‘We will not,’ she said. ‘Speak of it, that is.’
‘Shall I tell your brother that you are toying with my affections?’ he said, fanning himself with his hand.
‘Don’t you dare,’ she whispered, turning to look straight ahead as if she could pretend he did not exist.
‘Oh, ho, ho,’ he said, slapping his knees in delight. ‘If I were you, I would not take that tone, Cassandra Fisk. You must be much nicer to me if you wish me to keep quiet.’
‘You are horrible,’ she said, scowling. Why had she forgotten the fact? Bessie was just coming out of the doorway that led tothe menagerie and would be with them in moments, and she didn’t want the Duke talking casually of blackmail in front of her maid.
‘Call me Sebastian,’ he coaxed. ‘Say, “You are horrible Sebastian”.’
‘You are,’ she whispered. ‘Horrible. Sebastian.’
‘But I will meet you, tomorrow in Hyde Park at two in the afternoon,’ he added, with a placid smile.
She let out a moan of frustration.
‘I would hurry,’ he said softly. ‘Your maid is almost here, and it will take a promise to seal my lips.’
‘Tomorrow,’ she said. ‘Hyde Park. But I am not coming alone.’
‘Bring Bessie,’ he said, waving to the maid. As she arrived at their side, he stood and took her by the hands, swinging her around until she laughed and pushing her down onto the bench beside her mistress. ‘I am sure she will welcome the exercise. But for now?’ He pulled off his hat and swept it before him in a theatrical bow. ‘Fare thee well, ladies. Until tomorrow.’ Then, he strolled off down the path, whistling.
Chapter Eleven
‘Still not right. Something simple, perhaps.’
Sebastian ripped the complicated cravat from around his throat and tossed it on the floor.
His valet, Jenks, sighed and pulled a third linen from the wardrobe then turned back to his master. ‘Perhaps I might suggest something, Your Grace.’ By the look in his eyes, what he wanted to suggest was a length of plain hemp and a short drop. Jenks was a patient man, but he had his limits.
‘She kissed me,’ Sebastian said, giving the servant a desperate look.
This was met with a blank stare, as if to remind him that he’d kissed half the women in London, and it did not normally result in so much wasted linen.
‘You don’t understand,’ he said. ‘Shekissedme.’
Jenks blinked once, shocked. Then, he turned back to the bureau. ‘I suggest black silk.’
‘For evening?’ Sebastian said, equally surprised.
‘Very Byronic. But tied in asentimentaleto give it a touch of youthful whimsy.’
‘Interesting,’ Sebastian said, almost nodding in approval until a cautioning grunt from Jenks reminded him that movement now would spoil the knot. Once this was properly done and he had been helped into his evening coat, he had to admit that the valet was right. He looked elegant, but distinctive.
It was exactly what he wanted if he was to stand out from the crowd at the Theatre Royal, tonight. When he’d seen the playbill, he had not needed to bribe a Septon maid to know where the family would be tonight. The entr’acte soprano was a favourite of both Portia and Julian’s and he doubted they would leave Cassie behind.
Since their box was directly across from his, he could have a delightful evening of gazing at her and, with luck, a chance meeting in the saloon leading to their seats.
He sighed and smiled. He had been smitten before. But after this afternoon, he was quite lost to her. The first thing he’d seen upon arriving at the menagerie was the pin he’d given her, tucked into the flowers on her bonnet as if it had crawled there itself. She was wearing the thing as if it had greater meaning to her than some random trinket. It gave him hope.
And what had she said before the kiss? That it was hard to fall out of love with him? The implications of that were almost too wonderful to believe. Though she was resisting the truth, her feelings had not changed. She was still his, just as he was hers. It was only loyalty to her brother that was keeping her from surrender.
She was weakening, he was sure. She had come close to admitting her feelings today. If he could get her away from her keepers, somewhere they might be truly alone, the last barriers between them would fall. He patted the breast pocket of his coat where he kept his mother’s wedding ring, a beaded gold band edged in repoussé leaves.
Which would be better, he wondered, to seduce her at the first sign of acceptance, or to wait the excruciating days or weeks until the knot was tied? Or should he let her choose, torturing him as she saw fit until he had expiated every past sin and proved himself worthy?
The thought of their future left him giddy and he gave Jenks a daffy smile and a wave of farewell before setting out for the theatre.
