by Laura Martin
Foolish? his subconscious asked the question. Would it be foolish to kiss Caroline? Certainly he didn’t want to do anything to sully her reputation and even an unwitnessed kiss might somehow damage her innocent status. Still, as he’d just told her, he cared for her more than anyone else in the world and enjoyed her company more than anyone else, too.
She was getting married, but she wasn’t promised to anyone just yet. It wouldn’t be difficult to persuade Caroline to marry him instead of Milton or Mottringham, it wasn’t as though she loved either of them. The idea of waking up next to her in bed every morning made the desire flare afresh inside him and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself.
He wished he had a brother to talk to, or a friend who wasn’t invested in the scenario. Normally he would discuss a dilemma with Caroline or Milton, but he could hardly confess to either of them his burgeoning desire.
‘I want to come.’ Caroline was looking at him with a steely expression and it took him a moment to remember what they had been talking about. ‘To the duel. I want to come.’
‘No.’
‘Let me rephrase. I am coming—it is up to you if you escort me there or not.’
‘You could get hurt.’
‘Don’t you dare use that argument on me. You most likely will get hurt. If you insist on fighting for my honour, I will be there to see it.’
‘Your mother will never allow it.’
‘Of course not. I’m not planning on telling her.’
‘You will never get out of the house undetected before dawn.’
‘You let me worry about that.’
‘Cara, I’m doing this to protect your reputation. If you go missing or are seen on the Heath at dawn unchaperoned with three gentlemen, then there will rumours afresh.’
‘Will you pick me up or do I have to find my own way there?’
‘Please.’
‘If you insist on going, then I insist on accompanying you.’
‘We’re a pair of fools,’ James murmured quietly as they drew up in front of the Prestons’ town house. It was impressive, with fat pillars flanking the door and the paintwork in immaculate condition. The house was large by London standards, taking up almost a quarter of one side of the street.
‘Tell me again why we’re here,’ Caroline said with a grimace.
‘By the machinations of a very cunning woman. And you’re here to protect me.’
Caroline snorted, sitting back in her seat signalling her reluctance to get out of the carriage.
He stepped down first, turning back to help Caroline down the step before offering her his arm.
‘The things I do for you,’ she said quietly.
It was true, she was an extraordinary friend. For a moment he faltered, missing his step. She had always been an extraordinary friend, loyal and steadfast. He thought back to the moment in the studio when he’d almost kissed her, to the warmth and anticipation in her eyes. Again in the carriage she hadn’t looked shocked or appalled when he’d leaned in that little bit too close—instead a wonderful anticipation had thrummed between them.
Surely not.
He glanced at her, thinking of all the moments they’d shared together, and wondered if the platonic friendship he’d been so sure they had was entirely that.
‘Your Grace,’ Lady Whittaker gushed, coming down the front steps to greet them, ‘and Miss Yaxley, we are delighted you could come to our humble little dinner party.’
Miss Preston was standing next to her mother, looking stunning and fresh faced in a pastel-pink gown, her hair pulled back with ringlets falling around her shoulders. James couldn’t deny she was beautiful, but there was a hardness in her eyes and on occasion even a flash of cruelty.
‘Thank you for the invitation,’ Caroline said as they entered the house, Lady Whittaker showing them into the well-lit drawing room. Lord Whittaker was waiting for them inside with another elderly gentleman who James had met on a couple of previous occasions. He was Lord Whittaker’s younger brother, a retired high-ranking officer in the army, and it looked as though he were the only other guest present.
James watched, half-amused, half-dismayed, as Colonel Preston expertly introduced himself to Caroline and manoeuvred her off to the other side of the room, leaving him alone with Miss Preston.
‘I’m so pleased you could come this evening.’ Miss Preston stepped in closer and he caught the sickly-sweet scent of roses in her perfume. ‘I have been waiting with anticipation for our next meeting ever since you were so kind as to walk me home from the park.’
‘Indeed,’ James murmured, already wishing the evening could be over.
‘We have a few minutes until dinner is served, perhaps you would like to accompany me for a walk about the garden.’
‘It is dark, Miss Preston, and cold.’
‘I don’t mind the cold. And I have you to protect me from whatever lurks in the dark.’
‘I would hate for you to trip and hurt yourself, it would mean having to cut the dinner party short.’
‘Oh, I wouldn’t want that, although I am very steady on my feet.’
He forced a smile, wondering if it was too late to run out of the door. He’d thought Miss Preston would be more subtle in her attempts to engineer a situation where they were alone, or at least wait until they’d eaten.
‘Miss Yaxley, Colonel Preston, accompany us on a stroll around the garden,’ he called over.
‘There is no need,’ Miss Preston said, a touch of petulance in her voice. ‘We’re all friends here, no one is going to think anything of us going for a walk by ourselves.’
‘I’d love some fresh air,’ Caroline said and in that moment he could have kissed her. Instead he gave her a surreptitious wink and ensured she and the Colonel were following before he stepped out on to the terrace with Miss Preston.
