The Duke's Daughter (9 page)

‘Avery,’ she said, breathing his name.

‘Should you be out here alone?’ he replied.

‘But I’m not alone, I’m with you. Besides, this is my home; I couldn’t be anywhere safer unless you locked me up in the Tower of London.’

She ran a hand down over her hips, straightening her already perfect skirts. The breath seized in his lungs.

Lucy was a vision of night garden beauty. Her long, pale golden hair was held in a soft style. A series of ringlets kissed her cheeks and ears. A single gold ribbon was tied in her hair. It trailed down her neck, stopping an inch or so above her naked décolletage. He had never seen her dressed in such a provocative way before. He swallowed.

Her gown of gold and silver was simple but elegant. He saw where it clung to the sensual curves of her figure. The effect it had on his mind and body was immediate.

He swallowed once more and tried to calm his breathing. Beneath his shirt his heart raced as blood pooled in his loins. It had been a long time since he had reacted in such a sexual manner toward a woman. He was powerless.

‘I’m sorry I missed the earlier part of the evening; it took a little longer than expected to prepare myself,’ she explained.

She nodded toward the garden chair.

‘Mind if I sit with you?’

Avery stepped back. His head felt light and he knew it was nothing to do with the glasses of wine he had imbibed during the evening. Drinking in the vision of Lucy Radley was pure intoxication.

‘Since this is your home and your garden, I shall leave you. If you like I shall summon a footman to come out here and watch over you.’

The huff of disappointment which escaped her lips did not go unnoticed.

Her lips.

How many times had he stood listening to her make small talk while he stared at her luscious lips? He wondered if she had ever been kissed. He doubted she had been kissed in the way he ached to kiss her. To possess her.

Lucy wet her bottom lip with her tongue and Avery knew he was fast losing the battle against his lust.

She came closer and their gazes met. Her eyes betrayed her inner thoughts. Whereas previously he had seen a friendly but guarded look on her face, she now wore something far more dangerous. Whatever she was thinking at that moment, he doubted it was innocent.

A cold chill of premonition ran down his spine.

She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. A silent plea for him to stay.

‘Lady Lucy, I know little of social strictures, but I have learned that a young lady should not be alone in the garden with a gentleman not of her family. We are friends, but this is not appropriate,’ he said.

In addressing her in such a formal manner, he hoped she would see the danger she was currently in. He made a move to step past her and go back inside, but she was quicker.

‘Lucy,’ she murmured.

She placed a tentative hand on the lapel of his evening jacket in the lightest of grips. Gentle, but firm enough that it would be awkward for him to pull away.

He reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder, with the intention of gently pushing her away. Forever after, he would not be able to make sense of what happened next. One moment he was trying to be rid of Lucy, the next he had dragged her into his arms and was kissing her senseless.

Held in Avery’s embrace, Lucy exalted.

Finally something she had planned was coming to fruition. The hours hidden away in her room, carefully planning the exact moment she would appear this evening, had all been worth it. Her mother’s repeated messages to hurry up and join the gathering downstairs had been politely ignored. She would deal with her mother’s displeasure later. Tonight was the night she seized her own future.

Alone in the garden with the man she had set her heart upon, she was kissing him. And more telling, he was kissing her!

His soft warm lips captured hers. A gentle, uncertain kiss at first. Then she heard him groan and he pressed his lips harder against hers as his tongue swept into her mouth. She had always prayed that her first real kiss would be good, that her knees would be trembling. Avery was more than good, he was masterful. Her knees threatened to buckle under her.

Oh yes. Oh please.

She tasted the bitter tobacco in his mouth, surprised when instead of finding it displeasing she wanted more. Her lips yielded to his urgent passion, urging him on. Inviting him to lay claim to all that she offered.

Her hands now gripped tightly to the lapels of his jacket. She had heard enough in the ladies’ retiring rooms at balls to know that if you wanted a man to keep kissing you, you held fast to him.

A warm, strong hand held the side of her hip. She wriggled just a little to show her appreciation. His grip tightened.

Avery’s other hand slipped under the hair at the back of her neck and tilted her head. He leaned further over her, enveloping Lucy within his warmth.

