Page 13

But little had she dared to hope that so much love and eloquence awaited her there.

—Pride and Prejudice

KITTY HARDLY KNEW how long she stood there with Augustus. Her hands refused to stop touching his chest, his neck, his face. He watched her with a smile that told her he was as pleased as she was by the outcome of this walk.

Of course, they were only a couple of blocks away from Mrs. Gordon’s house. She laughed at the thought.

“What is it?” Augustus asked.

“We haven’t made much progress in our exploration of the city.”

“That’s an easy problem to fix.” He slid his hand down her arm and took her hand, causing every inch of her skin to shiver in delight.

As he entwined his fingers in hers, he pointed their joined hands in the direction of the park. “Shall we continue our walk?”

She squeezed his fingers. “As long as we can stop now and then if we need to.”

The grin that spread across his face was the handsome, wicked one he wore when they first met. As if he knew exactly what she was thinking, and he approved. “And why, if I may ask, might you need to stop?”

Kitty curled their joined hands close to her heart and wrapped her other arm around him. She lifted herself onto her toes. “I might require refreshment.” She kissed him.

When she stepped away, he didn’t release her hand. “That was quite refreshing. You’re a woman with excellent ideas.”

“You’ve had some rather good ideas yourself.”

He laughed as he led her across an intersection. “You mean fooling myself that I could spend so much time with you and not fall for you immediately?”

She shook her head. “It couldn’t have been immediate.”

His thumb caressed the side of her hand. “I’d hate to contradict a lady, but I’m afraid I must. Even as I tried to convince myself I could play at courting you, I secretly hoped you’d see through my roguish facade. I wanted you to know me.”

“And to think I only wanted a stage on which I could act out my experiment.”

“Truly? Is that all you wanted?” His voice held the same teasing tone, and she answered him with a grin.

“Well, that and a chance to touch that lock of hair that hovers just above your remarkable eyebrows.”

He stopped walking and turned to face her, shaking his head from side to side, disordering his carefully combed hair.

Her fingers grazed his forehead as gently as a whisper.

Kitty thought she should be trembling. She should feel nervous. This was all new. But instead of worry, she felt only confidence and gladness. There was no need to act like someone else. Her words and actions and responses were enough.

As she smiled up at him, a breeze blew past, ruffling his hair. She reached up and smoothed it again.

The breeze quickly became a wind.

“I don’t think you’re going to be able to keep me presentable,” Augustus said, still with that wicked smile.

“I can try.” She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, leaving him looking even more disheveled. “But I think I like you this way.”

“I’m very glad to hear it.”

They reached the park just as the first misty raindrops fell. Augustus tugged her hand toward a protective stand of trees, but Kitty pulled the other way.

“I’ve been waiting weeks for this weather. Let’s keep going. If you’re not concerned about the state of your shoes, I’d much rather walk in the rain.”

“I assure you my shoes are the last thing on my mind.”

Kitty thought she might be able to guess one or two of the things he was thinking about.

They walked in the quiet for a few minutes, and each time Kitty looked up at Augustus, he was watching her.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I was thinking.”

She turned to him, raindrops collecting in her eyelashes. “And what were you thinking about?”

He wrapped both arms around her, holding her in his strong grasp. He brought his mouth close to her ear, his whisper sending shivers down her back. “That I’ve never kissed anyone in the rain.”

Kitty made a humming sound. “What a coincidence. I’ve never been kissed in the rain.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead. Then another on her cheek. Another in the tender skin of her neck beneath her ear. “I think we ought to remedy that now.”

She caught enough breath to answer. “An excellent idea.”

He brushed his lips across hers, their skin slippery with rain. The coolness of the breeze across her damp skin and the warmth coming from him combined into the most comfortable, delicious sensation.

She reached her hands to his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. A rumble of thunder rolled across the park, and Kitty saw lightning from beneath her closed eyelids.

“The heavens are celebrating this moment with us,” she whispered.

A much louder clap of thunder was followed almost instantly by another lightning strike.

She pulled back and laughed. “Or maybe warning us.”

Hands clasped tightly, they hurried to stand beneath a tree with arching branches.

Augustus leaned his arm on the trunk, sheltering Kitty further from the storm.

She snuggled into his side as the wind made the leaves dance. “There is something so lovely about being both in the rain and out of it. Thank you for sacrificing your dry clothing for me.”

“I hope you can tell it’s truly my pleasure.”

She grinned. “I’ve had a hint.”

“May I express another hope?”

His formality surprised her, and Kitty nodded.

Augustus looked out at the rain and spoke softly. “I hope we might continue our arrangement, with a slight amendment.”

“Our arrangement?” she asked. “The one where we go about town together in order to be seen by the hundreds of women who want you to marry their daughters?”

He nodded, his mouth quirking as if he was trying not to smile. “And where you try on the personalities of any number of other people.”

Kitty attempted to match his seriousness. “All right. What is your proposed amendment?”

He took both her hands in his. “That we don’t bother with those who see us. That we don’t play at being anyone else. That we no longer pretend. That we simply spend as much time together as possible.”

Kitty raised her face to meet his. “This seems to be a perfectly agreeable improvement on the plan.”

Without letting go of her hands, Augustus moved his arms behind her back again. As she arched her neck toward him, he leaned down and placed the softest kiss at the side of her throat. She felt her breath as a gasp. “You’re very good at this.”

“I told you. I’ve thought of nothing else for as long as I’ve known you. Every passing day, I’ve only been more captivated by you.” At the end of each sentence, he placed a kiss at the corner of her lips.

When she could stop herself no longer, she kissed him in return.

Upon regaining her breath, she laughed. “I bet none of my sisters has ever experienced a walk in the rain quite like this.”

Augustus touched his forehead to hers and gazed into her eyes. “I believe I’ve gotten a fair glance at each of them. In fact, I think I know them quite well. Kitty, you’re my favorite of the Bennet sisters, and you always will be.”