A Duke to Die for: The Rogues' Dynasty (22 page)

“Perhaps eight or ten,” she answered just as casually.

“How about twelve?”

She smiled up at him and his heart fluttered.

She laughed softly. “No, I’m sure it wasn’t that many.”

“Probably more. I don’t think you missed a dance.”

“I did try to accommodate all those who asked.”

“And you adored the attention from all of them, didn’t you?”

“Adored is not quite the right word. I accepted the attentions I received tonight.”

“Did any of them squeeze your fingers or let their fingers glide down your arms?

“That’s more than I want to answer, Your Grace.”

“I know the answer.”

And it drove me mad!

“Perhaps now I can show you attention.”

“I would like that—Your Grace!” she exclaimed. “You’re bleeding!”

Blake swore, and dug into his pocket for his handkerchief. “Sorry about that. It’s just a little scratch.”

“It’s not bleeding like a simple scratch. What happened?”

He pressed the handkerchief to the wound. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about. An iron bar was hanging down from an archway, and in the darkness I didn’t see it. I scraped my head as I walked by.”

“How many more mishaps will you have before you believe that your life is in danger as long as you are my guardian?”

Blake sighed. “Henrietta, I lead an active life. I agree it seems as though too many things have happened to me since you arrived, but that is only because you make us so aware of them. They are only little ordinary things that happen to everyone.”

She took the handkerchief from him and softly wiped beside his ear. “Lean down and let me take a closer look at it. It might need to be stitched if it continues to bleed.”

“There is no need to look at it. I am fine.”

She pressed the handkerchief to the wound again.

“Your touch is gentle, Henrietta. I find that I like you more with every little mishap.”

“The poisonous mushroom was not a little thing. The dislocated shoulder was not a little thing.” Her eyes searched his with tenderness. “Don’t you understand how I worry about you?”

“I’m beginning to.” He took the handkerchief from her and put it back in his pocket.

He wanted to kiss her, nothing more. Just kisses, he swore to himself as he dipped his head low and covered her mouth with his.

Her lips were warm, soft, and inviting as they pressed against his in a slow lingering kiss that he was reluctant to break. She tasted of champagne and smelled of spring. He didn’t want to rush this exploration of desire with Henrietta, but his body was hungry for her. He deepened the kiss, and he loved it when she responded by instinct and parted her lips for him. His tongue darted inside her mouth and explored its depths with slow sensual movements.

Desire grew inside him. He had to have a little more than kisses.

He tugged on the ribbon of her fur-lined cape and pushed it off her shoulders with eager hands, exposing her lovely pearl-draped neck, softly rounded shoulders, and the tempting swell of her breasts to his view.

Blake stared down at her loveliness. “Do you trust me not to hurt you?” His voice sounded far huskier than he intended.

She touched his cheek. “I know you will not hurt me. I would trust you with my life.”

He reached over and kissed her slender, beautiful neck and buried his nose in its softness. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his back, and he seemed to melt into the warmth of her exciting body.

His lips found hers and kissed their way down her cheek, over her jawline to her neck, sending little shivers of exhilaration popping out all over her skin. At the touch of his moist lips upon the fullness of her breasts, her breaths jumped erratically.

Blake grabbed hold of the bit of lace on her dress and her undergarment and pulled it down, exposing her breast. His mouth covered her nipple quickly, eagerly. He heard a contented groan but didn’t know if it came from him or Henrietta. His tongue flicked and played with her nipple as she squirmed and moaned beneath his touch.

Blake could hardly keep himself in check. He had wanted to caress her breasts all day. He sucked and filled himself with the taste of her.

She arched her back and gave him ample access. He fed upon her as his body throbbed, begging him to take more of her for his own.

He only knew that being with her like this, wanting her for himself, felt right. It felt natural, and he didn’t want that feeling to go away. He wanted to act on it.

A tremor of desire shook her body and Blake smiled. She was as affected by him as he was by her. That thrilled him immensely. And as much as he wanted, needed, to make her his, he couldn’t.

Leaving her breast moist from his tongue, he brushed her lips with his, easing over them with the lightest contact. She opened her mouth and playfully caught his bottom lip with her teeth. His tongue thrust in deeply, sipping from her mouth. They teased each other with nips and kisses. With a loving hand, he raked his fingers down her rib cage and over her slim womanly hip and shapely thigh to press her tightly against his hardness.

He had to fight the temptation to continue and make her his.

Blake raised his head. His gaze swept down her face to her beautiful breast spread before him. Once again, he felt that unexpected longing for her. He felt something for her that went deeper than it ever had with any other woman, and he was troubled by it.

