He laughed brightly. “Then you are more like the other debutantes we left back in that ballroom than I thought.”
She narrowed her eyes and pierced him with a stare that stopped his mirth immediately. “I, unlike those other young ladies, do not believe love exists. I have set out to prove that love is merely a delusion.”
“Ahh…” He murmured, “The Seven Stages of Delusion.”
“Precisely.”
The Duke waited a beat then asked, “How may I be of service?”
“You?” Her gaze flicked up and down his form. “What do you know of love?”
A grin stretched wide across his handsome features. “I know enough to help you conduct this experiment.”
Theodora remained silent as a thought flashed into her mind, unbidden and tempting.
“Since we are alone, we can discover an answer to one of my stages,” she said slowly as she watched his reaction.
“And how do you suppose we do that?” His eyes glinted with curiosity.
“You can kiss me.”
Once again, the Duke did not respond. The longer he stood quiet the more Theodora second guessed her asking him for this favor. Then the dratted man did the one thing she absolutely loathed.
He laughed.
Loudly and obnoxiously.
“What is so funny?” She said, losing patience.
He shrugged. “I love your theory and your confidence to research it. I think it is bloody brilliant.”
“You do?”
He chuckled. “I do. Why? Do you not think it is?”
Theodora shook her head. She must have heard him wrong. “Wait, do you mean to tell me, that even though you laughed hysterically, you find my idea to be insightful and worthy of further study?”
The Duke raised a large shoulder. “Sure. In fact, to prove how much of a promising idea it is, I agree to grant your request. Yes, we may kiss.”
Theodora watched as his eyes darkened slightly but instead of being cautious her body felt relaxed with a slight edge of wonder. She knew that curiosity was the kind she felt when she dove into the most challenging of studies or experiments.
She considered her options and looked at the door. She could call this man out for the rake he was and venture back to the ballroom full of Lord Danning and Duc d’Orlèans’ or she could use this perfectly fine and willing participant right in front of her.
Her notebook lay heavy in its pouch as she reviewed the stages in her head. Her eyes roamed over his physique and her skin heated. The tilt of his head broke her stare.
No, I will be skipping dissecting those later stages for now.
Theodora took off her satchel and laid it on the desk next to the quill. She turned back to find the Duke standing so close she could feel his breath on her cheek.
“What are you thinking? You know, I read a bit of your book and understand that the Stages of Delusion became very…interesting…around stage six,” he said with a wink.
Theodora could not help but laugh almost as loudly as he did before. To his credit he didn’t bluster or back away from her obvious slight. Instead, he let her laugh, which felt delightful.
“You have a beautiful laugh,” he murmured.
She was surprised at his words.
“Yes, well, thank you,” she said as she stepped to the side of him. She couldn’t think when he was that close. “As you know, I have a list of stages, seven being the last and final stage, but the order of the ones before it is not set in stone and therefore can be done in whatever order I like.”
