“What is that?” Diana asked. The way she angled her head towards his showed she was equally distracted by the promise of a kiss with his lips hovering above hers.
“One minute,” he said distractedly before pressing his lips to hers, taking another one of those precious kisses. This time, he wrapped his arms completely around her, encasing her with his arms so that she was safe there, completely unbidden in his kiss. She was the one to deepen it, urging him to growl in the back of his throat, longing for more of this.
“You were saying?” she asked when they did lean back from one another, both still panting.
“Kissing you has the habit of making me forget everything else,” he said quietly, pulling a giggle from her. “I did want to tell you of our plan, though.”
“Which is?” she asked, trailing her hands up his chest in such a way that made words die in his throat.
“If I am going to speak properly, you are going to have to stop touching me in that way.” His mischievous words had the opposite effect, for she smiled all the more and trailed her hands back down the other way, travelling further south until they reached his abdomen and down to the front of his hips. She was so nearly brushing his length behind the cover of his trousers that he tipped his head forward, chewing the side of his mouth to try and keep in a moan.
“I rather like this game,” she whispered.
“So do I.” He lifted his head again and then picked up her hands with his, stopping her from touching him momentarily. “Yet … I must tell you this first.”
“Then you’ll stay for a while?” she asked, biting her lip with clear hope. He couldn’t deny her, not when she was looking at him with that much expectation. It made a shiver of excitement tremor up his spine.
“I’ll stay,” he promised softly.
“Good.” She backed away from him. As she crossed the room, Owen was afforded his first proper look of this chamber for some time. He had seen it when it was just a guestroom, but he had no cause to be in here since Diana had arrived. It was her lady’s maid’s domain.
The four-poster bed dominated the space on one side, flanked with duck egg blue and white striped curtains. The oak floorboards were dappled with a myriad of rugs, mostly white, with some so soft that Owen longed to take off his boots and feel the softness beneath his feet. Curtains that matched the bed covered the windows, and the few chairs in the room were all spaced around the stone-hearth above the fireplace, being the room’s centre point.
Diana moved towards one of these chairs, sitting down far away from him.
“If I am to be good,” she said, smiling up at him, “then I best stay over here.”
“As you wish,” he murmured, resting his hands on the back of the nearest settee to look at her. He tried to keep the longing out of his eyes, but from the way his gaze kept drifting down her body, he knew he was failing, especially when Diana blushed and bit her lip. Those simple actions nearly drove him mad enough to cross the room towards her, but he restrained himself.
“Jessie is in love with an idea of who the duke is. Would you agree?” Owen asked, deciding it was best to get this conversation out of the way fast.
“Yes.” Diana nodded with the words. “I would not be surprised if he has been acting a part to her.”
“I would agree.” Owen rounded the chair to sit on the other side, bringing himself to Diana’s level.
“Look at those fires and what you found out from the coachman,” Diana said, moving to the edge of her seat. “I would be a fool indeed to pretend there is nothing odd going on. I am convinced of it. There has to be some way that Gilbert knew of these fires. Somehow.”
“Yes. It seems where he should be distrusted in business, he should be in other matters. I told you before of the other maids who used to work in this house that disappeared the moment there was the hint of them being with child?”
“You did,” Diana said, her body turning rather tense. “I fear Jessie will end up just the same.” The simple words brought a smile to Owen’s face. “What?”
“That is one of the reasons I am so enamoured by you, Diana. Jessie is threatening to destroy your life, yet at the same time, you still have compassion to be concerned for her.”
“Wouldn’t anyone be?” Diana asked, shrugging as if the matter were plain to understand.
“No, Diana,” Owen said, sitting forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees. “Not everyone has the heart you have.” She blushed another time and smiled at him.
“I do not want my husband to hurt Jessie. No matter what else is going on.”
“Then my plan is this. To make Jessie see the calibre of man the duke truly is. If we can persuade her of it, especially before the duke returns, then she would not tell him our secret. She would realize he is not a man to trust, certainly not a man for her to give her heart to. What do you think?”
Owen waited as Diana bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth for a few minutes in thought before she looked back at him.
“I think it could work,” she said eventually, “but we’ll have to work fast. We have no idea when Gilbert will be back. He could be back at any moment! Then … Lord knows what he’ll do.” She abruptly stood to her feet, crossing the distance towards him before kneeling down in front of his chair, placing her hands in his. “I do not care for this house, Owen, nor this position or the things in this room. I do not care for any of it. I just cannot bear the idea that he could separate me from you.”
The words broke Owen. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back with a caress, holding her tightly to him.
“I will not let it happen. I give you my vow on that, Diana. I will not let him separate us.”