His voice sounded husky and raw as he said, “You are so tempting, my beautiful Henrietta.”

“Thank you,” she answered just as huskily as their eyes met and held.

He pulled himself away from her and straightened in the seat. Blake forced his rigid body to relax. Calmly, he said, “You are inquisitive and eager for my touch and all that I can teach you.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I like that.” He pulled up the straps to her bodice, and then wrapped her cape around her shoulders as he said, “But I cannot teach you any more than I already have. That will be for your husband to do.”

She sat up straight and said, “Yes, of course. I understand.”

“Do you still want the attention of Lord Waldo?” Blake asked.

“No, I mean, yes. I mean, I can’t answer that right now, Your Grace. I find that I am confused by my feelings.”

So am I.

“Perhaps it’s a good idea for you to reconsider and think a little longer before you decide you want to marry someone as malleable as Waldo.”

She glanced at him. “Why?”

“I don’t think there is any passion in him, while you are full of it.”

Henrietta retied the ribbons of her cape into a bow. “I have very little knowledge of passion, Your Grace. I’m skeptical as to whether you are qualified to instruct me concerning it.”

He chuckled. “Ah, but I have a lot of knowledge of passion. And believe me, passion is something you would not want to live without.”

“Then perhaps I should consider Lord Snellingly as a suitable husband. He is handsome, he compliments me on my beauty, and he writes the most extraordinary poetry. He must be full of passion.”

“Ha!” Blake muttered annoyingly. Sometimes Henrietta was just too intelligent for her own good. “Words on a piece of parchment or rhymes tumbled from the tongue are not passion.”

“Perhaps I need to learn that for myself. I think I shall let Lord Snellingly know I would welcome a visit from him.”

“You are a menace to my sanity, Henrietta.”

She leaned against the cushion and stared straight ahead. ”I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

Blake reached up with his fist and knocked the roof of the cab twice, signaling the driver to take them home.

Seventeen

Lucien, My Dearest Grandson,

Read well these words of Lord Chesterfield and remember
them: “The character which most young men first aim at is
that of a man of pleasure, and pleasure is the rock which most
young people split upon.”

Your loving Grandmother,

Lady Elder

HENRIETTA SAT ON THE SETTEE IN THE DRAWING ROOM with Constance by her side and Lord Waldo in the melon-colored chair to her left. A huge bouquet of pink and white Persian lilies lay on the small table in front of her, a gift from Lord Waldo. She was surprised and disappointed that the duke wasn’t present for her visit with Lord Waldo before the two of them left for their carriage ride in Hyde Park.

Constance had reminded Henrietta not to sit too close to Lord Waldo on the carriage seat and never to let his leg touch hers or even come in contact with her skirts while they were riding. If he should try to steal a kiss from her at any time during the afternoon, she was to avoid it if possible, but if she couldn’t, she was to make sure the kiss landed on her cheek and not her lips.

Henrietta had already considered that possibility and decided that, should Lord Waldo try to kiss her, she would let him. She wanted to know if another man’s kiss would bring her the exquisite pleasure and wonderful excitement she felt with Blakewell’s kiss.

The night before, she had realized that she needed to get serious about deciding on a man to marry, and she had to do it quickly. The duke might not believe in the curse that had claimed the lives of her previous guardians, but Henrietta did. Too many things had happened to him since she had arrived. The next incident might take his life, and while the duke was willing to take that chance, she wasn’t. She must free His Grace from the curse.

She had taken special care when arranging her hair and dressing for the day, not for Lord Waldo, but because she wanted to please His Grace. She wore a blush-colored dress trimmed with delicate white lace around the neckline and the capped sleeves. She would don a matching, long-sleeved pelisse that buttoned high up her throat before she went out for the carriage ride.

“And what is your age, Lord Waldo?” Constance asked.

“Twenty-eight last month,” he said proudly.

“And your brother, the duke, has he bestowed lands or an allowance on you yet?”

He threw his shoulders back and beamed. “Yes, both. My brother has been quite generous to me and has promised to be even more so once I have an heir.”

Henrietta couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps it was a good thing the duke wasn’t at home. Constance was questioning Lord Waldo as if Henrietta were her daughter. She didn’t think the poor man could have withstood questions from both of them. One of his pale brown eyes constantly twitched, and he nervously kept wetting his lips in a most annoying way. Henrietta actually felt sorry for him. She would do her best to put him at ease once they were alone in his curricle.

