He inwardly snorted. Was he not quite a catch himself? “His reputation, much like everything else about him, Miss Madeleine, is impeccable. On the outside.”
“So, you’d agree that he is perfect?” She sounded smug.
A lump formed in his throat. He hated discussing the qualities of the esteemed duke with this beautiful girl. For reasons he’d never understand, he much preferred to redirect the conversation.
“If externally perfect is what you desire, Miss Madeleine, like an empty urn.” He shrugged. “Then you can do worse than Paisley.”
“Desire? Why do you say it that way?”
He arched a brow. “What way?”
“So suggestive.”
Argh!If she knew.
Sebastian stopped. They’d arrived at a gazebo far enough from the castle to have a private conversation. From here, the castle looked like a toy house in the distance. Beautiful old oaks lined the path and even though they could be seen from the windows of the parlor, Sebastian knew that all the guests were otherwise engaged.
But still, he couldn’t help himself.
“Tell me, Maddie, what do you desire?”
She blushed and plonked down on the wooden bench in the gazebo, her back to the castle, her gaze cast down. She set the flask aside, seemingly forgotten.
And something inside of him stirred because he finally had her full attention.
And those beautiful green eyes looked at him in a way that made his stomach lurch.
“Will you stop saying it that way?”
“I’ll stop if you answer the question.
She turned to him, blinking bashfully.
Sebastian grinned, and sat the other way, facing the castle, but he was close to her.
Very close.
She emanated just the kind of warmth that he didn’t even know he’d longed for.
Ice crystals hung from tree branches likedelicate jewels. The air was crisp, and Sebastian still saw his breath like a thin cloud as he spoke.
She pursed her lips thoughtfully for a moment, and said, “I want to prove my mother wrong. Beyond that, I wouldn’t know.”
“And to prove your mother wrong you must wed a duke?”
She cast him a glance. “Perhaps a duke. The perfect man for certain.”
“But is Paisley what you want?” He itched to ask her about her mother—Why do you want to prove her wrong? What happened?—but sensed she wouldn’t be open to discuss that topic.
She thought about this for a moment and then locked her eyes with his. “What I want, what I should want, and what I desire are not exactly congruent.”
So, the duke wasn’t what she wanted.
Good.
“I can imagine what you ought to desire to be duchess?”
Her eyes drooped away from his gaze. Sebastian brought a finger to her chin and nudged her gaze back to his.
