“Mm,” he said, rather like a low moan that made her shiver. In quick succession, he ate the rest. She counted three more. Each time, as soon as the confection was in his mouth, he closed his eyes and savored the taste. Like a true connoisseur. The way her mother did with wine she particularly liked or her father with his favorite cigar.
When the duke finished, he opened his eyes and grinned at her.Ah, there was that famous smile, just as handsome as she’d heard. With dimples to boot!
She shook her head, cleared it, and recalled her professional demeanor as a chocolatier. “What do you wish, my lord? Chocolates in the shape of swans is rather romantic? Perhaps chocolates with sweet cream centers or with exotic nuts? Or maybe heart-shaped chocolates to woo your lady with her sweet tooth?”
As he nodded at her suggestions, any remaining tendrils of fantasy dissipated from Amity’s brain.
“Perhaps not shaped like a heart,” he said. “That seems too obvious. She does like sweet things, however.”
“Hopefully, your lady still has teeth in her head,” Amity added, taking the empty bag from his fingers and crumpling it before stuffing it back into her reticule. “Although at the rate our fellow countrymen and women are consuming sugar, it’s a wonder any of us have anything but gaps in our gums and toothaches in the remaining teeth we have left.”
He frowned. “Miss Rare-Foure, you started out making my mouth water and ended by making me feel a little sickened. Do you really think sugar is ruining our nation’s teeth?”
She shrugged slightly. “When it was used by only the very wealthy, from the late sixteen hundreds — to make those lovely sculptural table displays, for instance — right up until a few decades ago, diseases of the teeth seemed to be worse in the nobility and the royalty, including blackened teeth, abscesses, and loss of choppers altogether. Find a farmer eating his meat and potatoes, and I’ll show you a man with more good teeth than King Louis of France.”
The duke stared at her, then blinked.
“And how about now?” he asked. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Now, twenty years since the prices plummeted and everyone started eating more sugar — over thirty-five pounds per person in a year — don’t you think you see more toothless people than when you were a child?” She doubted he could disagree.
“I ... I...,” the duke trailed off.
Amity bit her lip. She was a ninny! Since he wasn’t around the masses, he would hardly be seeing more or fewer toothless people.
“Smile for me,” he commanded unexpectedly.
She couldn’t help rolling her eyes. He might be nobility, but she wasn’t a horse he was determining whether to buy. Nevertheless, she gave him a broad smile.
“Perfect white teeth,” he pronounced. “Yet you must spend a great deal of time tasting your creations. Do you brush daily?”
“Of course. And I have a highly effective tooth powder recipe with peppermint oil.” She leaned forward. “Come closer.”
Looking startled but intrigued, the duke did as she suggested.
“Hah,” she huffed her breath directly upon him. “Well?”
“Fresh and minty, I must say.”
She sat back with a delicate lift of her shoulder. “What did I tell you?” Then, before she thought, Amity added, “Smile for me, my lord.”
She might have gone too far, but luckily, the duke didn’t look affronted. Instead, he produced an attractive grin that showed not only his dimples but his straight teeth — and a whole set of them, too. She decided not to point out he had a small piece of almond stuck between two of them from one of her chocolates. If he did brush daily, he would discover it soon enough.
“Satisfied?” he asked, his attractive green eyes locked on hers, causing her stomach to twinge oddly.
She nodded.
“I won’t breathe in your face if you don’t mind,” he said, “but I can assure you I use the finest tooth powders.”
“I have no doubt, my lord.”
He looked as if he was going to say one thing but changed his mind and said another. “How do you know so much about sugar?”
“My father made his fortune in the sugar market, my lord.”
“I see. Is that why your family got into the confectionery business?”
“Yes, my lord. My mother started Rare Confectionery when she and my father first were married.”
