“That is not for you to decide!” Nora exclaimed. “I thought we had an agreement. You said you would be present, only close enough to observe and look after me – a task I am still adamant is not needed – and yet, here you are; speaking to my suitors.”
“If a few words were all it took to unnerve them, perhaps they were not worthy of you. Try as you might to dismiss my efforts – the truth remains that you owe me your gratitude.”
“Gratitude? For ruining my chances? Those men are never going to want to see me again! All because of you! You claim that you want to help, that you are only here to ensure that nothing goes wrong! Has it escaped your notice that everything that has gone wrong today has been because of you? Are you purposely trying to sabotage my season?”
Nora was breathing heavily at that point, her nerves frayed from the frustration and the urge to stop herself before she went too far. It hardly ever mattered, because at the end of the day, she would look as though she were the offender, and he would wear his calm demeanor like a crown and use it to make her appear even more pathetic.
She despised how she could never seem to keep herself still around him, forced into an argument or riled up because he simply could not resist the urge to get under her skin. He was already on her mind and infiltrating her dreams. What more did this man want?
“I do.”
Nora blinked at him, the wind in her sails fluttering to silence.
“You – what?”
“I do want to help. All my efforts today were because none of those men were suitable for you.”
Nora could not help but roll her eyes. “And how would you know that?”
“You really must learn to understand men if you are to get one to bend to your will. Men value their conquests and trysts more than their lives sometimes. Without much thought, they spill their secrets to their friends, who also tell others who will listen. Half the things I know now, I heard in passing because many of them do not know how to shut up.” He explained patiently.
“All right, but what does that have to do with me?” Nora asked, exasperated.
Godric sighed and stepped towards her, his sudden approach causing her body to freeze in its spot.
“Mr Rogers has a mistress in Bath, likely with a child born for him. His ‘trips’ to Greece were just an excuse for him to sow his seeds elsewhere and live out some of his promiscuous ways with women who would not get word back to his father. Lord Carter is saddled with debts that will take his family at least two generations to pay off – unless he marries someone incredibly wealthy. Your fourth visitor is well known for fixating his attention on wealthy or affluential damsels.”
“But I do not –”
“You have two older sisters who are duchesses. You are fated to live a comfortable life. The others are simply interested in taking you to their beds, rather than planning to wed you. Do you believe you can see through men and their sweet words and impressive stories for what they truly are? Because I can. That is why I am here.”
He was so close now, nearly as close as he had been that night before he pulled her even closer to kiss her. Nora’s heart was beating so fast, her mind weakened by the conversation, and she surmised it was all due to her anger, and nothing to do with the rapidly diminishing distance between them.
In a bid to make him feel an ounce of the frustration she felt, she blurted out,
“Yes. I can see through the lies and fanciful tales. I just preferred to entertain them, rather than make it known so early that I am onto their ruse. You think so little of me, Your Grace. And I do not like that.”
Godric was silent for a moment, then he nodded curtly, his expression open and disinterested.
“If that is what you believe, then I will allow you to hold onto such thoughts. And I will no longer intervene – not unless the situation poses a threat to you. Other than that, I will not try to help you again.” He said.
Nora heard his words and expected to feel some sort of relief. But there was an uneasy feeling lodged within her chest, and she did not understand why.
Before she could derive some sort of explanation, he leaned in suddenly, his eyes dark as he told her, his voice husky and deep.
“However, keep this in mind. As long as I am here, no man will lay a hand on you.”
CHAPTER NINE
Nora had begun to think her life was getting a little out of hand.
As her lady’s maid brushed her hair gently, her mind wandered as it often did these days, to the words the Duke had said the last time she had seen him.
After all that had transpired, she did not wish to entertain any more suitors, feeling too tired and too confused by the day’s events to hold any more conversations. Godric had taken his leave once the suitors were all gone, bidding her goodbye in a casual, noncommittal manner that made her wonder what sort of man he was for the umpteenth time.
He said and did such outlandish things as though they were normal, and did not show any signs that they might not be. And it always left her reeling. She could not stop thinking about the kiss they had shared, could barely have a moment of peace before her body recalled his touch, how her face rememberedthe heat that had threatened to consume it, and her lips remembered the press of his own against hers.
And he seemed wholly unaffected.
