Page 16 of Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Duchess (Wallflower Season #3)

Viola, her eyes innocent and wide, picked up her glass, then asked, “And what of you, Miss Avery? Any prospects? Or have you decided that you prefer the company of your books instead?”

Kate glanced at her dining companion. The Viscount of Surry had a bit of carrot from his soup that had found its way onto his black cravat and nestled there. She sighed. I have no prospects either. “I—I—”

“Miss Avery has many prospects. She has had to put her own interests aside as she plans for her dear friend’s joyous occasion. A truly generous act, as I am sure you’ll all agree,” Andrew chimed in.

Kate gave him a small nod of thanks. Beside her, the Viscount of Surry cleared his throat. “I say, you have saved me a dance for me, have you not, Miss Avery?”

Kate plastered on a smile. No prospects indeed.

The next morning, Renwood Castle buzzed with excitement. Kate and Andrew had previously arranged for a game of Pall Mall for the guests. The day had kept its early morning promise of fair weather, and the sun shone down upon the lawns.

May DeClancy had begged Kate and Andrew to play, too.

She had pouted so prettily that Andrew would be a poor sport if he failed to participate, so he found himself, mallet in hand, attempting to hit his ball down the alley and through the iron arch.

Thus far, Kate’s skill at the game had been poor. He, however, had played admirably well.

After his last shot that rolled the ball through the iron gate, he turned and said, “Miss Avery, if you are able to win this round, I shall take back every cross word I said whilst we planned this wedding.”

Kate looked up from where she had been concentrating on her shot and grinned. “You know that I am usually quite a fair player at Pall Mall. Perhaps I have been holding back to secure a later victory.”

Andrew arched a brow and inclined his head toward the iron ring. “I hope you are.”

Kate prepared to take her shot when she heard a murmur of surprise from several of her guests. She looked up and saw her brother, Nicholas, striding across the green toward her, greeting guests as he passed by them. Several of the women turned their heads away.

When Nicholas arrived at her side, he gave her a cheeky smile. “Dearest sister Kate. This is a fine wedding you’ve planned for my former fiancée.” He leaned down and kissed her on her cheek.

Kate leaned in and hissed, “Why are you here? You promised to stay away.”

“Not now, dear sister. It wouldn’t do to make a scene. Not with so many people watching,” Nicholas whispered. He straightened and when he did, he saw Andrew standing nearby. He scowled and said, “I shall leave you to your esteemed guests, Kate.” He turned on his heel and stalked across the grass.

With his departure, the whispers from the guests returned in earnest with covert glances toward Kate. She sighed. Why would Nicholas do this to himself and to Julia? What game is afoot with him?

“Your shot, Miss Avery,” Lord Radford said, returning her attention to the game.

Lord Radford stood nearby and gave her a warm smile of encouragement.

At the moment, Kate was grateful that he hadn’t commented on her brother’s unexpected arrival.

His swarthy good looks and tall figure had many of the female guests whispering and sending bold glances in his direction.

If Kate were to believe the gossip mills, Lord Radford left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

He was an acquaintance of Julia and her family, and Julia had explained that he had traveled extensively on the Continent over the years and enjoyed fine wine and food.

When describing him, Julia had turned pink, so Kate assumed he would be handsome.

Upon his arrival the previous evening, Kate discovered her assumption had been correct. He was an arresting figure.

“I should like to see you win this game, Miss Avery.” Lord Radford hoisted his mallet and let it rest upon one shoulder.

“Lord Radford, you honor me with your confidence in my skills,” Kate said. She tapped the ball with her mallet and gave a small laugh of triumph when it rolled within easy distance of the hoop.

Lord Radford stepped forward and gave Kate an appraising look. “My dear Miss Avery, you are not only an excellent player, but lovely, too.”

Andrew frowned. Is Radford flirting with Kate? Perhaps this is why Kate felt bold enough to ask for a dalliance with him. Maybe there is something between them.

Andrew watched as Lord Radford gave Kate a crooked smile, then stepped forward, and with a swift crack of his mallet against his own ball, it bounced across the lawn striking hers and sending it off behind a hedgerow.

