In Bed with the Duke(51)

‘Come on,’ he said, leaning down and holding out his hand to her. ‘Up you get.’

‘Wait a minute,’ she said. ‘I need to take some precautionary measures.’

She hitched up her gown and her petticoat as high as she dared, then reached between her legs and pulled the bunched material from behind through to the front, forming a sort of shortened, baggy set of breeches. It was the best she could do. She only hoped nobody came up over the rise and saw her display of legs bare to the thigh. With one hand clutching her skirts, and her face on fire, she set her foot on the knot she’d shown him earlier, took his hand, and let him haul her up onto the branch next to him.

‘What a pity it is that ladies’ fashions demand they cover their legs so completely,’ he said, running his eyes over hers.

‘Impractical, too,’ she said with a nonchalant toss of her head, since it was impossible to blush any hotter. ‘When a lady decides she needs to climb a tree, breeches would make it far easier.’

He grinned at her again, then shuffled along the branch to the top of the wall, slid across it, and dropped down into the shrubbery that grew right up to the base of the wall on the other side. He turned to her and held out his arms.

‘All you need to do is slide to the edge and drop down. I’ll catch you,’ he said.

All she had to do? In a gown that was hitched almost to her waist?

‘It’s all very well for you. You are wearing breeches.’ Which protected his vulnerable parts. It was no joke, shuffling over a crumbling brick wall when shielded only by a cotton chemise and a bit of kerseymere, since his jacket was trailing uselessly behind her.

But at last she was right at the edge of the wall, her legs dangling down into the park. With Gregory standing below, a wide grin on his face.

‘Enjoying the view?’ she asked tartly.

‘Immensely,’ he said without a trace of shame. ‘You have very beautiful legs. Even those hideous stockings cannot disguise how very shapely they are.’

‘You really shouldn’t be staring,’ she scolded.

‘I would be mad not to.’

‘I should slap your face.’

‘You will have to come down here first to reach it.’

So she jumped.

And he caught her. And steadied her. And then held on to her elbows for far longer than was necessary. And what with all the talk of legs, and the heated look in his eyes, somehow she didn’t wish to slap his face any longer.

‘Prudence...’ he breathed. ‘Prudence, about us getting married...’

Her heart sank. She’d already worked out that he didn’t really want to marry her. That he was probably thinking of ways to let her down gently.

‘I’ve already told you—you don’t have to,’ she said, nobly letting him off the hook. If he didn’t want to marry her she wasn’t going to force his hand. ‘It was just a silly idea I had. I could—’

‘No. You couldn’t. I won’t let you go—do you hear me?’

And then, to her complete surprise, he hauled her all the way into his arms and kissed her. Savagely. The way she’d always suspected a man with a face as harsh as his could kiss.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. It was heavenly. No question this time about who had initiated the kiss. Though of course she kissed him back for all she was worth.

‘Oh, Gregory...’ She sighed when he broke away. ‘That was lovely.’

He reared back, an expression of astonishment on his face. ‘Yes, it was.’

All the pleasurable feelings humming through her dropped through the soles of her feet.

‘Didn’t you expect to like it? After our last kiss I thought— Oh! Did I do something wrong? Was that it?’ She tried to pull away from him.

But he held on to her tightly, refusing to release her from the circle of his arms.

‘How could you have done anything wrong?’ He shook his head in a sort of daze. ‘You kissed me back.’

‘Well, then, what was wrong with it?’

‘Nothing was wrong with it. That was what was so surprising. Prudence...’ He shifted from one foot to another. Took a deep breath. ‘I never really saw the point to kissing—that’s all. There are more...interesting parts of a woman I’ve always wanted to pay attention to, you see. But your mouth...’

He looked at her lips again. In the way he’d done before. The way that made them tingle, and part, and wait expectantly for the touch of his lips.

‘Your mouth is worth...’ He cocked his head to one side. ‘Savouring—yes, that is the word. I would never feel as though I was wasting my time, no matter how long you wanted to kiss me.’