’s fan, nibbling at her lip as they both hoped he would and would not take the offer.
Darlington quirked a brow. “Most kind of you, Lady…”
“Grace, Your Grace.” Grace took a small step forward as she smoothed her skirts.
“Well Lady Grace, I appreciate the offer but I can’t help but notice…isn’t that Miss Chase crouching down just behind you?”
Grace gave a tiny gasp as Diana let out a huff.
Minnie inwardly groaned. Then she straightened. She was taller than either Diana or Grace and her head peeked above the top of theirs as she met the Darlington’s gaze. “Must you be so persistent?”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “I must. It’s lovely to see you too, Miss Chase.”
He held out his hand, but she didn’t take it, didn’t move from behind her wall of cousins. “My mother is getting a mistaken impression on the nature of our relationship.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What is the nature of our relationship?”
She straightened her shoulders even as her brow furrowed. “Do not play coy with me. We both know you have no intention of courting me. You don’t even like me.”
He held out his elbow, turning slightly to the side. “I’ll try to alter the impression your mother is getting if you take a turn about the garden with me.”
She gave him a long look. “How will taking a turn about the garden alter my mother’s impression?”
“Humor me.” He held his elbow slightly higher.
Minnie paused for a moment. What was he playing at? Should she accept? It was likely a terrible idea but she had to confess, she was curious. She gnashed her teeth. Why did she allow Darlington to pull her in when she knew she should leave him alone?
For some ridiculous reason, Tag held his breath. He wanted her to accept. Damn it all to bloody hell, when had he started to want Minnie’s attention? Yes, he was required to seek her out, but now he was personally worried she wouldn’t accept.
Slowly, she stepped forward, and threaded her hand into the crook of his elbow. With a nod to the other women, he began walking around the perimeter of the crowd.
“Minnie?” he asked, attempting to make conversation. Now that he had her here, he wasn’t entirely certain where to begin. “What’s the name short for?”
“Minerva,” she answered. “My mother’s choice. She would never dream of using the nickname Minnie, she likes it about as much as you do.”
He had to smile at that. He didn’t confess that the name was growing on him. “So how did you end up with it then?”
She shrugged. “Until about three years ago, I was smaller than Ada or my cousins. They called me Minnie to tease me. Actually, first they called me Miniature but over time, it became Minnie. At the age of sixteen I suddenly grew, but by then the name had stuck.” She looked over at him. “Is Tag a nickname for your given name as well?”
This one made his mouth twist as his face darkened. “It is. My mother was French and she named me Dartagnan after a French village she’d loved as a child.”
Minnie’s gaze was intent upon him. Did she sense there was something under the surface of this story? “She named a future English duke after a French village?”
He shook his head. Minnie was clever, which he had to be honest, he liked a great deal. But she’d honed in on a very sore spot between his parents. “She did. It made my father furious, of course. He was the fourth Duke of Darlington, all who’d been named Alfred.”
“Did she do that often?” Her voice was quiet, almost soothing. “Infuriate your father?”
“Why, yes she did.” He gave a shrug that was meant to be casual despite the riot in his stomach. “They’d only met a handful of times before they married, all chaperoned visits. My father once told me that she’d appeared the picture of decorum right up until the night of the wedding. He’d fallen in love with her beauty and grace, but it was not an emotion she returned.”
Minnie drew in a breath, loud enough that he could hear it over the din of the party. “Oh dear. Dare I ask what happened?”
He cleared his throat. What happened was that his father’s new French wife refused to share his bed. Tag was about to share when an older matron passed them, flapping her fan and giving him and Minnie a long stare, and he didn’t think it suitable to continue. “I shall tell you when we know one another better.”
She paused then, pulling at his elbow, which made him stop. “That is the real question of the day, Your Grace. How well are we getting to know one another? Or maybe it isn’t. Perhaps the better query is why?”
“Why?” He gave a light tug of his arm to start her moving again.
“My mother will begin inviting you to every family and social function if she thinks you are at all interested in courting me.” She squeezed his arm. Her touch made him long to wrap an arm about her waist and pull her close. “Which I’m fairly certain you are not.”
They were coming up on a path that went behind a raised bed of hydrangea bushes. He steered them to the right, wanting the smallest bit of privacy and sure no one would be the wiser. “And if I continue to attend the events your mother invites me to, what then?”
She gave a slight shudder. “I’d be compelled to accept your suit.”
“And if I attended but never declared my courtship?” His insides twisted in guilt.
“Why would you want to do that? Why are you talking to me at all?” She stopped then. They were behind the bushes and not a soul could see them.
