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“Only you can make a riding habit look ravishing, my Duchess,” he said.

Eveline could not help but blush. “I could be dressed in rags and you would still say the same,” she retorted.

“And that would be because you look good in everything you wear. And even more so when you wear nothing.” William winked at her.

Blood rushed to Eveline’s face, and she looked around to make sure that no one had heard him.

It had only been a couple of days since she and her husband had finally shared a bed, and while it had been absolutely magical, she did not imagine that he would now be referring to it in public.

“You are simply corrupt in every way,” she huffed, swatting at him playfully.

William, cunning as he was, caught her hands quite easily and pulled her towards him until she was in his arms.

“And I wonder who caused the corruption,” he breathed, before kissing her cheek.

“We are outside,” she protested, worried that the servants might have spotted them. “The servants can see us.”

“And what shall they do?” he asked daringly. “Be scandalized that the Duke and Duchess are kissing on their own property?”

“Yet…” Eveline started to protest, but she knew there was really no excuse. She was simply shy. “Fine!” she relented, before capturing his lips in a hot kiss without a care in the world.

When they finally broke apart, her steps faltered, and she felt rather dizzy.

“You simply cannot help but swoon at the sight of me,” William boasted.

Eveline could not argue with him. Of course, he was right. All he had to do was touch her, and she would swoon.

“The horses are ready, Your Grace,” the stable boy, who had apparently been standing nearby, waiting for them, called.

Hand in hand, Eveline and William made their way to the horses.

William’s horse was a brown-haired thoroughbred that was simply majestic.

“Longfoot was one of the few gifts my father got me,” William said as he patted the horse. “I had gotten him as a boy, when he was only a pony.”

Eveline’s horse was a sleek white Cleveland Bay.

“Do you like her?” William asked. “She is elegant, isn’t she?”

“I do not quite care for riding or horses, but if I were to pick a horse for myself, I would certainly have picked her,” Eveline responded.

Growing up with only sisters, they did not indulge in horse riding as most children did.

She only learned horse riding as a child because her father had insisted on it, and afterward, she could count the number of times she had been on a horse.

However, when her husband suggested horse riding, she readily accepted. After all, she might end up enjoying it if she was not forced and if she did it with someone she enjoyed being around.

With that, Eveline was helped onto the horse by two footmen.

“Are you certain you are sitting comfortably?” William asked as he fussed over her horse and her saddle.

Eveline nodded happily.

When William was convinced that her saddle was secure, he finally went to his horse. Eveline was excited. She knew how large his estate was, but she would finally be able to see it on this ride.

Eventually, they took off.

At first, the horses settled into a trot. However, when William turned to her with a wicked smile, she knew he was about to challenge her.