The Duke’s Scandalous Kiss Read online

  “Is this a new game we’re to play? Charades, I suppose. Am I to guess who you are portraying?” He chuckled. “How many chances do I have? What do I forfeit if I lose, another kiss?”

  “Oh, I’m not toying with you. I’m Lady Lorna, Julia’s niece.”

  “Come now, you’ll have to do better than that. Julia’s not old enough to have a niece your age.”

  “She’s my father’s half-sister, obviously, given we have the same last name, or she did until she married.” She looked away, licked her lips and folded her hands in her lap. When she met his gaze again, she asked softly, “Julia has kissed you?”

  Her expression was earnest, and Everleigh brushed off a twinge of concern. She was Julia, there was no question. “You don’t recall my kisses? I’m wounded.” He winked and clutched his hands to his chest.

  “I tell you, I’m not Julia, I’m Lorna.”

  “You cannot fool a friend. Your hair, the shape of your face, even the tone of your voice tells me who you are.”

  She shook her head and parted her lips to reply but was interrupted when a voice spoke from the doorway. “Lorna, Everleigh, what are you doing here alone?”

  Chapter Two

  Flinching in surprise, Lorna turned to Aunt Julia, who was looking from her to Everleigh awaiting an answer. “I was napping, and his grace sought solitude, too. Not knowing I was already here, of course. We didn’t arrange to meet, believe me. He had just arrived not five minutes ago.”

  Julia smiled knowingly at Everleigh. Was her aunt attempting to attract Everleigh’s attention? She’d never mentioned him, and the two women shared everything. Well, everything outside the marriage bed. Lorna had no desire to hear what happened there.

  Laughing lightly, Julia came into the room. “I never suspected otherwise. Everleigh doesn’t care for innocents. Have you two been introduced?”

  “Not formally,” Everleigh said with a grin. “Your niece was attempting to do so as you arrived.”

  Lorna closed her eyes and hoped Julia didn’t see the wicked, wolfish leer that was so plain on Everleigh’s face. The light was dim, and Julia hadn’t come close, so maybe she hadn’t noticed.

  “Well then. Everleigh, may I present my niece, Lady Lorna De Wolfe. There, now there’s nothing improper about the two of you being alone…in the dark…an entire floor away from your hostess and the other guests.” Julia’s voice grew sterner as she went on. She was a year younger than her niece, but since she’d married first, she taken on the role of the older and wiser aunt.

  Lorna’s heart dropped upon hearing his name. The Duke of Everleigh had kissed her. If others found out, her reputation would be ruined if she and the duke didn’t marry. Thank goodness only Julia had seen them.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Tilney,” Everleigh said. “I mistook Lorna for you when I entered the gallery. Even now with you both in front of me I can see no difference between you. How does one tell you apart?”

  “Mmm, there are ways.” Julia tipped her head to one side and smiled mysteriously at Lorna.

  Nodding, Lorna said, “Yes. There are a few little things.” The distinctions were so minute most people didn’t notice them, and their family didn’t feel the need to discuss them with others. Those who knew the women well enough had discovered them for themselves. Everleigh wouldn’t see Lorna again after this visit, so he was unlikely to suss them out. That was fine with her. She didn’t care to befriend a rakehell, no matter how handsome he was, or how desirable his station.

  And oh, how handsome he was! She couldn’t make out the color of his eyes, but when he smiled, her heart would have melted if she wasn’t so irritated at his audacity to kiss her. And while she slept, no less. He had a strong brow, well-defined jaw, and thick, golden hair cut fashionably short. He was quite tall, broad shouldered and slender, although not thin. A stolen glance at his thighs in his fitted dark trousers showed just how muscular his physique was.

  Realizing she stared at him, Lorna looked away, but not before noticing he was watching her, too. He was probably searching for those little distinctions between her and her aunt.

  “I’m sure Tristan is wondering where I’ve gone,” Everleigh said.

  “He and Jacob have gone riding with Barney,” Julia informed him. “I fear you’re left with the task of entertaining the ladies.” Her cheeks puffed as she smiled proudly. She must know just how little Everleigh enjoyed spending time with single young ladies. Just how well did she know the man?