Thwarted in her efforts to get him alone, Miss Preston was silent for the first couple of minutes they were outside. It was late October, the night sky dark and the air damp, not the most pleasant evening to be taking a stroll around the garden, and James found himself wishing for the warmth of his fire in his study and a large glass of brandy to chase the chills away.
‘I hear you’ve been to Europe recently.’ Miss Preston had positioned herself even closer to him and as they walked her body brushed seductively against his. James surreptitiously moved a couple of inches to the side.
‘Yes, Italy. A fascinating country, have you been?’
She screwed up her nose. ‘I don’t travel well and I’m not sure I would like to travel somewhere so uncivilised.’
James laughed, then realised she was being serious. ‘Italy isn’t uncivilised. There is more history, more culture, more civilisation there than anywhere else I’ve ever been.’
‘Really?’ She sounded as though she were forcing the note of enthusiasm in her voice.
‘In Rome there are historical ruins on every street corner, reminders of the great empire. It’s not just the capital either, even the little provincial towns have the grandest churches and monuments you could imagine.’
‘Are you talking about Italy?’ Caroline stepped up her pace and pulled the Colonel along with her.
‘We are. Miss Preston does not see the appeal. I’m trying to convince her otherwise.’
‘It would be different if you were my guide,’ Miss Preston said and as she looked up at him she actually fluttered her eyelashes.
He thought he heard Caroline scoff and had to suppress a smile. Miss Preston might be considered the diamond of the Season, but she was far from the most skilled seductress he’d come across in his time. Her compliments were clunky and sometimes even downright awkward and her flirting was too obvious.
‘Shall we go back inside?’ Caroline suggested, shivering as she looked up at the overcast sky.
‘Let me accompany you.’ Col
onel Preston stepped forward, volunteering his services.
‘We will stay for a few more minutes.’ Miss Preston gripped hold of his arm as James went to follow Caroline and the Colonel.
‘Come, Miss Preston, I would never forgive myself if you caught a cold.’
‘I wish to have you to myself just for a minute,’ Miss Preston said, stepping in closer. ‘I am so pleased you could come to our intimate little dinner party.’
He didn’t say he’d been left little choice. Of course he could have refused—he was a duke, even the rudest of behaviour would eventually be excused—but he had been brought up to be polite and often found it hard to shake the habit even if the results were to his detriment.
‘I’m very much looking forward to getting to know you better this Season,’ Miss Preston said. ‘I hope I’m not alone when I say I feel a spark between us, a special something?’
James tempered his response. He reminded himself she was only eighteen, young and inexperienced in the world. She was trying to force something that wasn’t there, buoyed by the attention she had received in her first few weeks as a debutante into thinking her appearance made her irresistible to all men.
‘Miss Preston,’ James spoke carefully, measuring his words, ‘I have no doubt you will receive a multitude of proposals this Season, but I feel it would be irresponsible of me to lead you to think there was something between us.’
He watched as the smile fell from her face, the confusion and hint of anger replacing it slowly, making her look even younger.
‘I have no plans to marry and I would hate for you to focus your attention on me when you could be looking at more receptive gentlemen.’
‘You have no plans to marry?’ Her hand had slipped from his arm and she was shaking her head in disbelief. ‘Everyone wishes to marry. Whether it be for companionship or money or advantage. Everyone wishes to marry.’ Her voice rose on the last few words and James held out a placating hand.
‘Not everyone.’ It was a lie, of course, but easier than explaining the truth to her. He would want to marry if the right woman came along. The woman who made his heart sing the very first time he laid eyes on her. The woman he was fated to be with. He wasn’t even sure if that woman existed, but he did know it was not Miss Preston.
‘Yes everyone. You’re a duke, you have to produce an heir, or at the very least you should want to.’ She looked at him with utter disbelief in her eyes. ‘It’s her, isn’t it? I knew there was something unsavoury about your relationship.’ She shot a look at where Caroline and the Colonel were standing just inside the doors to the drawing room.
‘Don’t forget yourself, Miss Preston,’ James said, his voice hard. She took an involuntary step back, still looking between him and Caroline, her lips curling.
‘You would prefer her to me?’
James wanted to tell her that he would prefer almost anyone to her and that she and Caroline were so different they shouldn’t be even spoken about in the same sentence, but he knew it would make things worse. He had a feeling Miss Preston had a vindictive nature and although his title and status meant he was untouchable, Caroline was not.
He began walking away, striding briskly to the steps that led back up into the drawing room. Before he reached the door he felt Miss Preston’s hand on his arm, pulling him round.
‘You would prefer her to me?’ she repeated.
He studied her face, saw the anger and entitlement and unpleasantness. ‘Yes.’
‘But she’s—’
James cut Miss Preston off. ‘That is quite enough,’ he said curtly, walking away. ‘Thank you for your hospitality, Lady Whittaker, Lord Whittaker. Unfortunately we are going to have to cut this evening short. Please accept my apologies.’ He spoke as soon as he stepped back into the house, walking over to Caroline and taking her by the arm.
‘What?’ Caroline whispered, but he just shot her a warning glance. There would be plenty of time to explain when they were in the carriage.
