Daring the Duke (6 page)

“That blue explosion over there is bugleweed. And these colourful vines are clematis. This is one of my favourite times of year.”

He launched into a discourse on the different types of plants and flowering shrubs around them. She noticed he had an affinity for the more prickly varieties. The lecture should have allowed her to recover, but the passion he found in the subject and study of all things green enveloped her. To have a tenth of that passion directed toward her . . .

She stopped her wayward thoughts and gave herself a mental shake. Bud Audrey. She couldn't allow herself to forget who he really was and ignore the actual situation. Stephen paused and looked at her. She gave him a half-hearted smile and promptly stumbled over a hedge.

Stephen caught her, pulling her back onto the path and into his arms.

Without thought she wrapped her arms around his waist to steady herself.

Their bodies tensed at the contact, and his arms tightened briefly before he took her hand in his and tugged her along.

She almost stumbled again. Pull her hand away? Let him keep it?

Her thoughts were flying in all directions as she tried to make sense of the moment. Meanwhile, Stephen was totally in control and whistling as they continued down the garden path.

"What are you doing?"

He looked at her in amusement. "Walking with you to the lake. We have reached the end of the gardens. Did you want to circle back through?"

"No, no, continuing on to the lake is fine."

Dammit, he had known that wasn’t what she meant. Why did stupid things always come out of her mouth around him? It never happened to her around anyone else. This malady occurred only around Chalmers.

Chalmers would undoubtedly start some inane banter to swindle her of her secrets, or worse, start up his passionate plant dissertation and seduce the words from her. Better to take matters into her own hands. The direct approach might work to her advantage and keep her from trouble.

"What do you want from me, Your Grace?"

"Call me Stephen," he said, with an amused smile.

She cocked an eyebrow. "Why did you invite me on this
outing,
Your Grace?"

"Isn’t that what men are supposed to do? Ask a beautiful young lady to the park?" Stephen plucked a yellow wildflower from the side of the path and offered it to her. "Bring her flowers?"

Audrey accepted the bloom in her free hand and twirled it in her fingers.

Smooth, handsome, charming and all too sure of himself. "We both know you aren’t courting me."

"We do?"

He sounded so surprised that she dropped her carefully cultivated mask and gave him a pointed look. His lips curved into a devastatingly languid smile, and he took the flower from her grasp and tucked it behind her right ear. His fingers scalded the tip and lingered as he smoothed the wayward tendrils that had escaped from her loathsome bonnet.

His expression became intense. He traced his fingers under her ear, down her cheek, and sensuously along her jaw. He tipped her chin up and started to lean forward, and, God help her, she felt his pull and leaned into him too.

Crash.

A rabbit came skittering into the path, a skinny fox hot on its heels. Both animals screeched to a halt and appeared startled to see humans. They abruptly turned and scampered in opposite directions. The rabbit was safe this time.

Audrey looked at Stephen. His body had gone alert at the first sound. She was reminded of the previous night, her body trapped beneath his. He had looked like he might kiss her then.

And he had nearly kissed her again. Why?

She had been half-joking with the thought of him seducing her for information. But it didn't seem so far-fetched now.

She pulled away and clasped her hands together. He was a peer of the realm. Handsome, wealthy, and intelligent. He could have any woman in London, and he knew it. And she knew better than to fall for it.

He smiled, but on further inspection, she saw the tension in his eyes. The duke wasn't as carefree as he appeared.

"Shall we continue on to the lake?" His voice was light, and had she not glimpsed the tension, she would never guess him affected at all.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He held out a hand, and she placed hers lightly in his. Self-preservation had allowed her to survive to the ripe age of twenty-two with only one unfortunate stint in prison, and even that hadn't been due to capture. Even if she was unlucky with cards, she knew when to hold them.

She had to rid her mind of thoughts of last year and Chalmers's vulnerability The thoughts that made her mind try to disregard the hard and dangerous man that he really was. Laying herself mentally and emotionally bare to any man, especially Chalmers, would be sheer folly.

She could try to recover her faith in humanity after she and Faye stepped onto a distant shore.

Thankfully Chalmers kept silent. They walked into the clearing, the lake sparkling in the summer sun. Audrey lifted her face to the sky and allowed the rays to warm and calm her. A fence enclosed one end of the lake, and they walked to it in silent agreement.

Leaning against the fence, Audrey turned to Stephen. "So Chalmers, what's it going to be?" She deliberately used his last name instead of his title.

He lifted a brow. "Whatever do you mean, Audrey?"

She tugged her bonnet. She could still feel the path of his fingers running beneath it and down her face. "We both know what's happening. Why pretend ignorance?"

"I confess I haven't the faintest idea what is happening."

She picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. It took one bounce and sank into the blue depths. "I'm sure the game was invented by you. You are toying with me. Don't."

He bent down, picked up a stone, and dropped it into her hand. It was the perfect skipping stone. How irritating.

His easy smile returned. "No toying? That removes half the fun of a game. I suppose the next thing you'll want is for us not to play at all. And that would truly disappoint me." His eyes were hot and lazy.

A hot swirl rushed through her, and she looked away. She sent the flat stone skittering across the water. One, two, three, four bounces. Satisfied, she looked for another, avoiding his gaze. He held one out for her inspection.

Another perfectly shaped stone. Lord, he was irksome. She grabbed it and sent it flying. Five bounces. She wiped her hands on her skirt before thinking better of it. Oh, what the hell. One game she didn't have to play with Chalmers was the society game. The man knew who and what she was.

She jumped onto the railing and swung her legs. "So? Why did you bring me here?"