  Everleigh winked at Julia. “How long ago did they leave? Perhaps I can catch them.”

  Julia approached him and took his arm. “Nonsense, I’m certain you promised to join us for a stroll in the garden. Don’t you remember, Lorna?”

  Rising, Lorna smoothed the creases from her gown. “In the snow?”

  “The gardeners have cleared the walkways. Our boots won’t get too muddy. We’ll fetch our cloaks and boots and meet you in the drawing room, Everleigh.”

  “Isn’t Mrs. Dixon in the drawing room?” he asked. “Perhaps I should wait in the entry hall.”

  “That’s fine,” Julia said. She held his arm until they reached the hallway that branched off to the ladies’ bedchambers in a separate wing from the men’s. Then she and Lorna when to change.

  Lorna was only barely able to refrain from asking questions until after she was dressed. She was afraid Everleigh would have overheard if she’d done so before they’d entered their chambers. The moment she met Julia in the hallway carrying her green fur-lined pelisse, she asked, “Why haven’t you told me about him before this?”

  “Who, Everleigh?” Julia replied coyly.

  “Yes, Everleigh. Whom else is there? He kissed me thinking I was you.”

  Julia stopped suddenly and turned Lorna to face her. All the laughter was gone from her features. “He kissed you? How dare he!”

  “As I said, he thought I was you. I assume that meant you’ve kissed him. Why have you kept this a secret? Is there an attachment between you? He’s such a good match for you. A duke!”

  “Lower your voice.” Julia looked up and down the hall, then spoke again. “We’ve never kissed romantically, if that’s what you mean.”

  For some reason, that little tidbit relieved Lorna. There was nothing between the two. She quickly shoved that thought aside. “He led me to believe otherwise. I’m not interested in the man, of course, but since you’d never mentioned him, I was curious at the way he greeted me.”

  “Was it a good kiss? He’s given me a quick peck on the cheek, that’s all. I’m guessing yours was a bit more, a bit longer, and on the lips, perhaps? Why didn’t you slap him like you have the others who’ve attempted a kiss?”

  “I was so startled I couldn’t think what to do.”

  A chambermaid slipped out of a room down the hall and scurried to the servants’ staircase and Lorna waited until she was out of sight before continuing. “I was having the most wonderful dream. I danced with a handsome man at Almack’s in Town, and as we bowed to each other at the end, he kissed me. Then I opened my eyes and found Everleigh nose to nose with me.”

  “He couldn’t have been looking for me. As I said, he wouldn’t have kissed me that way. Oh, he flirts outrageously, what man of his stature doesn’t? But he knows my nephews well enough not to consider anything more.”

  “He certainly wasn’t thinking of them in the gallery. Have they known him long?”

  Julia tapped a finger on her chin. “I don’t know. I met him a year prior to marrying Ned.”

  Remembering the duke waited for them downstairs, Lorna pulled on her gloves and began walking toward the staircase. “He’ll think we’ve changed our minds. Hurry!”

  Everleigh didn’t appear irritated as he paced in the entry hall, and he smiled when he saw the two women. “I took the liberty to have a sleigh brought around for us. It’ll be much more comfortable.”

  Comfortable, yes, with the lap blanket and a warm brick by their feet. But the breeze it stirred bit Lorna’s cheek, mu
ch more invigorating than a stroll would have been. Or was it the nearness of the duke whose wool overcoat covering his muscular thighs pressed so hard against her limbs? Warmth was not an issue, nestled as she was between him and her aunt.

  “Your Grace, how is it my cousins never mentioned their friendship with you?” Lorna asked, unable to think of another conversation starter once the duke’s scent hit her nose.

  He chuckled and threw a side glance her way. “That’s something you’ll have to ask them. I can only surmise they didn’t want to be tainted by the scandal surrounding me.”

  Lorna’s eyes widened. “Scandal? I’ve heard nothing of any scandal.”

  Julia reached under the blanket to squeeze Lorna’s hand. “He is having a joke at your expense.”

