Ruin Me Please (43 page)

“Durham,
” Parker
called.  “I think we should wager on who
will catch the biggest fish.”

“C
apital, I do enjoy
a good wager
.
”  Durham’s lips twitched.  “Maybe I can win my voucher back from Hawk
.
  He obviously ha
s his mind
preoccupied with
other subjects.”

“You obviously must love living in dun territory
,
” Declan
retorted, laughter in his voice
.

***

“Do you suppose the men are going to fish all afternoon?”  Piper asked
,
fanning
herself while at the same time
shad
ing
her eyes
to
squint towards the men.

“I believe the men could fish all day indeed
.
” Miss Harris
heaved an aggrieved sigh
. “They seem to find it quite agreeable
, although
I cannot see why?  It seems like such a dull past time.”

“Well, I for one am glad for it
.
  Why we would never have any time to gossip about the latest
on dit
or for that matter the latest fashions if we
had to forever work at
entertain
ing
them?” 
Chloe
pointed,
twirl
ing
her parasol prettily.  “It is my belief that fishing ponds,
b
i
l
liards
, cards, cigars
,
and brandy are all necessary for a woman’s peace of mind.”  She grinned
at
her clever observation.

“Very smart
indeed
,”
Piper
agreed.  “I fear
I
would
grow
quite tired
entertaining a man for an extended period
of time.”

Secretly, Poppy disagreed with Chloe.  Fondly remembering the occasions spent alone with Declan.  Heat enveloped her as she vividly recalled the delicious m
oments of passion spent in his arms
.  “My
,
it is warm this afternoon
,
”
she said,
fanning herse
lf.  Glancing at the men, her
eyes collided
with his
as if willed by her
very
thoughts.

Declan’s lips curved when
s
he wiggled her fingers at him.

Catching their interplay, Durham hit him light
ly on the arm.  Declan smiled
even wider
.

Poppy turned to Freya with a grin on her face.
“So, how did Durham propose?  Was it very romantic?  Was it just like we always dreamed?” 
She peppered
her with que
s
tion
s
.

“
Please tell
,” Agnes agreed
excitedly
.  “Piper told me
of your betrothal
.”

Freya giggled
loudly
.
“It was more like groveling or begging
.
”  She giggled again.  “
Ho
w
ever, I must admit i
t was the most romantic thing I could have ever imagined
,
” s
he said with a dreamy smile.  “There was not a single moment of arrogance or conceit
it was a
bsolutely pe
r
fect
.
”

“Who could have imagined that a penitent man c
ould be romantic?”  Poppy
’s blue eyes sparkled with mischief.  “
T
hat he would resort to begging and pleading to gain your favor
is r
a
ther
fascinating
.”

“I know, rather alarming is it
not?
  It changes everything we had ever presumed.”  Freya laughed.

Miss Harris smiled.  “I think it shows an abundance of character.  Hi
s humility is most admirable.”

Freya responded, “I agree
, Miss Harris.
”
  As she gazed
tenderly at Durham
.
“
He is the
best of men
.
”

As Piper rose to her feet, stretching, she lowered her hand to assist Agnes with standing.  “I do not know about the rest of you but I am ready for some refreshments.”  Linking their arms they headed towards the tables covered with the cold collation.

The men noticed
the
women
heading towards the food
and
immedia
tely set aside their poles
ambl
ing
toward
s
the tables.

Peyton shamelessly hollered as he piled his plate with cold chicken, ham and biscuits.  “
I’m famished, t
hought we would never eat
.
”

“Lord Peregrine,
what happy manners you possess.  I
t is so good of you to wait for the ladies to fill their plates before you take your very own refreshment.” 
She looked
disapprovin
g
ly down her nose. “You have ever been the perfect gentleman
,
” Agnes admonished sarcastica
l
ly.

Hearing the
disparagement
in her voice, Piper laughed boisterously.
“Well, it can always be said that
Peyton is ever the gentleman.”

“
Oh I say.”  Peyton smiled sheepishly. “P
ardon me ladies.
” 
Chagrin etched on his face, but
not taking offense
at Agnes’s observation
.  “My stomach
got the better of my manners.”

