Page 8 of Her Duke to Seduce: Lady Be Wicked (Wayward Dukes’ Alliance #20)

Seven

F elicity did not know what she planned on doing. She should go back to Winston Manor. It was the prudent thing to do. But she couldn’t… It went against everything she wanted for herself. If she gave in and allowed Aiden to escort her back to her aunt then she would lose. She would find herself married to some gentleman of her aunt’s choosing. It irked her that anyone thought they could control her in any way, and a husband would be even worse than an aunt. She stared at him and considered her options.

“I do not wish to return,” she said quietly. Felicity prayed he kept his word and would not force her to go with him.

“Very well,” he said. “But please keep in mind I cannot allow you to board a ship. That would not be a wise decision for you to make.”

As if he could tell her what to do… She sighed. He was certainly trying to. Somehow, some way, she would have to give him the slip and do as she pleased. Felicity just was not certain how she would accomplish that goal. “How about we make a compromise.”

He quirked a brow. “I am listening.”

That was more than she had expected from him. Now how to approach him with her idea… “I assume you will not leave me alone.”

“Not a chance, darling,” he said. His lips quirked upward. “If that is your suggestion I will have to decline.”

She smiled then. “I had to try…” Felicity met his gaze. “How about we travel together then. I will agree to stay off a ship, but I do not want to return to Winston Manor. At least not yet…” She had another plan or rather her original plan in mind. She would have to seduce him and lose her innocence. If she were to return to her aunt she had to be unmarriageable.

“And where will we be traveling?”

Felicity shrugged. “Wales? Scotland? I do not care. You can choose.”

That was the truth any way. As she did not need a specific location for what she wanted from him. She would attempt to seduce him in this seaside town, but she had to prepare herself for that. She wasn’t ready to fall into his arms and allow him such liberties. She needed a little more time.

Aiden studied her, his dark gaze assessing, as if he were attempting to discern her true purpose. Felicity kept her expression carefully neutral, though her pulse fluttered beneath his scrutiny. She had given him what he wished—her agreement to stay off a ship. In return, he would have to give her something. That was how a bargain worked, after all.

“Wales,” he murmured, considering. “I could be amenable to that.” His lips twitched. “I hear it is quite beautiful this time of year.”

“Wales?” She had not expected him to agree so easily. Felicity allowed a small smile. “Then we are in agreement?” She did not even know in what direction they had to go to reach Wales, but surely Scotland was closer. Did he hope to spend more time with her and that was why he had chosen Wales over Scotland.

He tilted his head slightly. “For now.”

She narrowed her eyes. “That does not sound particularly reassuring.”

“It is the best you shall get from me,” he said with a smirk. “Shall we?”

Felicity hesitated for the briefest of moments. There was something in his tone, something in the way he was looking at her—as if he knew she was planning something and was merely waiting for her to make her move. Drat the man. He was too clever by half. But she could not discern his true intentions any more than he could hers. There would have to be a level of trust between them.

She nodded. “Yes, let us depart before my aunt has half the country searching for me.”

Aiden chuckled. “Oh, I imagine she already does.”

She swallowed. That was a very real possibility. Aunt Enid was not the type to simply give up. He offered his arm, and after a brief hesitation, she took it. A gentleman should not be so warm. She had not expected that. She had also not expected to feel so… safe . Which was absurd, given that she intended to seduce him and then part ways as if nothing had happened. Felicity lifted her chin, determined to see her plan through.

“We shall need provisions,” Aiden said as they began walking. “And a carriage. I had thought to rent rooms for the night, but if we mean to leave immediately, we shall need to make haste.”

She glanced up at him. “Would it not be more… prudent to stay the night?” She offered a coy smile. “Surely even you cannot wish to travel without rest.” She might even be able to get that pesky seduction completed sooner if they remained at the inn. Though was she really in a hurry to give herself to him?

He arched a brow. “Ah, so now you are concerned with prudence?” He let out a low chuckle. “What game are you playing darling?”

She feigned innocence. “Game? Why, I am merely suggesting the practical course of action.”

His gaze flicked over her face. “I somehow doubt that.”

She sighed and glared at him. If only he wasn’t so handsome... Her heart skipped a beat as she stared at him. She shook her head and said, “You are insufferable.”

“So I have been told.” His grin widened as he met her gaze.

Something told her that this plan of hers would not be as simple as she believed. Aiden was playing his own game, and she might not end up the victor. Felicity rolled her eyes, but did not argue further. If he wished to play at being difficult, then so be it. The night was young, and she had time to wear down his resolve.

After all, the first rule of seduction was patience.

Aiden sat back in the carriage and studied his new traveling companion. She had believed him when he had chosen their destination. As if he would actually travel all the way to Wales. That would take weeks from where they were located. As much as he would enjoy spending that time with her, it was not the prudent choice. When he had hired the carriage and driver, he had instructed the man to take them to Scotland. It would allow him some time with her—time to persuade her to return home.

He rather liked her in breeches. The view of her figure was one he could appreciate far too well, and on any other woman, he might even find a way to worship it—with his hands, his lips, and his tongue. He wanted to ravish the delectable beauty across the carriage from him. If she were not a lady and likely an innocent one, he might have taken her earlier suggestion for them to remain at the inn. There, he would have gladly seduced her into compliance. He wanted her almost desperately, but some decorum had to remain between them. Their lack of a chaperone was bad enough. She was already ruined if anyone discovered their time alone together, but he had to manage to keep some distance between them. That meant not seducing her. As much as he wanted nothing more...

