He grumbled, tried a few more times, and eventually managed to get it right on his fifth attempt. “There we are. That wasn’t so hard.”
A snort of amusement escaped through Sarah’s nose. “Certainly not, Your Grace. You truly are a champion among men.”
His eyes met hers with considerable mischief. “I’ve always considered myself a paragon of sportsmanship.”
“Indeed?”
Sarah smiled at him as they went on to the next game. She was immensely pleased with how the day was unfolding, and later, as they admired the view from the top of the Chinese tower, she allowed herself to sidle up closer to him. Even though they were never completely alone with Anna always somewhere nearby, Sarah felt as though they’d managed to tuck themselves away from the rest of the world for a while - as if here, with her, in this park, Brunswick had let his guard down completely.
“I’ve enjoyed our outing today a great deal,” she confessed. “Thank you for agreeing to join me.”
“It’s been a pleasure.” He gave her a sideways glance and she noticed a serious quality to his eyes now that hadn’t been there before. Her heart skipped in anticipation of what he might say. If he proposed again, would she say yes? Mind racing she tried to stay calm, only to learn there’d been no need for concern when he said, “I was wrong to think you’d marry me without becoming better acquainted first.”
“Are you saying you’re glad I turned you down?”
“No. I still think we could have made it work, but I don’t think it would have worked as well as if we were to start out as friends.”
“Friends, Your Grace?”
“I do hope you’ve come to regard me as such.” He suddenly sounded uncertain.
Sarah gave him a warm and reassuring smile. “Of course. I, um...I like spending time with you.”
“And I with you.” He reached for her hand and raised it to his lips for a kiss that lingered much longer than what was deemed appropriate. “Perhaps we can meet again soon?”
“Yes,” she agreed, perhaps more readily than she should have and certainly with her voice sounding too breathless for someone whose feet were still planted on solid ground.
As if noting the effect he had on her, the edge of Brunswick’s mouth curved to form a purely wicked smile that sent sparks of heat dancing down her bare arms. Leaning in, he whispered, “I’m sure we can arrange for additional outings. A visit to Vauxhall could be fun. And eventually, if you dare, a private candlelight meeting at my folly.”
Sarah swallowed while trying to tamp down the buzzing sensation that seemed to fan out from her belly. Her heart fluttered wildly as if anxiously seeking attention. She didn’t feel like herself. In fact, she felt quite out of control and she somehow knew it had something to do with Brunswick’s words and the way he’d phrased them, so seductively they seemed to flow through her body like molten lava.
“What you’re proposing is–”
“Not to be talked of again until you’re ready.”
“But–”
“I still hope to marry you, Miss Townsbridge, but I’m not sure my pride can manage being turned down by you again.” He drew back a little. Just enough for them to face each other more fully. “Let me know when you’ve made up your mind.”
#
THE NEXT THREE WEEKSprogressed in a similar manner. Matthew saw Miss Townsbridge every few days, either for a walk in Hyde Park - he was getting better at matching her pace - for afternoon tea with her parents, at a musicale where they both sat in the back so they could converse discreetly as they’d done at the theatre, during another ball where neither danced with anyone else - much to the delight of the gossips, and at Vauxhall.
Yet Miss Townsbridge never once gave any indication of wanting more. Certainly not something as serious as marriage. Oh, she’d blush when he leaned in to give her a compliment, and her voice would drop to this husky murmur that heated his blood whenever he touched her. Indeed, there was no doubt in his mind he stirred her senses, yet she still managed to keep him at arm’s length.
The whole business was driving him mad.
Mostly because he was starting to fear his resolve. Hell, he wanted her in ways that terrified him - in ways he knew he could never allow no matter how much she tempted him with surrender.Love. The most dangerous feeling in the world. He had to resist it at all cost. He had to stay strong.
So when her parents invited him for dinner again, he turned the invitation down and remained home instead. A little reprieve was in order. He needed a chance to find his bearings, to focus on what was important here - the necessity of their eventual union instead of some fanciful romance invented by poets.
“You look like a wreck,” David St. Nichols, Viscount Ottersbridge, told him when the two took a ride out of London one day. Matthew knew him from his time at Oxford. David had said something during one of Matthew’s descents into misery, causing Matthew to lash out the only way he’d known how. They’d both thrown punches until they were lying side by side on the ground exhausted. Afterward, David had offered to buy Matthew a drink, and the two had been friends ever since. “I can’t help but wonder if it’s got something to do with that Townsbridge chit. According to the papers, you’re making a great deal of effort to win her hand, which would explain why I’ve not seen you in recent weeks.”
“She’s turned me down twice.”
“Ho! And yet you persist.” David laughed as they guided their horses onto the West Road. “Either she’s got you bewitched or you’ve sampled her goods and–”
“Shut up. It’s nothing like that.”