With her heart racing, she felt a rush of adrenaline course through her body. Emboldened by his response to her entreaty, she slipped a hand under the bottom edge of his cravat. Her petite fingers searched for and found his naked skin. This was heaven.

He gasped.

She froze.

He released her from his embrace, his lips quickly leaving hers. Firm hands took hold of her wrists and pushed her hands away. He stepped back, gasping for air as a look of abject horror appeared on his face. He attempted to straighten his cravat.

‘Oh God, what have I done?’ he uttered.

For all her well-laid-out plans, Lucy had not counted on this response. Her mind went blank.

‘We kissed,’ she replied. Panic now threatened to overwhelm her.

‘Why on earth did you do that?’ he replied.

The expression on his face crushed all but the merest of her hopes.

‘I thought that was what you wanted. I . . .’ she stammered.

He thrust his hand, palm facing outward, toward her.

‘It was the last thing I wanted. I knew I should have gone back inside as soon as you arrived. I sensed you were up to something.’

Hot tears sprang to Lucy’s eyes. From the victorious thoughts of a moment ago, suddenly everything was going horribly wrong.

Avery’s eyes narrowed.

‘I must ask. Did you decide right from the outset that I was some kind of sport? A plaything for a rich, spoilt young miss to toy with? You must think me an utter fool.’

He raked his hand through his hair and chuckled bitterly.

‘And to think I believed you when you said you were my friend. That you only wanted to help. I’m surprised you were able to keep a straight face every time you gave me dance lessons.’

No. No.

‘I did want, I mean I do want to be your friend. It’s just that I want . . .’ she cried.

He stepped back, anger evident in the sharp lines around his mouth.

‘Want what? You want to put me on the end of a leash and parade me around London as your new colourful pet? Don’t think for a moment I have been blind to the machinations of all the young misses fawning over me. Asking me in their soft, girlish voices how hard a life I must have led. How gallant and brave a soldier I must have been. I may be an outsider to London society, but I am not stupid.’

Lucy stepped forward, her hands reaching out in supplication, as she desperately tried to make him understand. As she attempted to take hold of his lapels once more, he angrily pushed her away.

‘Let go of me, you cunning wench! Let me be!’

Wrong-footed, Lucy staggered back, falling hard against the sharp thorns of the nearby rose bush. She cried out in pain as the thorns tore through her gown and dug deep into her skin.

Avery’s anger immediately disappeared.

‘Oh no. Oh Lucy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to push you that hard,’ Avery said, coming quickly to her side.

He tugged at the rose bush as Lucy screwed her eyes shut. All her dreams were in tatters.

‘I’m sorry, Avery. I’m sorry, I never meant to . . .’

‘Ssh,’ he murmured.

He leaned in close, tugging on the bodice of her gown as he attempted to free her. Lucy looked sadly away, overcome by the depth of her embarrassment and shame.

Avery struggled with the tangled gown for a minute or so before finally sighing and saying, ‘I will have to undo some of the buttons at the back of your gown to get to the thorns. There is no other way I can free you.’

She silently nodded her head. Her humiliation was complete. Anything Avery did now simply didn’t matter. All she wanted to do was escape from his hurtful words, go back inside and hide.

Avery unhooked four buttons, allowing the top of the gown to slip off Lucy’s shoulders. The ivory skin of her right breast was bared to the chill night air. She shivered. With the fabric now closer to his reach, he slowly disentangled her from the rose bush.

‘There, that should do it,’ he said.

She turned round, and waited with resignation for him to button her gown back up.

‘Please hurry,’ she pleaded.

When he didn’t reply she turned to him. Her gaze followed the direction in which his eyes were focused and her heart stopped.

At the edge of the garden path, only a matter of feet away, stood her father. Behind him on the bottom step of the terrace was Lord Langham.

‘Lucy, go upstairs to your room and change. You will await your mother,’ the duke said.

‘Papa?’ she whispered.

‘Go,’ he replied. The controlled rage in his voice brooked no misunderstanding.

She pulled the top of her gown back up and stepped away. As she put her foot on the bottom step of the terrace, she gave a backward glance to Avery.