  The heat flooding Lorna’s face had nothing to do with Everleigh’s nearness. At twenty-five, she wasn’t naïve about the ways of men and no one but her cousins dared tease her. The fact the duke was doing so with such success left her flustered and figuratively scrambling for her footing. “How sweet of him. I’ve been missing Declan so much recently and now I have the duke here to tug on my braids.”

  She felt the duke stiffen beside her at the mention of her cousin. “You’ve heard about Declan, Your Grace? Sometimes I fear there’s no recourse for the crime they’ve charged him with. Tristan and Jacob are at wits’ end trying to prove his innocence.”

  “That’s why Tristan and I are here,” the duke said. “We heard Barrington was supposed to be among the guests.”

  “Why would he be here?” Lorna asked. “He is much too old for the Dixon girls.”

  “Old he might be, but he’s a gentleman farmer and a magistrate, so Mrs. Dixon might feel he’d improve their station in society.” Julia took her hand from her black fur muff and pulled the blanket higher on her lap. “I’m so grateful Grandmama never pushed us into marriage that way.”

  Lorna felt much the same. Julia had married for love and nothing had been said about Lorna and their male cousins finding husbands and wives. Jacob had inherited the earldom when Lorna’s father died, and with two younger brothers there was no pressure from their grandmother to produce an heir just yet.

  Three horsemen appeared at the bend of the road up ahead and approached the sleigh. Tristan, Jacob, and Barney slowed to a trot as they drew near, then stopped, blocking the road. Tristan’s eyes narrowed—or was he just squinting at the sunlight on the snow? “I never suspected to find you entertaining my cousin and aunt, Everleigh,” Tristan said.

  “They were in need of a diversion that would keep them from the other guests, as did I.” Everleigh grinned at Barney. “I mean no offense directed toward your lovely sisters, of course. I’m sure you understand.”

  The young man appeared grateful to be included in the joke as he said, “I do, indeed. As you see, we felt the same way about escaping.”

  “Has Barrington arrived?” Tristan asked.

  “Not as of when we left,” Everleigh said.

  “Mr. Barrington won’t be coming,” Barney said. “He sent his regrets just this morning. Were you hoping to see him?”

  “Seeing him is not enough,” Jacob muttered.

  Tristan jumped in before his brother could say more. “We hoped to have a few minutes alone with him to discuss a certain matter.”

  “The matter of Declan being in jail?” Barney asked.

  Lorna wasn’t too surprised to hear that Barney knew of her cousin’s charges, as even a grandson of an earl was unlikely to be charged with a serious crime. Most grandsons of earls didn’t have a neighbor like George Pennywhistle to sling false accusations at them. Tristan and Jacob were certain Pennywhistle had bribed their local magistrate, Victor Barrington, to find Declan guilty, which he had, and sentence him to three years in jail.

  And all over the theft of a pig! Not just any pig, mind you, but one rumored to be the largest in the north of England; a prize boar earning unheard of stud fees from other breeders wanting to increase the size of their own animals. Wealthy men with nothing better to do with their income than have portraits painted with grossly obese, greatly exaggerated creatures, and travel the country attending fairs to show off their possessions.

  When she thought about the number of families those pigs could feed, Lorna could only shake her head in disgust that none were being used that way.

  When she thought of Declan sitting in jail for supposedly having stolen Pennywhistle’s boar, she could barely contain her anger. No De Wolfe would steal anything from anyone, especially not livestock. They had too much respect for the farmers working to take care of their families. Stealing livestock was taking food from the mouths of babes, in one way or another.

  Yet Pennywhistle’s steward insisted he’d seen Declan clearly enough in the moonlight to be certain he was the man who’d loaded the boar into a wagon and stole him away in the night. And Barrington had accepted the steward’s word without question and found Declan guilty. Not only did he have to spend three years in jail, he had to pay a fine three times the price of most boars.

  Someone was making a good deal of money from this farce at the expense of Declan’s sanity and good name. Tristan and Jacob were determined to find out who, and Everleigh apparently was working beside them. That thought made Lorna think a bit more highly of the duke who kissed her while she slept. He might be a rakehell, but he had some good qualities.