“You are excused
,
”
Miss Harris said dismissively.  “It is such a stifling hot day who can be responsible for
such
a
trifling lack of manners
?”

“Well
,
Miss Harris,
” Agnes
said glancing at the sky
once more
.
“
It will surely cool down when the
rain
finally arrives
.”

“I’ll wager that the rain will pass us by.”  Peyton leaned back to look up at the sky. 

“You will be the poorer for it.”  Chloe looked about.  “I see dark clouds already blowing our way.”

“If we are wagering, I will place my bet on Chloe’s prediction.  Seems much more log
i
cal,” Durham stated, picking up a piece of cold chicken and taking a large bite.

Standing back to allow the others
time
to fill their plates, Poppy grinned at the verbal exchange.  Under her long
lashes,
she glanced towards Declan.  Her face lit up with effervescent brig
htness at his approach.

“Would you like to fill a plate?”  Poppy asked.

“You are all the nourishment that I need
,
” Declan whispered in a dee
p soft rumble close to her ear.
  His hand lightl
y brushed the curve of her hip.

Shivers of awareness streaked down her spine.  He was standing so close that she had to tilt back her head to look into his face.  Not desirous to be apart from him, her every inte
n
tion was savoring their current connecti
on.  S
mil
ing dazzlingly up at him, p
urposely concealing them behind her parasol
,
she softly purred
, “
I admit to having a limited education on these types of flirtations, Declan.  Am I allowed to be equally as frank with you without causing m
yself too much embarrassment?”

With a wolfish smile,
he said,
“I would relish your candor.”  His gaze raked her face r
e
turning on
ce again to rest on her mouth.

She blushed
under his obvious admiration, seizing the
moment,
she
whisper
ed
huskily
, “
Then I too would be sati
sfied with your promised kiss.”

His eyebrows soared at her comment.  “One of your kisses will never be enough to sati
s
fy me
,
Poppy
.
”
His breath
warm against her ear
,
caus
ing her to shiver once again when
he leaned towards her gently capturing her lips in a brief sizz
ling kiss.  Declan smiled,
whisper
ing
, “
You have witchcraft in your lips
.”  Tortured by their proximity yet unable to touch
her
in the
way he longed
,
struggl
ing
with his desire to
feel her softness against him
and knowing that he couldn’t sate his desire, he stepped away
.

Far from replete, knowing someone could catch them a
t
any time
, she lowered her pa
r
asol.  Her tinkling laughter surrounded him
.
  “It is clear that I will need to read up on my Shak
e
speare if I am going to keep up with you
.
  Shall we?”  Placing her hand on his
arm,
she steered him t
o
wards the pavilion
that housed the table of food.

After filling
their
plates,
they
strolled
towards the group
,
seating themselves with the
others
, everyone
lau
ghing and joking uproariously.

The
ir
lively bunch was
led
by
non-other than Lord
Seymour
,
who was generally thought of as the life of any
ton
gathering.  As he lounged negligently on the ground he said
, “
Did you all here of the big to-do that occurred at the Keckilpenny ball?”  He glanced around suggestively.  “It has be
en
bandied about that Rockwell
,
and
a certain young lady
,
were
caught in the
l
i
brary
…” 
He wri
g
gled
his eyebrows suggestively. 
“
…
alone.
”

“No,”
Piper cried
,
the blood drain
ing
from her face
,
quite distre
ssed by the news.  “
Have they
wed
?”  Her body tensed.

“Well, I heard tell that Rockwell refused to offer for her.  He denies any wrong doing on his part.”  Seymour chuckled
.
“
I know all about Rockwell and I know he would never choose a maiden
,
”
h
e guffawed.  “He is accustomed to having his desires gratified.  He does not need to stoop to stealing away with an innocent
.
  Bad luck
he couldn’t make it this summer.  He could d
e
fend himself personally.
”

“Everyone knows he is wicked,” Miss Harris supplied.
  “Rumors of his escapades fly about the
ton
every Season.”

“Perhaps he loves her
,”
Agnes
queried,
glanc
ing
anxiously at Piper.

Peyton snorted irreverently.

“That would definitely explain why he has suddenly been indiscreet with this particular interlude
,
”
Chloe suggested.  “He lost himself in the passion of the moment.”