He pivoted around to face her, grasping her shoulder with his oth
er hand. “Honestly, I need to know that you won’t tell anyone what you’ve discovered about me. Which is quite a lot. The last time we spoke you threatened…”
She’d half turned to face him but stopped, blinking several times. “That’s what this is about?” She gave him a push squarely in the center of his chest. “I knew you didn’t want to court me. Tag Daring is a spy after all.”
His lips parted as he looked down at her. “Tag was my nickname long before Daring and no one has ever put them together before. When you’re not being completely churlish you’re quite funny.”
She huffed, pushing him again. “Glad you’re amused, Tag. When you don’t ask to court me, my mother is going to pair me with the first man who passes by. You’ll ruin my life if you keep this up. By contrast, what is the worst that would happen if I told your secret?”
He dropped his hands, stepping away. “The club’s business could dry up and—”
“You’d be forced to live exclusively off your dukedom?” Her hands came up to her hips. “Not good enough.” Then she stepped closer. “Besides, I already promised I wouldn’t tell anyone and I’m not going back on my word now. Please do not ruin my life over a club.”
When he’d spoken with his friends, their arguments had made sense. But now, standing in front of her, they seemed thin at best and his actions sincerely as childish as she’d accused him of. “I won’t ruin your life, I just need some sort of assurance that—”
She held up a finger to stop him from speaking and then slowly laid the finger against his lips. The silk of her glove brushed along his flesh and his insides tightened, a heaviness filling his limbs. “I’ll make you a deal,” she said quietly. “I promise to never tell a soul about the club. In return, you promise to leave me be so I can find a suitable husband as my mother has requested.”
He reached up and gently wrapped his fingers about her wrist, pulling her hand away. “And how shall we seal this pact?”
She swallowed and ever so slowly, moved forward. Her movements were so subtle that he was hypnotized by them. He remained rooted as she drifted closer. “We’ll seal it by giving you additional ammunition against me so that you understand just how serious I am about our deal.”
Her chest brushed his and every muscle in his body clenched as she slowly rose up on tiptoe. She was tall for a woman but he was well over six feet and he reached his hand down to steady her waist, his head leaning down to meet hers.
Tentatively, she placed her lips against his. A small brush, nothing more, but a tingling shot down his body, instantly hardening his manhood.
“Minnie,” he rumbled deep and low, his need filling the one word.
She took a quick step back. “There. It’s done.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips even as her head turned to the side so that she no longer looked at him.
He hooked a finger under her chin, his thumb gently guiding her face back toward his. “Is it done? Or has it just begun?”
Chapter Six
Minnie stared up into the dark, dangerous pools of his eyes and her lips parted. My lord, she wanted to kiss him again. She ached with the need. Of course, she’d kissed him the first time partially because it strengthened his case, which in turn, might make him comfortable enough to leave her be. But also because she was curious. So very curious about how he tasted and how his mouth would feel.
The answer to both was delicious. He had a masculine flavor, laced with cigar and mint.
“What do you mean, we’ve only just begun?” Her breath came out in short gasps and they punctuated the sentence.
“Our bargain. It has just started,” he said, but his gaze was on her lips.
Her heart hammered in her chest as her hands shook. Minnie took a step back. “I suppose it has.”
He trailed his fingers from her chin down the column of her neck before Tag finally dropped his hand. “And you’ll tell no one.”
His fingers on her neck made her skin shiver in excitement and when he pulled them back, she had the urge to hunch over in loss. She forced her shoulders to stay straight. “I’ll tell no one.”
He nodded and then held out his elbow once again. As Minnie slid her hand into the crook, she noted how her body relaxed as she touched him. Why was that? She understood why the kiss had made her heart beat faster. She was attracted to him. Though honestly, what girl wouldn’t be?
But why did she find comfort in touching Tag? She didn’t understand. Her affection with Lord Charleston had been built by a mutual understanding of complementary personalities.
She and Tag finished their circle about the hydrangeas in silence and looped their way back into the crowd, no one seeming the wiser. She scanned the group again and caught a woman with pale blonde hair looking at the two of them. Minnie sucked in her breath. But the woman turned away without incident and Minnie let out her breath. “If you’ll just return me to my cousins, you’re free to leave whenever you’d like. In fact, the shorter your stay, the easier managing my mother will be.”
He stepped around one of her great aunts and continued through the crowd. “You are in a rush to get rid of me, aren’t you?” She thought she heard a pang of disappointment in his voice but that couldn’t be true, could it?