“Lord Radford, you have sent my ball flying from the field of play,” Kate exclaimed.

“Come, Miss Avery. I shall help you fetch it.” Lord Radford held out his arm and Kate slipped her gloved hand into the crook of his elbow.

Andrew narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. Would she see my words as jealousy? Ridiculous notion. I am simply concerned about her safety. Radford is a depraved man. If not for me, Kate would be ruined now.

“Your turn again, Your Grace,” May DeClancy said. She waited as close as propriety would allow for him to take his shot.

Startled, he dropped his mallet and said, “I just remembered that I forgot to ask the gamekeeper to prepare a shoot for the men tomorrow.”

He hurried off at a discreet distance to where he had spotted Kate and Lord Radford slip between the hedges The maid, Sally, was close behind them, but her dress had snagged on a branch widening the gap between her and her mistress.

Kate, engrossed in conversation with Lord Radford, failed to notice she was no longer accompanied by a chaperone.

“God’s truth! What can she be thinking?” Andrew muttered under his breath. He felt anger rise in his chest. Kate worried about her brother’s honor but cared too little for her own.

He heard voices near the fountain hidden within a secluded hedgerow. A pretty place for an illicit meeting between lovers. Or a na?ve wallflower with no experience or sense enough to know when she has placed herself in a dangerous situation.

He heard voices and stopped to listen.

“Lord Radford, tell me of your travels. I hear you have recently returned from overseas. Is it as wild as they say?” Kate said, her voice sweet and low. Nothing at all like how she spoke when engaged in conversation with him.

“Oh, quite wild and dangerous. And the food is not at all like what we enjoy here. I found myself quite intrigued by their various flavors,” Lord Radford responded.

Andrew peeked through the bushes like a naughty schoolboy and saw Lord Radford standing quite close to Kate. Kate stared up at him and… wait! Was she fluttering her eyelashes at the rake like an innocent young ingenue ? He looked again and felt his ire rise.

“I would love to hear more. What were their women like?” Kate simpered. She laid a gloved hand upon the rake’s arm.

Lord Radford leaned down and took Kate’s hand in his. “Not nearly as lovely as you, my dear Miss Avery. Your lips are quite inviting.” Lord Radford leaned down and before he had a chance to capture Kate’s lips with his own. Andrew coughed.

“Miss Avery! Are you here? I say, have you found your ball yet?” He stepped inside the walled garden and pretended to be startled. “Oh, there you are. Radford. Miss DeClancy was alarmed when you failed to return.”

Lord Radford gave him a sardonic glance. “I am sure Miss Avery can find her way about her own gardens.”

Andrew straightened his spine and met Lord Radford’s sardonic look with one of his own. “Perhaps, but Miss Avery has a sterling reputation, and it would be unseemly for her to disappear among the hedgerows. Don’t you agree, Radford?”

“Quite so.” He turned to Kate and bowed. “Miss Avery, I apologize, but I’ve grown quite weary of this game. Perhaps we shall resume our earlier conversation at a later, more private, time.”

“That would be delightful,” Kate said. Her cheeks blazed crimson.

When Radford moved away from them, she glared and said, “What do you think you are doing?”

“Come with me.” Andrew grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the garden.

“Let go!”

He looked at her and hissed. “Come with me and stop making a scene. What will your grandmother and your guests think to hear you screeching like a fishmonger’s wife?”

Kate sputtered but did not fight him as he continued to pull her along through the back entrance to her library. He slammed the door shut behind her.

“What were you thinking engaging in a private and clearly inappropriate conversation with a known bounder and rake such as Radford? After everything I did to prevent you from bringing dishonor to your reputation, you turn around and behave in an unladylike fashion once more!” Andrew paced back and forth. His voice rose in volume.

“How dare you accuse me of unladylike behavior! You drag me away from my chaperone, so it is quite clear you are not overly concerned about my reputation. Furthermore, what right do you have to dictate who I engage in an affair with? If I choose to spend the night with a rake, then that is my choice to do so.” Kate stood on her tiptoes and met his fury with her own.

