His face fell. “Please tell me I didn’t offend you, Meg. Normally, I have a strict policy against escorting young women out to gardens. However, in our case… I thought… given the fact that somehow that it wasn’t the first time that we’ve…” He trailed off, evidently reacting to the look on her face, which Meg wanted to believe was nonchalant and practiced but was probably more a mixture between horrified and near-to-crying.
Why, oh why, couldn’t she be a sophisticate? Why couldn’t she pretend to shrug this off the way other ladies of Hart’s acquaintance might if he’d played a similar prank on them? But he had called her Meg in the most heartbreakingly vulnerable tone she’d ever heard from him, andthathad been her undoing. Not to mention, her belly was still aflutter.
The kiss had been dream-worthy and, well, she simply wasn’t the type of young lady who could quickly recover from such things. She perceived that she had better do her best to laugh this off as quickly as possible so Hart stopped looking at her as if she were a wounded deer, if she ever had any hope of getting another kiss from him—pretend or otherwise.
“Yes, yes, of course,” she said, forcing a smile to her lips and plucking at the rubies at her throat. “I remember. It was in the park, wasn’t it?”
His mouth drew into a frown. “Yes, the night before Sarah’s wedding.”
“Of course. Of course. My, butthatwas a silly misunderstanding, wasn’t it?” Was that nonchalant enough?
He stared at her as if she’d lost her mind.
Oh for heaven’s sake. She was beingbeyondnonchalant now. She’d moved into downright insulting territory, calling his kiss silly. She must sound like a fool. It was official. She was rubbish at pretending to be sophisticated.
Hart’s voice was quiet. “I’m terribly sorry if I’ve offended you, Meg, either that night in the park or tonight.”
***
“No. No. No. Not at all,” Meg replied in a high-pitched trill, but it was too late. Hart felt like a complete and utter arse. Her hiccups were gone but he’d clearly upset her. She’d looked on the verge of tears a few momentsago. Of course she would. She was a gently reared English girl with little experience, not one of his jaded widow friends who took such things in stride.
Worse, he’d offended this poor young woman, not once, but twice, by kissing her of all unwelcome things.Twice!He was worse than a cad. He was a scoundrel. He wouldn’t blame her if she slapped him.
Wait. No. That wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that while he’d used the excuse of surprising her out of hiccups, if he were honest with himself, he’d admit he’d really kissed her because hewantedto, which was selfish and awful of him.
But she looked like a goddess and was even more beautiful up close. She had a tiny smattering of freckles along the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks. She had the darkest black eyelashes that framed her extraordinary bright-green eyes shot with speckles of gold. She had a tiny scar just above her left eye and she smelled like strawberries. How in the hell had he never noticed her beauty all of these years when she’d been traipsing along with his sister? How had he never noticed the strawberries? He knew why… it wasbecauseshe’d been traipsing along with his sister. She’d always been there, right under his nose.
Hart grabbed both of Meg’s gloved hands, held them, and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Meg. Truly. What can I do it make it up to you?”
The color leached from her face. “Oh, it was nothing, really. A joke. A lark. I understand completely. No need to makeanythingup to me. You did cure me of my hiccups. Thank you for that.”
The color was slowly returning to her face, a fetching shade of pink. She was such an innocent. So guilelessand pure and completely undeserving of his profligate influence. Sarah would probably slap him if she got wind of this. But he didn’t have time to draw a request out of Meg. He had to get her back to the party quickly or there would be ugly gossip. He’d been rash bringing her out here to begin with, but he’d already known after their encounter in the park that he could trust her to remain silent.
“I know.” He let go of her hands and snapped his fingers. “I’ll come to the next three balls and dance with you.”
“Pardon?” Her gold-flecked green eyes widened, and her plump bottom lip fell open.
“Sarah told me you’re on the hunt for a husband.”
The pink in Meg’s cheeks deepened. He wanted to reach out and stroke his thumb across her soft skin, to brush that spot just beneath her eye. He wanted to take her bottom lip between his teeth and—“I’ll help you. I’ll dance with you and get my friends to do so as well.” His friends were rogues, too, but they were well-connected rogues.
“Oh, that is not necessary—” She shook her head rapidly and backed away from him, her slippers making scratching noises in the gravel.
He frowned. “Unless you think it won’t help you.”
She froze. Her eyes were wide as the wheels on his new phaeton. “Are you jesting? I’ve been the queen of the wallflowers for years. Any attention from you and your friends would be more than helpful.”
“It’s settled then.” He grinned at her. “Now you must get back. You go around to the doors on the right. I’ll wait a few minutes and come back through the doors on the left.”
Meg stopped and stared into his eyes for a moment before turning to leave. Reluctant to see her go, he couldn’t resist calling after her softly. “I’ll see you tomorrow night at the Kinleys’ ball.”
CHAPTER NINE
“My dear Miss Timmons,” Lucy Hunt said the next afternoon from her place on the settee in Meg’s father’s embarrassingly worn drawing room. The wallpaper was patched, the carpet threadbare, a brown water stain glared hideously from the ceiling, and most of the accoutrements that had once graced the room had been sold to pay Father’s debts, leaving the space sparse and tattered.
“Yes?” Meg did her best to keep her hands steady as she poured tea for a duchess with twice-used leaves out of a chipped china pot. Lucy had arrived the minute calling hours had begun, surprising Meg and sending the entire household, which was unaccustomed to such esteemed guests, into a frenzy. A maid was sent scurrying to purchase sugar lumps, which they normally never indulged in.
“Do you intend to tell me where you and Hart got off to last night for the better part of ten minutes?” Lucy lifted her chin and stared at Meg.