His gaze was still fixed firmly on her father. It was as if Avery had been turned to stone. As she reached the top step of the terrace, she heard her father say, ‘My study, Mr Fox.’

In the privacy of her bedroom, she quickly changed out of the torn dress. After attending to the cuts on Lucy’s back, Rose helped her into a simple white satin gown with matching ribbons. If she received her father’s summons to join the dinner party downstairs, Lucy intended to be as near to invisible as she could for the rest of the evening. She sat quietly in front of her dressing mirror as her maid did her best to fix Lucy’s hair.

A little while later, a knock on the door heralded her mother.

The duchess quickly dismissed Rose and closed the door behind her. Lady Caroline placed a large blue velvet jewel case on the dressing table and crossed to Lucy’s wardrobe.

‘Something a little more elegant might be in order,’ Lady Caroline said. She opened the double doors of Lucy’s wardrobe and searched for a moment.

‘Where is your silver and gold gown?’ she asked.

Lucy pointed to the torn gown, which lay on her bed.

Her mother sighed. ‘Oh, Lucy; what have you done?’

‘It was an accident, I slipped and fell against the roses by the arbour,’ Lucy replied.

She heard her mother’s breathing falter on the edge of a sob. When the duchess turned back from the closet, her eyes were brimming with tears.

‘My dear girl,’ she muttered.

Lucy rose from her chair. Taking hold of her mother’s hand, she gave it a gentle pat. Everything would be all right. She would apologise to all and everything would be forgiven.

‘I’m sorry for making such a scene outside. It was foolish of me. I know Papa will be angry with me, but I promise to be on my best behaviour for the rest of the evening. You will not hear a sound from my lips.’

She had learnt a salutary lesson this evening. She had underestimated Avery and in the process lost his good opinion and friendship. The pain she currently felt would eventually ease, as would the cuts on her back.

The duchess shook her head.

‘If only it were that simple.’

A cold dread came over Lucy. What had her father and Lord Langham done to Avery?

‘It wasn’t Mr Fox’s fault; I sought him out in the garden,’ she said.

‘At first I don’t expect it was; I had noticed you have taken a particular interest in Mr Fox. But from what your father tells me, your Mr Fox did not behave as a gentleman should have under the circumstances. He and Lord Langham saw the two of you kissing from the ballroom doorway and from what I understand, Mr Fox was a willing participant in the exchange.’

Lucy hung her head in shame. Not only had she seriously damaged her relationship with Avery, but now he would be held in a very dim light by the rest of her family. And the Langhams. The evening was fast descending into disaster.

‘I shall go and speak with Papa and explain the situation; I take full responsibility,’ Lucy replied.

Her mother went back to the wardrobe and took out a deep pink velvet gown. It was one of Lucy’s favourites.

‘You will change into this and put on the gold and pearl tiara your maternal grandmother left you.’

She nodded toward the jewel box and handed the gown to Lucy.

‘A tiara?’ Lucy exclaimed.

‘Yes; it is the same one I wore for the announcement of my betrothal to your father. You will do the same for your engagement to Mr Fox.’

The gown fell to the floor.

‘No!’ Lucy cried.

Her mother bent down and picked up the gown.

‘Your indiscretion in the garden tonight left your father with little choice. You had the top of your gown open, and Mr Fox’s hands were on your naked person. The encounter was in full view of anyone who happened to be in the garden. Your father has demanded Mr Fox make an offer for your hand in marriage, and Lord Langham concurs. Anything else will leave you irrevocably ruined.’

‘And what did Mr Fox say?’ Lucy replied.

When the duchess sighed, any hope that Lucy might have held for Avery’s forgiveness died.

‘I am not sure of the conversation which is currently taking place in your father’s study, but I expect the outcome will be as it should be. You and Mr Fox will be getting married before we leave for Scotland.’

At that, Lucy knew her fate was sealed. Her plans to win Avery’s heart and then his hand had completely failed. If, as she suspected, he hated her at this moment, she couldn’t find fault with him.

‘Now, let’s get you changed and I shall come back and fetch you when your father is ready to make the announcement. You should take the time to compose yourself and find a happy smile.’