Page 82 of A Wicked Game

Maddie gave her a hard stare and Harriet crumpled like an unstarched collar. She’d always been terrible at lying, and her pink cheeks had probably given the game away ages ago.

“Itried,” she protested weakly.

Maddie lifted her brows.

“Oh, fine. I didn’t resist at all,” she confessed testily. “Not even a little bit. In fact, I was utterly shameless.”

Maddie squealed and clapped her hands in delight. “I knew it! How marvelous. Tell me everything.”

Harriet sighed, and resigned herself to her fate. “Oh, Maddie, I was terrible. I goaded him into kissing me. And then I dared him to keep going until I said stop.”

Maddie’s eyes grew round with awe. “You dared him? Oh, Harriet. Daring a Davies is like waving a red rag at a bull.”

“I know.”

“I assume you didn’t tell him to stop?”

Harriet shook her head.

Maddie beamed. “Well, I can’t honestly say I’m surprised. You two have been at each other’s throats for years, but the attraction has been obvious to anyone with eyes. Did you enjoy it?”

“Very much. Enough not to care that I’m ruined.”

“Pfft. You’re not ruined. You’re only ‘ruined’ if people find out about it. That’s what makes thetonso fickle. Truth rarely comes into it. Reputation and appearances are everything.” Maddie leaned forward conspiratorially. “And to be perfectly honest, I doubt many men could eventellif a girl’s a virgin or not. I bet half the ‘virgins’ in London went to their wedding night knowing what to expect. You can still make a brilliant match if you want one.”

“Well, as to that, Morgan proposed.”

It was Maddie’s turn to choke on her tea. “Pardon?”

“He said we could get married, and I said no.”

“God in heaven! Why?”

“Why did he propose, or why did I say no?” Harriet teased, even though her heart felt like lead.

“Why did you sayno, you goose? I know why he would have proposed—because he’s been in love with you forever.”

Harriet’s stomach somersaulted at Maddie’s absolute conviction, even as she shook her head. “He doesn’t love me. He lusts after me. And enjoys teasing me. But that’s not enough. I want what you have with Gryff: a husband who’s there for you, who shares your life. Morgan isn’t ready to give me those things.”

“But you love him.” It was a statement, not a question, and Harriet frowned.

“I do. But one has to be practical. Sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to stop playing games and start facing reality.”

Maddie shook her head, as if Harriet were a strangeartifact she’d unearthed during one of her archaeological digs. “Hmm.”

“What does that mean,hmm?”

“It means I’m reserving judgment. Life has a funny way of messing up the best-laid plans. And you have to give Morgan a little credit. If nobody knows about the two of you, then he didn’t propose out of a sense of duty, did he? He could have asked any single woman in thetonto be his wife and expected the answer to be yes.”

“He asked for a week to prove he loves me.”

Maddie’s brows shot toward her hairline. “Good Lord. What do you think he’s going to do?”

“I have no idea, but it had better not be some mortifying public declaration. If hetrulyloves me, he’ll know that’s precisely the kind of thing I hate.”

“Morgan has no problem being the center of attention.” Maddie chuckled. “I think that’s why he became captain of his own ship, you know.”

She leaned over and helped herself to a slice of cake. “Four hundred years ago he would have set off to kill a dragon for you, or entered the lists to joust for your hand. It’s much harder for men nowadays. Even dueling’s frowned upon.”