Aiden exhaled slowly, forcing his gaze away from Felicity as she adjusted herself on the seat across from him. It was maddening—having her so close yet knowing he could not touch her. Not in the way he wished. She was temptation wrapped in scandal, sitting in a carriage with him, completely unaware of the dangerous game she played simply by existing in his presence.

The sunlight outside cast a warm glow through the carriage window, illuminating the delicate curve of her jaw and the way a single golden curl had escaped from beneath her cap. She looked softer in the sunlight, more vulnerable. It was a deception, of course—one that she had likely mastered over the years. Felicity Hathaway was no meek debutante, no simpering miss waiting for a gentleman’s favor. She was a woman who had taken control of her own destiny, determined to carve her own path, no matter how reckless.

But even she had to realize that her ridiculous compromise was not the solution. Traveling anywhere with him would not aid her in her quest. Eventually, she would have to return to Winston Manor, and her aunt would secure a match for her. All she was doing was delaying the inevitable.

"You are too quiet," she mused, tilting her head in his direction. "I cannot decide if I prefer it."

He smirked. "Would you rather I fill the silence with idle chatter?"

She tapped a finger against her chin, feigning consideration. "I should like to know what it is you are thinking. You have been watching me as though I am some puzzle you cannot solve."

Aiden chuckled lowly. "And what if you are?"

Her lips twitched. "Then I would say you ought to give up the effort. I have been told I am quite impossible."

"Oh, I have no doubt of that," he murmured. "But I do not believe in giving up."

She shifted slightly, crossing her legs at the ankle. "Then I am afraid you shall be sorely disappointed."

Aiden leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Tell me, Felicity—what exactly is it you hope to find in Wales?" Wouldn’t she be surprised to discover they never were traveling toward Wales once they arrived in Scotland.

She blinked at him as if the question had caught her off guard. "Freedom."

"Freedom?" His voice was mild, but he arched a brow. "Do you truly believe you shall find it there?"

She exhaled, her fingers tightening around the folds of her coat. "I do not know. But I know I will not find it at Winston Manor."

Aiden studied her, noting the way she avoided his gaze now. "And why do you believe that?"

She hesitated. "Because no matter what I do, I shall always be someone’s burden. My aunt. My father. Society. A wife must submit, a daughter must obey. I am neither willing to submit nor inclined to obey."

Aiden understood the weight of expectations all too well. It was the burden of those born into privilege, into duty. But he also knew that running from it solved nothing. His own father had demanded he find himself a bride. It was the sole reason he had been at Winston Manor to meet Felicity that first time at the ball.

"You believe marriage to be a prison," he said.

"Is it not?" she challenged, her eyes flashing. "Tell me, my lord, do you believe a woman has any say in her own life once she is wed?"

Aiden held her gaze. "Not if she weds a man who does not allow it."

"And how many men do?" she demanded. Her eyes sparkled with the fury she barely contained. "How many would grant a wife true freedom?"

He said nothing, because he knew the answer would not satisfy her. Many men controlled every aspect of their wives’ lives. He suspected that if she allowed her aunt to choose her husband, Felicity would find the fate she feared. He did not want that for her.

Felicity let out a humorless laugh. "You see? That is why I run. It is not a game to me, Aiden. It is survival."

Her words settled heavily between them, shifting something within him. He had believed she was merely being willful, avoiding marriage out of rebellion rather than necessity. But now, he wondered—had anyone ever truly listened to her? Had anyone considered that she was not simply difficult, but desperate?

Damnation.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no intention of dragging her back to Winston Manor, but he could not, in good conscience, allow her to fling herself into a future she had not fully thought through. And yet, what could he offer her? What was he willing to offer? The question lodged itself in his chest, refusing to let go.

Instead of answering her, instead of telling her that he agreed, he decided to change the topic. They would not come to any decisions that night. He narrowed his gaze on her and said, “Have you ever been to Winston Manor before this most recent visit?”

She stiffened in her seat. “Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “I lived on an estate nearby—or rather, I did as a boy. My father is the Duke of Templeton.”

This time, she sat up straighter and stared at him. “You lived near my aunt’s estate?”

He nodded and narrowed his gaze. “You have been there before.” He frowned. “Have we met, then? Before that night at the ball?”

Her mouth fell open, and then she laughed. It was a boisterous, almost hysterical laugh. She wiped at her eyes and said, “Aye, my lord, I believe we may have.”

Aiden frowned. “Tell me,” he demanded.

“If we were not trapped in a carriage, Lord Redding,” she said, amusement lacing her tone, “I would bow. I know I should curtsy, being a lady, but my attire would make a bow more appropriate.” Her lips tilted upward in a mischievous smile. “I am Lissy.”

This time, his mouth fell open. It made sense then. How she had known his title. That had surprised him a little at first, but he had assumed that once he gave her his father’s title, she would have made the connection. Though he had introduced himself as the Marquess of Redding that day by the pond. “I had assumed you belonged to a servant,” he admitted.

Felicity shrugged. “It was a good assumption. I am sure I appeared to be a messy urchin to you. I was quite an unruly child.”

“I would say you are still unruly,” he said, then grinned. “Though you have outgrown your scrawny build.” His gaze raked over her. She had curves in abundance. “Lissy, darling,” he drawled, “you are a vision. Even in men’s attire.”

“As interesting as this revelation has been,” she began. Felicity sighed and leaned back against the seat. "I should rest while I can. I imagine you will try to convince me to turn back before long."

Aiden smirked. "I would not waste my breath." At least not yet...

He watched her for a long moment as her breathing slowed, her lashes dark against her fair skin. She was unlike any woman he had ever met. And for the first time in his life, he wondered if perhaps he was the one in danger—not of losing a battle of wills, but of losing himself entirely.