“Then I suppose you should behave as a graceful young lady and not a spoiled urchin. I know you are disappointed that you did not locate your father. You are also cross because I came after you and curtailed your little adventure. Whether you admit it or not, the fact still remains that you should never have gone without speaking to me directly, first. You will not do that again.”
“You were out of the country. You said so yourself. I could not have consulted you had I even thought of it.”
“Then you would have waited, as was proper.”
“I feel sure I will do things without speaking to you directly. Often, I imagine.”
“Excellent. That will allow me to engage in what I have discovered is a most enjoyable pastime. Laying my palm across your hind parts. Parts that will be bared in future.”
“You will not!”
Oliver shrugged with a smug smile. “I am content to wait and show you. I am positive the wait will not be long.”
“Oliver.Your Grace, surely you understand even a small portion of why I am so peeved.”
Oliver softened his tone and placed his hand firmly on her thigh. “I do understand but I would hope you also can see why this is necessary. A woman without a protector, needs one. You are more vulnerable than you know. Men watch you as youwalk by them. If you smile or speak to them, there is a physical reaction that happens and they become ravenous for you.”
“How do you know this?”
“Lilliana, surely you are not so naïve that you don’t know the effect you have on men. You are like a perfect pixie, sprinkling your dust wherever you go. You are beautiful, you can carry yourself with elegance, your tone is aloof and yet kind. Every man has a physical reaction to you. They want you. They want to take your innocence and then be with you as often as possible. It is painful to watch you and not possess you. I know.”
Her eyes widened. “You want me?” She spoke in a whisper.
“More than is proper for a mere guardian. More than you would understand at this juncture, but I have the hope that will change someday soon. And I am often in a painful situation, something I hope to remedy as well in the near future.”
“You want to take my innocence as well?” she asked.
“More than take your innocence. I want you in my bed, under me for the rest of my life.”
She squinted. “Now I know you are speaking absurdities. It is more than obvious that you do not like me most days, nor do you enjoy my company. You merely endure me.”
He laughed. “I may endure your antics, your sassy mouth, the painful way I grow stiff when I am around you but endure being with you? No, my love, that is not a trial for me.”
“Oh.” She sat for a short time.
What did his words mean for her, for him, and possibly them? No, he couldn’t have those tingles and peculiar feelings when he was near her as she had with him. He was so confident and knowledgeable about life, he couldn’t think of her in the same way as she had been thinking of him.
“Do not tease me, Your Grace.”
He turned somber. “I do not. I am quite sincere. You aren’t ready for what a man does with a woman that he loves, but youwill be. And when that happens, my darling, I will secure your future in a different way.”
“By finding me a husband.”
“In a way, yes. But you will approve of him when the time comes.”
“How can you know that? The man who I would like to be my husband will be kind and generous. He will not be demanding and he will respect me enough to allow me free rein. I will give him his heirs and he will give me my autonomy.”
“I fear your desires in a husband and the realities will be quite opposite in concepts. The husband I choose for you will love the lady and the little darling. He will respect you and be kind and generous when appropriate but he will also be demanding and have expectations of his wife.”
“I will refuse a man who wants it all his way.”
“So you should. But a man who knows where the balance is would be a treasure, would he not?”
“I want to follow my own path.”
“So long as your husband cuts the path, that is expected.”
“It sounds right and yet, I fear you have spoken in riddles enough to change my meaning.”
