Page 74

She smiled fleetingly. “Eurydice will wed for passion or not at all, so I must be the one to see that she always has a sanctuary.” She glanced up at him. “I suppose that might sound conniving.”

“It sounds sensible to me,” Alexander acknowledged, forgetting to use his foppish voice. “And it is most admirable that your love for your sister takes such expression.” He smiled. “I do not doubt that if you bent your will upon it, you could make any man happy indeed.”

“I hope so, Your Grace. I am not as clever as Eurydice, that much is certain.”

“But neither are you a fool, my dear.”

“No,” she agreed, casting him a glance of such mischief that the sight fairly stole Alexander’s breath away. “If I may be so bold as to say so, Your Grace, you have the bluest eyes I have ever seen.”

“I favor my mother in that, to be sure.”

Her gaze dropped to his lips and lingered there, a flush staining her cheeks. Alexander halted and made a show of being out of breath, then doffed his glove to take a pinch of snuff. She watched his hands avidly, a conviction dawning in her eyes.

“Are you ever restless at night, Your Grace?” she asked and Alexander’s heart stopped cold.

“Nay, never!” he lied, taking a hearty tone. “My valet says I snore fit to wake the dead!” He giggled again, but her gaze did not waver.

“How fortunate you are.” Her cousins called and she glanced toward them, then curtseyed before him. “I shall look forward to seeing you at dinner tonight, Your Grace.” Her eyes danced. “I cannot wait to see what you will wear!”

Alexander laughed, trying to turn the sound into a chortle.

“Miss Goodenham!” a man cried and Alexander sobered at the sight of his prey. Nathaniel Cushing swept in beside the girl and took her arm with such confidence that Alexander longed to challenge him. “The finest prize in the company will be left behind and I cannot permit it to be so.”

Daphne’s gaze clung to Alexander’s for a moment and he wondered what she saw. “I do not mean to be left behind,” she said lightly, putting a bit of distance between herself and Nathaniel. “It is a beautiful day and there is yet some time before luncheon.”

“But I desire every moment with you,” Cushing insisted. “For there is no greater beauty at Castle Keyvnor this Christmas.”

Alexander did not hear Miss Goodenham’s reply but he watched her depart, wondering all the while at the perils of her guessing his secret. She had guessed. He was certain of it and the notion was terrifying.

Surely she could not cost him the prize?

* * *

The dukewasthe intruder. His eyes were just as blue. His lips were just as firm. Despite his paunch, his face was lean. His hands were long and strong, just like those of the intruder, and his legs were muscled. The duke used a similar disguise as the actor playing Falstaff, though apparently only Daphne had pierced the veil of his illusion.

The realization only redoubled her determination to win him. She was certain he had good reason for his disguise. He defended his sister, which was ample measure of his noble character, and his kiss nearly melted her bones. That he was a duke was as icing on the cake.

The Duke of Inverfyre was perfect.

She fancied that she was not the sole one who felt the attraction. The hungry blue glance he gave her at intervals was utterly out of character with his foppish guise, and reminded her all too well of his kiss.

The look he had given Mr. Cushing for interrupting had been pure fire.

The sight had sent heat through her, as well.

Daphne could not wait to see him again. She managed to separate herself from Mr. Cushing upon arrival at the castle as there was word thatGrandmamanwas coming down with Jenny’s cold. She had remained in her rooms and resented the lack of news. She demanded to know who had gone to the village.

“Nathaniel Cushing,” she said with disdain, then punctuated the words with a sneeze. “A ne’er-do-well if ever there was.”

“Anyone with sense can see with a glance that he’s a rake and a scoundrel,” Eurydice agreed and her grandmother beamed at her.

“Anyone,” Daphne agreed.

“I’m surprised you don’t like him,” Eurydice said. “He’s handsome and charming, after all.”

Daphne shrugged. “I don’t.”

“Because he’s not rich,” Eurydice said.