She opened her mouth to respond and found that she had no words.
He held up a hand. “Don’t answer yet,” he said. “Don’t answer right away. Please. Take a moment and think about what you truly wanted. If you tell me that you wanted to stop the kiss, and you simply didn’t know how…if you can honestly say that to me, I will beg your pardon and leave you in peace forever. It was certainly never my intention to bring you to any sort of grief. And if that’s what I’ve done, I owe you my most sincere apologies.”
How tempting it was to simply answer yes—to tell him that she had despised the kiss and had wanted nothing to do with it, that she had regretted it every moment since. He would leave her in peace if she managed to say those words. Edwina believed that wholeheartedly. This man was a scoundrel and a rake, but he was not dishonest. He had never been that.
But she couldn’t force herself to say the words. She couldn’t be dishonest, either. She wanted him to know the truth, she realized. She wanted to tell him how wonderful the kiss had been, how much she had enjoyed it…how much she wanted to experience it again.
She couldn’t speak…and yet, he seemed to hear all the words she couldn’t say.
“You did like it,” he murmured. “I knew you did.”
Edwina felt as if she had just run across the grounds. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and she felt positively imprisoned by his gaze.
“I never said…” she managed.
“You didn’t say anything. And you didn’t need to. You don’t need to. I won’t make you say it.” He lifted his hand and slowly ran his fingers across her cheek, and she felt the sensation through her whole body. “You’re so unusual, Lady Edwina. So bold—you seem as if you can say anything without trouble. And then something like this happens, and the words won’t leave your lips. You can’t bring yourself to say it. I’ll say it for you. You enjoyed that kiss.”
He was right. He was so right.
“Perhaps you’d like another.”
It was as if he could see into her very soul. She was filled with longing, and it terrified her.
He trailed his fingers down her arm and took her hand. His gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips. Edwina felt positively faint with longing.
“Lady Edwina? Are you in here?”
Lord Kentrow.
The Duke dropped her hand and stepped back quickly. “We must go.”
She felt dizzy at the sudden shift. The kiss that hadn’t happened seemed to linger in the air between them. “I…”
“Go and change out of those things,” he said gruffly, “before you’re seen. You don’t want anyone to see you in a wet gown.”
You saw me in it.
The look on his face was nearly angry, and it occurred to her to wonder whether he was speaking out of jealousy. Perhaps that was why he wanted her to hurry away so quickly—he didn’t want anyone else to see her. Maybe that was more the point than a fear thatsheshouldn’t want to be seen.
Nevertheless, she turned and hurried up the stairs to change. Her mind was too full of thoughts of that kiss to allow her to remain—she knew that she needed to get away. She wouldn’t be able to keep her head on straight in front of anybody else. She was simply too distraught.
It wasn’t until she was up in her room, away from the Duke and the heat of the moment, that she realized she was chilled in her soaked garments. Being with her had left her so warm that she simply hadn’t noticed it.
CHAPTER 28
Allan didn’t see Lady Edwina for the rest of the day, and it occurred to him that perhaps she had decided to retreat to her room and not come out. He wouldn’t have blamed her. The moment of tension between the two of them had been so powerful and palpable that he was rather tempted to hide in his own room. He didn’t know what to make of it either.
However, the expectations placed upon him were different than those upon her. He didn’t resent her for that—it was simply a fact. He needed to continue the search for his duchess. She was established as a spinster and would not surprise or disappoint anyone by withdrawing from the party for a while.
The treasure hunt reached its conclusion without him having any idea what had happened or who had won. The event simply no longer held any interest for him, and he was hard-pressed to give much attention to anyone at dinner that night either. He excused himself as soon as he could politely do so—but as the sun came up the next morning, he knew that he was going to have to compose himself and resume the search for his duchess.It would be best if he could find her quickly. Then, he would be able to put this messy affair with Lady Edwina behind him for good.
“Here you are, Allan,” his grandmother said. “I hardly saw you last night.”
“I went to bed early,” Allan explained.
“You shouldn’t have done that. Everyone was up quite late socializing, and people wondered where you were.”
“Well, I was tired,” Allan said. “I’d had a very busy day, and I didn’t feel up to staying up late.”
