Leaning onto his shoulder, Rachel sighed. “To be honest, I am wary of him too. I have told him of the many issues I have with my family, how they sheltered me to the point that I feel exorcised from the class I am in and how I have not experienced many things in life.”
He twisted his head to her. “What did he say to that?”
“That he erm…wanted to put me in luxurious clothes, and he hinted that he wanted to take me to see places like Bath and Vauxhall,” Rachel answered.
“Vauxhall?” William quirked a brow. “Are you willing to go there? It’s called a Pleasure Garden for a reason.”
“I know,” Rachel groaned while rubbing her chest. “And you know what is worst? I want to go to places I have never been before, but I’m plagued with the ideas that these places are dens of sin for me.”
William shook his head. “Do you think he is tricking you?”
“Why would he trick me?” Rachel blinked.
His arm looped around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “Think about it, Rachel. You are the sole daughter of a Duke and the heir to his fortune. There are a lot of fortune seekers out there. He might be one of them.”
“I do not think so,” Rachel said while training her gaze to the sky. “He is a businessman in the capital and is under contract from the Regent himself. And he has a prosperous Marquisdom. My mother and father are nothing but meticulous when it comes to who they want me to marry. I doubt he would even pass their assessment. They would not even let me see him if he were in debt or if he were a liar.”
His hand slipped to her back and ran over her spine. “If you feel that he is being deceitful, tell your parents.”
Closing her eyes, Rachel shook her head. “He is an interesting man, William, but though he is young and handsome, he is just the sort that my parents want to use. He knows the Regent, and that is what they want him.”
Shifting her to face him, William asked, “Do you want to marry him?”
“I—” she paused. “I do not know yet.”
He cupped her cheek. “I have no power to stop you though I wish I had. All I can tell you is to follow your heart. It will never steer you wrong.”
Twilight had come in full, and the air was hovering in the mystical interim between day and night. William slid his hand into her loose hair, sinking his fingers into her thick tresses and tilting her head to the side. He swept her up into a deep, heated kiss that spoke of longing and need. His lips worked over hers in seductive dance that she wished would never end.
Oh, heavens. I never thought a kiss could be like this.
He pulled away and swept his thumb over her swollen bottom lip. “You are gorgeous, sweetling. Do not let anyone tell you or show you differently.”
Daring to land a soft kiss on his cheek, Rachel pulled away from him. “Good night, William.”
“You too, sweet.”
With regret, Rachel left for the house and drifted to her room in a haze of wonder. She entered the room to see the windows closed, drapes drawn, and Jane stoking the fire. Unladylike, she plunked herself into a chair and dropped her hands on her lap.
She dared not touch her lips or her cheek or her neck because the ghostly sensations of William’s kisses lingered there. She blinked. She might be a virgin, but she certainly was not a fool, and her insides grew hot at the notion of what he would do to her if she were free to be with him.
William was a tender soul, a bit haunted, but he was a lovely man. He was brilliant, sensitive, and kind. He had been given a bad hand in life, but he was making the most of it. She loved the way his eyes landed on her with the utmost care and consideration and now desire.
A tendril of warmth snaked through her heart at the memory of how he had so accurately found out how she wanted to be free of the chains her family was putting on her. A soft shiver ran through her at the memory of the times he had held her hands, hugged her close and kissed her.
Lately, it had felt odd to her how dearly she anticipated seeing him in the library and the peaceful session she sat through with him. How she pretended not to see the tender looks and secret smiles he aimed at her over the easel but had recorded all of them in her heart.
Clarity struck her. She might not know what it was to love someone intimately, but she defied anyone to tell her that she was not getting close.
It was only when Jane whisper-shoutedher first name that Rachel realized she had drifted off. She looked up at the maid's concerned look.
“I’ve been calling you for a while,” Jane said. “Are you all right?’
“I…I think I have feelings for William.” Her hands closed roughly on her skirts. “I think I may love him.”
***
It took all Rachel’s strength to keep her expression neutral while William sketched her the next morning. Now, with her realization about how she was beginning to feel for him, every pass of his eyes made her stomach tighten and her skin prickle with awareness.