The truth was, she wasn’t at all. “I have to confess, you’re not as bad as I first imagined—”
“High praise indeed.” He grinned over at her.
A smile played at her own lips. My, but he was handsome with his face so relaxed. “But it’s not you I’m concerned about.”
“Your Grace, you came,” her mother called from behind them.
Minnie let out a loud groan. “Do you see what we have to deal with now? She’s seen us. I’ll never be able to convince her that you’re not a suitor for my hand.”
He stopped, shifting around to face Minnie’s mother. “Mrs. Chase.” He straightened his elbow so that Minnie slid her fingers from his arm. He held in a grimace of dissatisfaction. When had he started to enjoy her touch so much? “I wish I could stay and chat but I’ve another engagement to attend.”
Minnie’s mother stopped short, her face falling. “Oh, that’s too bad.” Her gaze darted to her daughter, her brow furrowing and her mouth pinching. “Was it something my daughter said? She can be so—”
“Mother,” Minnie pleaded. “Please don’t.”
Darlington pressed his lips together, trying not to smile, but Minnie still saw the corners of his mouth pull up.
“It was nothing that Miss Chase said,” he replied. “I came today to support my friend, Lord Effington, the same reason I went to the dinner the other night.” He stepped away. “But thank you for your hospitality. Most appreciated.”
Her mother’s shoulders drooped. “Oh. Of course, Your Grace.”
Darlington might find this entertaining, but Minnie was humiliated. She closed her eyes, her head hanging low. Her mother was sure to be plotting a long lecture of feminine decorum. Which would only be more vehement if she didn’t straighten her spine. Opening her eyes, she looked at Tag. “Thank you, Your Grace, for the lovely walk. Best of luck in the future.”
His smile disappeared. “And you as well.”
She took another step toward her mother, clamping her lips together so the bottom one didn’t wobble. After that kiss, when he walked away, she might take herself to a corner and cry. “Goodbye,” she said softly, her eyes on the pebble path they stood upon. They itched at the corners. What a ninny she was. She didn’t actually want to cry, did she?
“Miss Chase,” he said, his voice so deep that her very core shook.
Her breath caught. “Yes?” She lifted her gaze to his, somehow not able to let the air out of her chest.
“I…”
“Auntie,” Cordelia cried, her feet shuffling along the gravel, the noise in stark contrast to the light pattern of people’s normal shuffling. Minnie tore her gaze away from Tag to watch her cousin as she nearly sprinted toward them her chest heaving. “Oh, Auntie, come quick. My mother needs you.�
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“What the devil, child?” Minnie’s mother chastised, her hands coming to her hips. “We’re talking with His Grace.”
Cordelia skidded to stop, nearly knocking into Minnie. “Oh Auntie,” her voice dropped to a rough whisper. “I wouldn’t interrupt but this is an emergency. Please come.”
“Emergency?” Tag rumbled. “Is everything all right?”
“Fine, Your Grace.” Cordelia waved while giving a high-pitched, near-hysterical laugh. Her hand waving wildly in the air. “Join the party. Make merry.”
“Cordelia.” Minnie reached for her cousin’s hand. “You’re a terrible liar. What’s happened?”
Cordelia squeezed her fingers with one hand while pushing up her glasses with the other. “It’s…it’s Jack and Emily.”
“You mean Lord Effington?” her mother chastised. “You children are far too familiar.”
Minnie looked up at the sky for a moment, before she focused on Cordelia again. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong is that Lord Effington,” Cordelia said, emphasizing the name as she looked over at her aunt, “and Emily are gone.”
“Gone?” Minnie squeaked.
“Gone?” Tag rumbled as he stared at both of them.
Cordelia let out a small huff. “That’s what I said. Gone.”
Bloody Christ, Tag swore to himself as he raked both his hands through his hair. This had better be a mistake. Perhaps the couple had just slipped into the bushes for a bit of privacy or a room upstairs. Embarrassing certainly but not detrimental. Unless… “Who else knows?”
“Just my sister and mother. And Ada of course.”
He nodded. “Good. Don’t tell anyone else. Let’s pair off and search for them.” If Jack had run away then he was leaving a giant mess to clean up. What if her parents refused to acknowledge the match now that they’d eloped? What if her sister retaliated by shouting their secret club to the world?
What if Minnie never spoke to him again, somehow blaming him for his friend’s ridiculous actions? He swallowed down a lump that had risen in his throat. The thought of never seeing his spitfire again made him ache deep in the pit of his stomach. What a grey world his would be without her fire warming him.
Duke of Daring: Regency Romance (Lords of Scandal Book 1) Page 4