When Henrietta had all she could take of the questions Constance was asking, she rose and said, “I think we should be going, don’t you, Constance?”

Constance and Lord Waldo stood up, too.

“Yes, by all means,” Constance said, looking at the clock on the mantel. “We certainly want you back well before dusk begins to settle.” She turned to Lord Waldo. “A couple of hours should be plenty of time for you to see all the important people who might be in the park today, don’t you think?”

“Yes, Mrs. Pepperfield. I’ll not return Miss Tweed late, I assure you.”

“Good. Since Blake is out of the house, Henrietta, I will be here when you return.”

They walked to the vestibule, and Henrietta picked up her pelisse. Lord Waldo immediately tried to help her with it but dropped it before she could put her arm through the sleeve. After much fumbling, Henrietta managed to don her pelisse and button it. She placed a blush-colored bonnet on her head. Constance handed her her gloves, cape, and parasol, and she and Lord Waldo walked out the door.

“You are absolutely fetching, Miss Tweed, and I count myself the luckiest man in London to be with you today.”

Henrietta smiled at him as they approached the carriage and said, “Thank you, Lord Waldo. I think the blue skies and beautiful sunshine might have something to do with that. We’ve had so much rain and so many gray clouds recently that the loveliness of the day spills over into our attitudes, don’t you think?”

“Begging your pardon, Miss Tweed, but I don’t think the day has anything to do with your beauty. You were just as beautiful last night, and you will be just as beautiful tomorrow.”

“You are far too generous with your praise, Lord Waldo. However, I will simply accept it graciously.”

As they reached the carriage, a small dog popped out of a crate and barked, startling her.

Lord Waldo reached down to the floor of the open carriage and lifted the dog out of the cushioned wooden box. The long-haired, white dog barked and happily licked Lord Waldo’s face.

“This is Tulip,” he said, “though I call her Tooley most of the time. My brother doesn’t mind. She’s a West Highland white terrier.”

“She is a darling little dog,” Henrietta said, backing up slightly.

“I know. My brother told me to bring her along with me. He said that all ladies love dogs, and caring for dogs shows that a man has compassion.”

“That’s wise counsel from your brother,” she said, thinking that Lord Waldo mentioned his brother a lot. She remembered how close he had stayed to his brother at the two parties she had attended.

“I’ll tell him you said that. He’ll be pleased. Here, let me help you into the carriage and then you can hold her.”

“Well, ah.” Henrietta hesitated. “All right, perhaps I can hold her for a short time.”

He held Tooley in one arm and held out the other hand for her to take.

“Thank you,” she said and allowed him to help her up the steps and into the carriage.

Lord Waldo picked up a small blanket from the crate, plopped it over her new pelisse, and then placed the dog in her lap. Henrietta looked down at the terrier and realized she should have told Lord Waldo that she usually had bad reactions to most dogs and all cats. After being around them for only a short while, her eyes would run water, and she would start sneezing. She could only hope that, because Tulip was a small dog, she wouldn’t have any problem.

Tulip, with her cute little face, stared at Henrietta and barked happily again.

Lord Waldo climbed up into the carriage beside her. He opened her parasol and handed it to her. He then took the leather ribbons from the floor and snapped the rumps of the two gray mares. With that, they took off at a breezy trot, with the dog barking.

“That bark means she wants you to rub her back. She likes to have her neck scratched, too, while she rides in the carriage.”

Henrietta stared at the mound of barking fluff and hoped that, since she had her gloves on, maybe petting Tooley for a few minutes would not bother her.

“She certainly seems friendly enough,” Henrietta said, stroking the dog’s back with her free hand. The dog calmed, laid her head down, and snuggled into Henrietta’s skirts, making herself comfortable.

“She loves people,” Lord Waldo said, keeping the horses clipping along at a brisk pace. “See, she thinks you are the most beautiful woman in London, too.”

Henrietta laughed. “I don’t think she cares what either of us looks like, but she does seem to be enjoying the ride.”

Lord Waldo glanced over at Henrietta and smiled. Some of his nervousness seemed to have passed, now that they were out of the house. His eye wasn’t twitching, and he had stopped wetting his lips after every sentence.

“I’m glad His Grace wasn’t home to visit with us before we left. Your chaperone made me nervous enough.”

“You didn’t seem nervous,” she lied, knowing that she shouldn’t, but how could she agree with him?

“Really, you didn’t notice?” He threw his shoulders back and sat up a little taller in the seat. She could see his confidence grow.

“You did quite well holding your own with Constance. She could probably make most men quake in their boots. I found her quite intimidating the first time I met her, but now I don’t feel that way. I think she is beautiful and confident, and she’s knowledgeable about most things in life.”

