“Possibly an even worse problem. We have caught whispers of Napoleon having received aid from some highly placed British citizens, who, it seems, might well be working to help him escape. One of our men who has been working undercover has gone missing. I am to go to Paris to evaluate the situation under the guise of being a military liaison to Wellington as he settles in as ambassador.”
She took a moment to let that sink. in. “When?”
“When? Well, they want me to go now. I told them I needed a week.”
“And how long will you be gone?”
He drew in a breath. “I don’t know.”
“Days? Weeks? Months? Years?”
All he could do was shake his head.
After a tense moment, she nodded. “How convenient, then, that you found yourself compromised with a woman who had long experience in childcare so you could continue your adventures.”
So, he wasn’t about to be forgiven.
“What would you have me do, Georgianna? I have done my duty for this country for ten years. Do you expect me to walk away from it just because I find myself in my cousin’s shoes?”
She huffed again. “If you expect me to help you this way, you could at least do me the courtesy of calling me by the name I requested. My name is Georgie. Georgianna is the Duchess of Devonshire, and I most certainly am not she.”
“Good, because I don’t want her. I want you.”
She froze, eyes widened, breath frozen.
His own heart suddenly thundering with the chance he was taking, he leaned forward, elbows on thighs so he could impress her with the truth. And honestly, so he could catch that fresh flower scent in her hair he found so tantalizing. “Did you ever expect you would react to me like you did at the ball?”
She abruptly stiffened. “I never...”
He just lifted a single eyebrow. She didn’t blush, but she looked damned uncomfortable.
“I wouldn’t have asked if I hadn’t reacted just as strongly,” he assured her, reaching across to take her hands, whether she liked it or not. “I will be perfectly honest with you, Georgie. I have been attracted to you from the moment I saw you so deftly handling my scapegrace wards. I will not deny it. But when we stepped out onto that balcony, something completely different happened. I’m sorry, but I will not apologize for it, and I certainly won’t deny it. Whatever else you believe about me, please believe that I am asking you to marry me because I like you, and...I want you.”
Taking a breath, she closed her eyes. But she didn’t pull away. And before her lids came down, he saw her pupils dilate. He saw her nostrils flare just that much and felt the heat pulse off her like a fire in winter.
His own body responded in the most primitive and understandable way. Which meant that it was probably better he was seated and leaning forward. He wasn’t sure she was ready to see just how attracted he was—or that he was ready for her to see. She might have a pack of brothers and male cousins millingaround her house, but he didn’t want to take the chance that she might not have figured out the working parts of a randy male.
“You cannot deny you feel the attraction as well,” he gently urged.
Her eyes opened, and he saw arousal, impatience, frustration. “I cannot,” she admitted.
He was relieved that she was at least honest about it. And then she yanked the rug out from under him.
Pulling hard, she freed her hands and lurched to her feet. He followed, only to find her pacing down the garden walk as if responding to a bugle.
“Georgie?”
She shook her head and walked for a few more paces. “This changes everything, of course.”
His stomach lurched just as abruptly. “What everything?”
Please God, don’t say you won’t marry me. He’d barely comprehended that surprise prayer before she whipped around and stopped, a martial light in her eyes that stopped him in his tracks.
“Get married. Go on your trip. But for the foreseeable future this marriage will be in name only.”
If he hadn’t stopped before, this would have done it. “What?!”
She took in a breath, hands clenched at her waist. “I have no intention of waiting here always pregnant and raising babies while you gallivant about the world,” she announced baldly.