“Why would you wish to do such a thing?” Andrew scowled and moved away from her. He appeared furious. For a moment, Kate thought he would shake her, but he restrained himself.

“Because I am plain. No man has ever looked at me with desire. I am too outspoken. Too quick with a sharp word. And now, I am a spinster and beyond marriageable age. I want to know what a man’s touch feels like. To grow weak from his kisses. Is that so wrong?”

“But a rake like Radford—” Andrew began.

“Would give me what I long have been denied,” Kate interrupted. She crossed her arms and glared at him. “Now, thanks to you, I will once again be overlooked.”

Andrew watched her. His blue eyes glinted with fury like an angry leopard ready to attack. She felt her color rise, and her pulse fluttered. He let out a groan of frustration and pulled her to him.

“I can be that man for you, Kate,” he growled. “I can bring you to the heights of pleasure and have you begging for more. Just say the word. I will not deny you, and I would never sully your reputation. You can trust me.”

“You? Can I trust you?” Kate felt herself melt against him. She wanted to say yes, but to do so would be a dangerous game indeed. She felt herself grow hot at the thought of his body next to hers in the throes of passion. “I can’t...” Her protest melted away as his gaze strayed downward.

“Say the word, Kate,” Andrew whispered in her ear. “Tell me you want me.”

Kate swallowed. She needed distance from this man and the way he elicited such a quick response from her body.

“I want you, but it doesn’t matter. This is a dalliance I can’t undertake.

We would scarce be able to stop arguing long enough to enjoy it.

” Her voice had grown breathless as her mind fought for ways to protest. Why was her body so weak that it betrayed her so easily?

Andrew kissed her then. His lips hot against her. His tongue thrust gently against her own promising what would come next. When he pulled away from her, she let out a small cry. “Don’t stop.” All thoughts of protest evaporated like mist on the morning breeze.

He gave a low throaty growl. His teeth nipped gently against her neck, and she felt her nipples harden against her dress.

His hands pulled her hips hard against his own and she felt the rise of his desire.

She panted as his lips traced down her neck and shoulder until they found the swell of her breast. He made a sigh of frustration that they stayed bound beneath her gown.

His hands cupped her bottom and she let out a gasp. No one had ever touched her like this.

“You protest, but I know it is something that would please us both. Tell me it isn’t so,” Andrew whispered. His lips moved against her cheek, and she felt a shiver as his words danced across her skin.

“Please, Andrew. I want to know what it feels like,” Kate panted.

Andrew nibbled gently at her bottom lip. The sounds of guests outside of the library door pulled him from the heaven of their passionate embrace and back to earth. “Soon, my darling. I shan’t risk your reputation.”

Kate sighed. She knew it was prudent of him to do so, but she felt a stir in her private area that longed to be fully ignited.

His own desire moved against her, and she reached her hand down to the front of his trousers.

He groaned. “You are quite bold, Miss Avery,” he whispered.

“I believe that I shall enjoy this truce.”

“As are you,” Kate said. “I look forward to our next encounter.” The smile disappeared when she heard her grandmother call her name.

She pulled from his embrace. Her grandmother’s voice had acted as ice water upon her passion.

She felt discomfited by how quickly she had succumbed to his touch.

All sense of propriety had abandoned her.

Her mind felt muddled and confused. How could she desire someone who she knew would share her bed, then leave it as quickly once the deed was done?

She straightened her gown. Her lips felt raw from his kisses, and she reached up a finger and touched them.

Andrew pulled her to him one more time and said, “Go. I’ll wait here until all chance of discovery has passed.

I need some time to—” He looked down at his trousers and the bulge barely contained by the fabric.

He cleared his throat and said, “I need some time to recover.”

Kate gave a small uneasy laugh. As she went to slip out the library door, she looked over her shoulder. She opened her mouth to tell him it was a mistake, but they died before she uttered them.

“A bold woman, indeed, Kate Avery,” Andrew said, softly, as Kate hurried away lest her grandmother discover her.