Page 43 of The Bridal Quest

He bowed his head in acceptance, and they continued to walk. After a moment, he said, "Now, what was it that you wished to take me to task for?"

"It is not that I wish to take you task. It is more ... that I wish to clarify my position here. I agreed to come to your home to help Francesca, and that is all. I had hoped she made that clear to you and your great-aunt."

"She did."

"I tried to make it equally clear to you that I have no intention of marrying you."

"You did."

She shot him a sideways glance. "And yet, this morning, you made remarks to me—"

"Remarks?"

"Compliments, I suppose you might say."

His eyebrows vaulted up in an expression of innocent surprise. "Am I not allowed to compliment you?"

"It was your manner, sir. It was not the compliment of a ... a gentleman to a woman he does not know. Or of a brother to a sister."

"No. They were not the compliments of a brother. But then, I am not your brother."

"You are being obtuse. Purposely so, I warrant. Your remarks were ... You were flirting."

"Am I not allowed to flirt with you, either?"

"No," she answered crossly. "Oh, do not put that astonished look upon your face again! You know exactly what I am talking about. You spoke to me in a ... well, in a seductive manner."

A faint smile touched his lips. "I am glad to see that my intention was clear."

"But I told you—"

"I know what you told me, Irene."

"Then why do you continue to pursue the matter?" she asked with some heat, not even noticing that he had used her first name, though she had not invited him to. "I repeat, there is no hope of my marrying you, so I see no sense in your making advances toward me. Do you hope to change my mind? You will not, I assure you."

"No, I can see that your mind is set in stone," he retorted.

Irene's brows drew together in a frown. "Now you are insulting me."

"You did not wish me to compliment you, if you remember."

She heaved an exasperated sigh and turned her face away. They walked on in charged silence.

After a moment, Gideon said mildly, "In any case, I did not ask you to marry me. Surely you noticed."

"No, but you were making advances toward me. You have admitted that."

"Well, you said only that you would not many me. You did not forbid ... other matters."

Irene came to an abrupt halt and swung on him, her face lighting with outrage. "What! Are you saying— Do you dare to think that I— That I—" She sputtered to a halt, unable to bring herself to say the words.

His smile was slow and knowing, an acknowledgment of the suggestive implication of his earlier words. Irene knew that she should have felt insulted by it, even repulsed, but instead she found that the curve of his lips, the light in his leaf-green eyes, set up an ache deep in the pit of her abdomen. She released a shaky breath, knowing she should step back from him, should tear her gaze from his, but she could not. She did not want to, and that was the most shattering realization of all.

"Even a woman so disinclined to marry ... does not necessarily seek to bar herself from all relationships," he said carefully.

"You think that I would dishonor myself? Bring shame to my name?" she asked, appalled at how shaky her voice came out. Would he realize that it matched the trembling inside her? Could he know, just by looking into her eyes, that he had awakened in her the lust that she denied?

"Never dishonor. I do not think you capable of dishonoring yourself." He took a half step closer to her, dropping the reins and bringing his hands up to curve around her upper arms. "What would you have us do? Deny what lies between us? Forget the fact that when I touch you, your skin turns hot beneath my hands? That when I kissed you, you kissed me back?"