‘Is something amiss, Your Grace?’ Lady Whittaker’s face was pale, her eyes darting to where he’d left Miss Preston on the terrace alone.
‘Thank you for the invitation,’ James said, not waiting to be shown out, instead hurrying down the steps with Caroline by his side. Only once they were in the carriage did he sit back and catch his breath.
‘What on earth was that about?’ Caroline asked, her eyes wide as he thumped on the roof and the carriage sped off down the empty street.
‘Miss Preston declared her interest in me, I told her it would never happen.’
‘Just like that?’
‘I didn’t see the point in tiptoeing around the subject. It’s not as though my feelings are ever going to change.’
Caroline looked at him in disbelief for a moment, then laughed. ‘Why the hasty exit?’
‘I needed to leave before I said something I couldn’t take back.’ As he’d stood outside the drawing room door with Miss Preston asking him if he truly preferred Caroline to her, he’d felt angry. Angry at the way the young woman had dismissed Caroline’s worth, how many people seemed to dismiss her worth. If he’d stayed, especially if she’d pressed him further on the issue, he would have been overcome with anger.
‘She was disparaging about you.’
‘She always is.’
‘Exactly.’
‘I suppose we should be thankful there was no one else outside the family present.’ Caroline settled back on her seat, chewing her lip. ‘Perhaps they will think it too embarrassing to tell anyone we walked out of a dinner party without even the scantest explanation.’
‘She’s just a child,’ James said out loud—it was the sentence he’d been repeating to himself over and over again.
‘What?’
‘Miss Preston. If we didn’t leave, I would have railed at her and it would have been unfair because she is just a child. An unpleasant child, but a child all the same.’
‘She’s eighteen.’
‘Until a few weeks ago she would have been closeted away at the family estate, listening to the opinions of just a few people, learning to regurgitate them. She hasn’t mixed with enough people to form opinions of her own.’
‘What did she say to you?’
‘She wouldn’t believe I would choose you over her.’
‘Choose me? You haven’t chosen me at all.’
He looked up sharply, trying to see if he could detect a hint of reproach or sadness in her voice, but her expression was neutral, her face giving nothing away.
‘She assumed the reason I didn’t want her was because I was in some sort of illicit relationship with you.’
There was silence for ten seconds and then Caroline burst out laughing.
‘What’s so funny?’
‘You do realise that half the ton think the same thing? They don’t understand our friendship and so they decide to imagine it to be something it’s not, even if the idea is ludicrous. We might be careful, James, so there is no scandal, no evidence of bad behaviour, but the gossips like to speculate all the same.’
‘Ludicrous?’
She paused, looking at him, her eyes staying fixed on his.
‘Ludicrous,’ she repeated. He watched as her tongue darted out to moisten her lips and saw the flicker of something she was trying hard to repress in her eyes. She was good, he had to give her that, he could only detect the flash of desire now because he was searching for it. He wondered how long she had been hiding it, how long she’d felt something more than the platonic friendship they’d started with. His own desire for her had been mounting for the past couple of weeks, but he was beginning to suspect Caroline’s might have been burning for longer.
The idea made him feel equal parts uncomfortable and surprised. He prided himself on seeing the world as it was, on his observational skills. If he hadn’t realised Caroline’s true feelin
gs for him, then he was not the man he thought he was.
Without thinking he reached out and trailed a finger down her cheek, feeling the warmth of her velvety-soft skin. He had the sudden notion that he wanted to run his fingers over every inch of her body, to see if the skin was as silky soft everywhere. He could imagine trailing his fingers over her collarbones and then down on to her chest, capturing her breasts in his hands, savouring the moment as he got to know every single part of her.
‘Cara...’ he began, not knowing what else he wanted to say, but just needing to say her name.
‘James.’ She looked up at him and he felt the desire swelling inside him and before he could stop himself, he swayed forward and kissed her. His hands came up and laced through her silky hair, pulling her gently in towards him. Her lips were warm and sweet and he wondered why he hadn’t done this before, why he didn’t spend his whole time kissing Caroline.
She was still for a second and then seemed to melt into him, letting out a little contented sigh. One delicate hand came up to rest on his chest, her fingers gripping his shirt.
He kissed her and kissed her, unable to stop himself, unable to listen to the small voice of reason telling him to pull away. She was receptive in his arms and under his lips and he could think of nothing but how she felt and how she tasted.
With one hand still tangled in her hair, he let the other drop to her cheek, caressing the soft skin. Only when they lurched over a rut in the road did they spring apart, both breathless and wide eyed at what had just happened.
The silence stretched out before them as James tried to wrestle with the urge to take her in his arms again, conscious that a second kiss would tangle his thoughts even more than they were already.
He was just leaning in, unable to resist, when the carriage slowed to a halt and Caroline’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked out the window.
‘We’re home,’ she whispered, her hands flying to her messed-up hair.
‘I’ll tell Tomlinson to take us for a ride around the streets so you have time to fix up your hair,’ he said, wondering how sinful it would be to mess it up just a little more first.