  “It’s not important why we wish to see him if he’s not coming,” Everleigh said. “Nor is it necessary to prolong our trip.”

  Lorna felt let down at that comment. She wasn’t worthy of the duke’s precious time, clearly. Well, it was a good thing she had no desire to know him better, since he clearly wasn’t worth her time.

  Chapter Three

  A month later, but no more spring-like than the cold April had been, Lorna and Julia chose to visit Grandmama’s home not too far from Invernochty. This house had belonged to Grandmama’s mother and wasn’t part of the Margrave entailment, which sometimes allowed Lorna to feel she’d escaped the oppression of being a De Wolfe. The expectations of how an earl’s daughter should behave were so much stricter than that of gentlemen’s daughters, so Lorna had always pretended to be someone else when she stayed there, at least when no one in her family was watching.

  Raised by their grandmother, Lorna and Julia had spent many summers there and had many happy memories. They knew most of the families in the area and counted most of them as friends.

  Standing in the open doorway to the garden of a neighbor’s house, Lorna smiled and took a deep breath of the fresh Scottish air. Julia said she was foolish to think the air might actually be different in Scotland compared to their home in West Sussex, but it was true. Today the air smelled of adventure and excitement. Surely, she’d find something to amuse her now.

  “Lorna, do come join the conversation.” Grandmama’s voice sounded pleasant enough, but there was the firm edge of a command there, too.

  How was Lorna supposed to find adventure while sitting in a room filled with prim young ladies and their mothers? For this, they could have remained at the Dixon home. Julia lifted her nose and smirked, knowing how Lorna felt about their country house. Lorna refrained from sticking her tongue out in return. That was exactly what her aunt hoped would happen, for it would cause Lorna to receive another scolding on the carriage ride home.

  Here they were in Scotland and she was trapped in a drawing room listening to two awkward sisters singing and playing the pianoforte.

  No gentlemen were present. Lorna hadn’t even glimpsed a man since the butler showed them to the drawing room. The footman who’d served their tea couldn’t have been out of leading strings long enough to be called a man.

  Restlessness had her shifting in her chair, drawing a stern glance from their hostess. Lorna smiled apologetically and turned her gaze back upon the sisters at the piano. Their voices were sweet enough, she supposed, but the rich tenor of an unmarried young lord would be just the thing to enrich their performan
ce and give her something to daydream about. Not an attachment for herself, but for one of their friends or Julia. Romance was so…romantic, as long as no one expected it of Lorna.

  Only a handsome unmarried lord would do, of course. One with stylishly wavy brown hair and seductive brown eyes. A flirt. No, if he were too obvious, Grandmama would give Lorna a sharp pinch on the arm to remind her not to respond, as if she ever did. As if any gentleman still flirted with her. They all knew by now that Lorna wasn’t interested in marriage.

  Lorna sighed, wishing they’d chosen to go to London instead. She missed dancing and flirting and rides in a curricle. Even a friendly game of croquet would be better than sitting, sitting, sitting in drawing rooms, but it was too cold to spend much time outside.

  At long last they were permitted to stroll about the room and chat. Lorna took the opportunity to step out into the garden. Urns of peonies lined the walkway leading to the formal, structured pathways and sculptured hedges.

  Gravitating toward the trees to one side, Lorna ambled slowly. As long as she stayed away from the shade, she was warm enough in her long-sleeved gown. If she was lucky, her absence from the drawing room might go unnoticed.

  The music of birds singing in the trees was much more her type of entertainment than a pianoforte. Sweet and soft, with no sad longings expressed. Birds were always cheerful.

  That cheer had been needed when Julia’s husband Ned had died. Lorna had been terrified her aunt would follow him to the grave with a broken heart. Part of Julia was now missing, that huge portion of her that had been Ned’s wife.

  The pain Lorna had observed made her ache. She’d felt something close to it when her parents had died, but she’d been able to enjoy her life again eventually. Julia gave the appearance of enjoyment, but there was a spark of laughter, of life, that was missing, probably never to return.