He leaned against the fence, only inches to her left. "To enjoy the beautiful weather with a beautiful woman?"

"Is that always your excuse?"

"Only when it's warm."

She continued to swing her legs. He continued to stare at her in silence.

His eyes were like the bright emerald stones she had "liberated" on her first job, unnaturally green and disturbing. She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. Better to avoid looking into those fathomless depths.

The sun felt wonderful against her upturned face. If he wasn't going to arrest her, she might as well enjoy the day. Maybe she could avoid looking

into his eyes for the rest of their visit.

"Why do you think I brought you here?"

She kept her eyes closed. "To get me to confess to some horrible crime and throw me into Newgate?"

"Have you committed any horrible crimes lately?"

"No, just boring, tedious ones."

"That doesn't sound like much fun. Perhaps you should retire and try something else."

His arm brushed her leg, and she nearly lost the thread of the conversation. "I hear pirating is quite exhilarating. I'm not sure about the food, however. "

"A few weevils never hurt anyone."

She had to restrain a smile. She risked another glance. He looked solemn, but his eyes were twinkling. She sighed. It would be much easier to have him trying to drag her to Newgate. She didn't want to joke with this man.

"Chalmers, what do you want?"

"To discover what you're plotting."

She fought to control her emotions. "Why? Can't we continue to play that lovely evasive game where you send some inept man to chase me?"

"Hmm . . . I think my men would take offense at that statement." He strode a few feet away and picked up a stone. "Besides, you know they will eventually catch you."

She snorted. He tossed the stone. Six bounces. Damn.

"And then where will you be, Miss Kendrick?" He drawled her last name.

"I'm not sure any of my men would be willing to turn the other cheek and escort you to the park."

"Which doesn't explain why you have. As to your men catching me, we'll wait to see if it happens."

"
When
it happens."

"We'll see." She tried to sound nonchalant, but she was tense. He had already caught her. Why he hadn't sent her to prison was the question.

The whole scheme was too high-profile, too risky. She sent a silent curse in Travers's direction and uncurled her fingers from the railing.

She masked her inner turmoil with a deceptive calmness. "Shall we go, Chalmers? This has all been terribly exciting, but if you aren't going to arrest me, I must get back to my stepfather."

He walked back to her and circled her waist. A war of emotions flicked in his eyes as he paused before lifting her down from the fence.

They walked in silence. She wondered what he was thinking. Her own thoughts were muddled as she tried to assimilate the newly dropped barriers. The bright bluebells swayed gently in the warm breeze, winking at her as she walked by. She had just initiated a challenge to the cat.

As they exited the park, Stephen's servant brought the curricle around.

Stephen assisted her into the vehicle, and she resumed the role of being a lady. It was almost as if the last few minutes were but a dream.

"Have you seen the
Bachelor’s Torments
?"

Audrey saw his grimace. "Are you tormented, Your Grace?"

He smiled reluctantly. "Bedeviled. But l meant the play"

"I haven't been to the theater in a long time."

"Good. We'll attend this evening."

She turned to him. "Pardon me?"

"It has had a successful run for the last few weeks."

"And?"

"And you are going to accompany me, simpleton."

"Simpleton? Who is the simpleton here? I never said I'd go to the theater with you."

"No, but your stepfather did."

So that’s what they had been discussing. That explained the wild look in Maddox’s eyes.

Stephen was waiting for her response. She could refuse. She didn’t have to go to the theater with him. It would be stupid of her to accept, actually.

But that internal voice, the one that had found her stroking his face while he was unconscious, the one that had caused her to lean into him in the gardens, urged her on.

"Very well."

Stephen clinked his glass on the library table. He had let her go. Again.

He had let her go simply because of the look in her eyes. The look in her soul.

He should have brought her in for questioning, the type of questioning that usually made criminals stumble over themselves to provide answers to anything and everything. It was a normal part of the justice system and necessary for maintaining law and order.

He could have learned the identity of the man behind the rumors. Could have learned the entire plot and ended it in one fell swoop.

He stared broodingly into the brandy snifter, then lifted and swallowed a good portion of the expensive amber liquid. He hadn't been able to take her in for questioning. The look in her eyes hadn't let him. It wasn’t just normal fear that he had glimpsed there, but a deep, keening cry of the soul.

What or who had put it there?

He grimaced and slammed the glass back on the table. That nagging question refused to be stilled. He had been mulling it over and over in his mind since last night. He shouldn't care about her, dammit. She was a criminal, and that should be enough.

And by all that was holy, he was romancing her. Oh, it had seemed like a good idea this morning. If some previously unknown weakness for women thieves had permeated his conscience, then why not use his second-best skill to wheedle the information?

His plan had started so well. She had been befuddled by his attitude.

When he had eased in a bit more, she had willingly followed, returning his quips and matching the conversation. Everything had seemed so easy.

And then it had all gone awry.

What had caused everything to go bloody wrong, he had no idea. One moment he was the seducer, the next he was drowning in her soft blue eyes. Icy dammit, her eyes were ice-cold. How had they turned that soft blue?

Stephen tossed down the rest of the brandy. And now they were attending the theater. He had asked her to the theater. He just couldn't afford to be distracted by romantic notions. It was just one more opportunity for a knife thrust in his gut, wielded by a beautiful woman with soft blue eyes turned to ice.

Why had she promised to accompany him to the theater? Not that she had much choice, but it was just one more opportunity to be sent on a one-way trip to prison by a handsome man with deep green eyes.

Her scalp on fire, Audrey slapped the hand of her maid away. "Sarah, that's enough. Fetch my dress."