He’d always found her interesting to talk with but could not recall ever hanging on her words the way he was doing at this moment. If she left him guessing at her thoughts, he’d likely go mad. “Recalling what?”
She tipped her glass to lips, finishing what remained of the milk.
“You cannot start to tell me something then leave me without all of the details. It’s not fair.” He drummed his fingers on the counter as he stared at her.
“Very well. I was remembering a conversation we had in our youth.” A pink tint crept into her cheeks.
Marcus grinned with amusement. “We shared many conversations back then. Which one are you referring to?”
Daphne fidgeted with the lace of her dressing gown. “Do you remember the deal we made? The one regarding a kiss?”
Marcus searched the recesses of his mind, reaching deep for the long-ago memory. He and Daphne had tired from law bowls and sat beside each other on a log near where they'd been playing. As Natalie, Bradford, Grayson, and Pippa continued the game, he and Daphne talked of the future. He had come home from Eaton for a break and Daphne's family was visiting Harington Gardens. Daphne was sixteen and he eighteen at the time.
Her words came back to him as the scene played through his mind.
“Have you ever kissed a lady?” Daphne turned curious eyes on him as she twirled a blade of grass between her fingers.
“Several.” He grinned.
“I never took you for a rogue.” She tossed the blade of grass into the air. “Would you kiss me?”
He drummed his fingers on the log. “Your reputation would be ruined if I did.”
“Not if no one saw us.” Her cheeks flushed.
Marcus stared at her wondering where the questions had come from. It was not at all like shy little Daphne to go about asking for kisses. “Why do you want me to kiss you?”
She glanced over at the others for a heartbeat before returning her attention to him. “I fear no one ever will and I wish to know what it feels like to be kissed.”
He could not kiss her. She was his close friend’s cousin, they had grown up together. He had an obligation to Bradford to look out for her if nothing else. Marcus rubbed the back of his neck. “I cannot kiss you.”
“Because I am not pretty enough?”
“No. Because you are innocent and young. I’ll not ruin you.” It was the truth. Her looks had nothing to do with his refusal for she was an attractive girl. He’d wager any number of men would be scrambling to kiss her once she’d had her coming out.
“What if no one has kissed me by the end of my first season?” She stared at him through sad eyes.
“Then I will.”
The memory faded, returning Marcus to the present. He smiled at Daphne. “As though it were yesterday.” And he found himself started at the fact that he’d like to kiss her very much.
Daphne stood and took a brazen steep toward him. “No one has kissed me.”
“And you want me to do so now?” Marcus assumed that was what Daphne was asking for, but given the amounts of whiskey he'd consumed earlier and the late hour, he could not trust himself to be certain. Though he'd dearly like to feel her lips pressed to his. To taste her kiss and hold her against him. He had no wish to take advantage of her.
Her cheeks flamed scarlet. “I’m sorry. I should not have asked.” She bolted from the kitchen before he could stop her.
Why had he let her flee from him when he would have been happy to oblige. Perhaps it was for the best because regardless of how tempting she was, he would never do right by her. He was not in the market for a wife and she was the marrying type.
Chapter 5
Daphne settled back against the carriage seat, her bones wary from the day’s activity. She'd though accompanying Natalie and Pippa into the village would prove a good distraction. On the contrary, it had only served to wear her out. They’d visited each villager in turn, delivering saves, gloves, and baked goods. All the while Daphne had found herself thinking about Marcus and the ridiculous request she’d made of him.
She was a fool. Plain and simple. An utter and complete dim wit.
How could she have ever believed that he’d kiss her? No doubt he’d only struck the bird-witted bargain to assuage her feelings in the first place. Even then he’d been a rogue. If she’d appealed to him in any way he’d have honored her request years ago.
Daphne turned to stare out the carriage window and snowflakes dancing toward the ground. If she wished to be kissed, she would have to follow Natalie’s advice and steal one. But how did one do such a thing?
