Rafe shook his head. “A thimble of wine couldn’t get a mouse drunk. I think you should sit down.” He moved to take her arm and escort her to the stone bench, but she sidestepped him and leaped up onto the top of the bench. Standing like that, she was a head taller than he.
“Aha!” she said. “I can see things much more clearly from up here. Do you know how dreadfully inconvenient it is to be the opposite of tall?”
“You mean short?” He moved to stand in front of the bench to help her down.
“No, sir, I do not. I don’t care for that word.”
He needed to distract her, not argue with her. “What can you see so clearly from up there?” He raised his hand to assist her.
She lifted her head to the sky and spread her arms out to her sides. “Why, I can see the moon. I can see the stars. I can nearly see over the top of the hedges.” She giggled at herself.
“Come down from there before you trip and hurt yourself.” He moved even closer to the bench and stood directly in front of her. Instead of taking his hand, she looked down at him and braced both her palms on either of his shoulders.
“I can seeyou,” she breathed, staring into his eyes.
“What can you see about me?” he asked, suddenly serious.
“That you’re far too handsome. Far, far too handsome. The kind of handsome that could get a young lady into a great deal of trouble.”
Rafe eyed her carefully. She found him handsome, did she? She was quite inebriated but still… That was nice to hear. He lifted his arm to her. “Allow me to escort you back inside.”
“I shall allow you to escort me back inside upon one condition,” she announced. She curtsied to the rosebush beside the bench.
He groaned. “You and your family and your blasted conditions.”
“That’s it, take it or leave it.” She sang the words instead of saying them.
Rafe cleared his throat. He couldn’t very well leave her out here alone in her condition. She might trip and fall into a bush. She might break her leg trying to descend from the bench. She might be accosted by some untoward chap. Any number of things could happen. “Fine. What is the condition?”
She put her hand on his cheek and fire leaped between them. “You must tell me a secret.”
Rafe pulled her hand away and offered his arm. “I think we’ve had enough conditions for each other for one weekend.” He tugged her hand lightly, hoping to help her from the bench safely.
Daphne didn’t budge. Her slippered feet remained firmly planted on the stone bench. “Fine, then. I’ll tellyoua secret.”
Rafe’s head snapped up. She’d certainly got his attention. “What’s your secret?”
She leaned down and the softness of her breath was a strawberry-scented whisper against his ear. “I liked kissing you the other night. I thought it was exceedinglymemorable.”
“Is that so?” he drawled. He briefly considered kissing her again. A sober Daphne Swift was tempting to be certain. An inebriated one, also tempting, but he wasn’t about to take advantage of a young lady who was obviously going to have the devil of a head come morning. He didn’t envy her.
“Yes, that’s so,” she announced, straightening back up again and eyeing him down the length of her nose. “What do you think?”
He shook his head. This couldn’t end well. “I think you’re a bit worse for drink and I’d better get you back to the house.”
“So much for being adventurous,Captain.” She laughed. Before Rafe had a chance to ask her what exactly she meant by that, Daphne leaned down again. For a moment, he was certain she was going to kiss him. But there were footsteps on the gravel path coming toward them. The odds of it being Lucy Hunt again were far too low. They could not be seen kissing. It would ruin Daphne. Rafe took a step back to avoid her kiss and she tumbled off the bench onto him. They both fell onto the soft grass, Daphne completely splayed atop him.
Just as Lord Fitzwell came around the hedge.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Lady Daphne? What is the meaning of this?” Lord Fitzwell demanded, hands on his hips.
Daphne turned her head and looked up at him and began to giggle uncontrollably. “I… I fell off the bench.”
“Directly onto Mr. Cavendish?” Fitzwell’s eyes were narrowed and suspicious.
“That’sCaptainCavendish,” Rafe said, struggling to pull Daphne off him and stand up without hurting her. “And yes, it was entirely an accident.”