Henrietta’s fingers sifted through the dog’s long hair as the carriage bumped along. She couldn’t help but remember how delicious it had felt when she combed through the duke’s hair with her hands the night he was in so much pain.

“They are both quite intimidating, you know.”

She threw him a questioning glance. “I’m not sure who you are referring to?”

“My brother and your guardian.”

She had no idea about the Duke of Rockcliffe, but she certainly agreed that Blakewell could be that way—if allowed.

Henrietta felt the need to bolster Lord Waldo’s confidence once again. “I see you as formidable as either of the two dukes. You have no need to feel inferior to them.”

He turned to her, his eye twitching again. Her comment had been made to try to put him at ease, but it had only made him nervous again.

“You do?”

“Yes, of course,” she answered, stretching the truth one more time.

“But dukes are the ones with all the power.”

“Look, there’s the first entrance into the park,” she said, grateful for any reason to change the subject. “Spring is so beautiful here in Hyde Park, and the sky is such a pleasant shade of blue today. There’s not a cloud to be seen. And see how many people have already arrived to enjoy the afternoon. My goodness, there must be hundreds of people here.”

“My brother suggested we drive around the park twice to make sure we are seen by everyone, and then we should stop and find a place to sit and enjoy our refreshments.”

“Once again, your brother seems to have offered the perfect idea. That sounds wonderful to me,” she said, thinking that would be a good time to put some distance between her and Tooley, who seemed perfectly content curled on her lap.

Lord Waldo guided the horses through the east gate and onto the road that led to the Serpentine. The carriage traffic was thick as their curricle fell in behind a fancy closed carriage driven by a liveried driver and drawn by a pair of matching bays. The grassy areas of the park were packed with elegantly dressed people. Some of the couples strolled around the grounds of the spacious park with their children and pets, while others rode horseback or in two-seated carriages. Still others had found shaded areas to spread their blankets and enjoy the contents of their luncheon baskets.

Henrietta and Lord Waldo rode in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the activity in the park. Lord Waldo would occasionally wave to someone in the distance or yell a hello to someone in a passing carriage. All Henrietta could think was that she wished she were in the park with Blakewell, as she continued to rub Tooley and scratch her neck.

After two trips around the park, Lord Waldo stopped the carriage and handed off the horses to a groom. He helped Henrietta and Tulip down from the carriage, and carried the blanket and food basket while she carried her parasol and the dog. They found a shade tree and spread the blanket. As soon as she sat down, Henrietta’s eyes began to water and her nose felt stuffy. She took a handkerchief from the black velvet reticule that swung from her wrist and dabbed at her eyes.

She tried to set Tooley aside, but the little dog did not want to be put down. “Go run and play,” she said, but Tulip wasn’t interested. The terrier was obviously too newly enamored of Henrietta to leave her lap.

Lord Waldo sat down a respectable distance from her and started emptying the contents of the basket onto the blanket. While he busied himself, Henrietta took time to really look at him. He wasn’t an unattractive man at a distance, but in the cold light of day, she could see that as far as handsomeness, he paled compared to Blakewell. Lord Waldo’s body was thin. He didn’t fill out his shirt and coat. He appeared to be the same size from his shoulders to his hips, while Blakewell had broad, muscular shoulders and lean, narrow hips.

Lord Waldo must have spent little time outside as his face, neck, and hands were pale compared to Blakewell’s sun-kissed, golden-colored skin. She looked at Lord Waldo’s hands, pouring wine into a pewter cup. His fingers were long and bony, so unlike the strong, masculine hands of the duke.

“Here you are,” Lord Waldo said, giving her a cup of wine.

She sniffled and said, “Thank you.”

Suddenly Henrietta sneezed twice. “Bless you,” Lord Waldo said.

Henrietta sneezed again.

“It must be the sunshine and fresh air making you sneeze. Here, eat a little of this kidney pie and cheese. A little food will help you. My brother said wine, kidney pie, and apricot tarts were the best food for an outing in the park with a captivating young lady.”

She smiled and took the plate from him. Tooley stared at the plate. Maybe if I feed the dog, Henrietta thought, she would get up and nose around the grounds. Henrietta couldn’t believe Tooley didn’t want to mark her territory.

While Lord Waldo ate and talked about his brother, Henrietta smiled, nodded, and answered in all the right places, but her symptoms worsened, and her sneezes became more frequent. She drank the wine but finally put the plate on the ground as far from her as she could reach and placed Tooley right in front of it.