Page 35 of The Governess’ Unlikely Suitor (The Dashworth Brothers #2)

K ate hummed to herself as she made her way towards the library.

She’d spent most of the morning dozing in her bedroom, waking every now and again to touch her lips and remember the press of Edward’s mouth against hers.

The insistent slide of his tongue against hers, the almost desperate way he’d consumed her, and the way she’d pressed back, learning what he liked, learning what she’d liked.

The skin of her palms still tingled from where she’d leaned against his broad shoulders.

She was acting like a green girl with her first experience of calf love, but she didn’t care.

Life had been grim for a few years and she deserved a bit of giddy happiness.

Surely his reaction could not have been faked; perhaps it meant he would be happy to do it again.

It was only kissing, after all; she was not asking him to marry her.

She was not foolish enough to believe that a man of his age and station would want to wed an older, spinster governess, but a little fun never hurt anyone.

‘Oh, there you are.’ Emily’s voice sounded from further down the corridor as she rushed towards her, stopping her from taking the corridor to the library. Despite her increasingly round stomach, Emily was virtually skipping. ‘You must come quickly.’

‘I am sorry I missed breakfast; I was not hungry.’

‘I do not blame you after the excitement of last night.’

Excitement was not the word Kate would have used.

And it was not the events of last night that had kept her away but this morning’s interlude in the music room.

Knowing her face often betrayed her thoughts, she had thought it prudent to avoid breakfast in case the rest of the Dashworths could read exactly what had happened from the way she looked at Edward.

Emily was still talking, making impatient hand gestures to hurry her along. ‘Hopefully, what has come this morning will make up for the horrible end to the evening.’

‘What has come?’ It must be something exciting, because Emily was lightly hopping on the tips of her toes, like a small child about to be given a present.

‘You need to see.’ Apparently, she wasn’t moving quickly enough for Emily, who tugged on her sleeve.

Kate laughed. ‘All right, I am coming. I cannot imagine what has got you so delighted.’ Hoping Emily hadn’t ordered the green riding habit after all, she followed after her friend.

But no, it was not that. As they neared the hallway, a sickly, sweet smell reached her.

Stepping into the wide open entranceway, she was hit by a profusion of colour on every available surface.

‘What is this?’ she asked, not understanding what she was seeing.

‘It is many bunches of flowers.’ Emily beamed at her.

‘That much I can see, but why are there lots of them all over the place?’

‘Because, my dear friend, you are a success.’ Emily moved around the floral gatherings, her eyes alight with wonder. ‘I have heard tales of such a thing, but I have never witnessed it myself. I believe if this were the Season, we would be inundated.’

Kate turned slowly on the spot, taking in the different arrangements, unable to truly believe what she was seeing. ‘I still do not understand.’

‘Your admirers have sent them.’ Emily plucked a card from the bouquet nearest her.

‘This one is from Lord Johnathan Helmswater.’ She tapped the card against her chin.

‘Now he would be a lovely match for you. He has lots of hair and is very intelligent. He also has a country house in Sussex, which is not too far from London. If you liked him, we could visit one another easily. Sutton,’ Emily called to the butler who had been hovering nearby, ‘please could you take these through to the sitting room?’

Before Kate could respond to this wild statement, Emily was moving on to another card.

‘Oh, now Mr Smythe. He is very rich, but I do find him annoying. Everyone has different tastes, however, so we cannot discount him just because he is not my cup of tea.’ Kate noticed Emily did not ask Sutton to take this arrangement to the sitting room.

‘Rhys Jenkins. Hmm, I do not know much about him, but these are lovely flowers, so we cannot discount him either. Unless… do tell me if there was anyone from last night whom you would not like to receive. We can leave a list with Sutton.’ Before waiting for an answer, she carried on to the next arrangement.

‘William Pimsbury!’ Emily turned to Kate with a wide grin.

‘Now, he caused quite the stir last season. He’d been away for a few years on his grand tour and when he came back it was evident he had become very handsome in his absence.

He has a devilishly wicked smile and turned many heads. ’

‘Hey,’ said Freddie, joining them in the hallway. ‘I am not sure I like the tone your voice took on then. You sounded almost wistful.’

Emily laughed. ‘I do love you, Freddie, but even you have to admit that William Pimsbury is a handsome man, and look, he has sent flowers to Kate.’ She held up the card for Freddie to inspect.

Freddie whistled. ‘I’ve heard many ladies comment on his striking eyes and resplendent waistcoats. While not as devilishly handsome as myself, you could do a lot worse, Kate.’

Emily nodded. ‘Sutton, please put these in the sitting room.’ She handed over the bouquet.

Kate began to look at the cards. Some made her smile; most of them made her cringe. She was almost half-way around the entrance hall when she heard Edward join them, his deep voice rumbling a greeting. She shivered, feeling the ghost of his lips skimming the length of her neck.

She held a card in her hand, staring at it unseeingly.

Light poured through the large windows, highlighting the dust motes that spun around her.

In the background, Emily carried on talking, seemingly experiencing the excitement Kate should be feeling at the display of admiration.

As much as Kate liked the countess and her husband, she wished they would go.

If she were alone with Edward, she could try to discover if he were jealous.

Even though she’d suggested the kiss would be a one-off, believing one taste would satisfy her curiosity about Edward, she now realised she had been incredibly na?ve. Once was not nearly enough.

She had wanted to know what it would be like to kiss a man on her own terms and so she had asked.

Perhaps if he had made her uncomfortable about her request, shamed her in any way, the experience would have been entirely different.

Instead of shame and embarrassment, she felt desire and desirable for the first time in her life.

Edward was clearly an experienced man; he’d known exactly what to do to have her trembling in his arms, to make her want more, so much more.

When she’d thought about kissing beforehand, she’d imagined it would be pleasant, almost friendly.

All the times she had stared at his long fingers, she’d believed her favourite part of it would be the press of his strong hands on her back.

She half snorted, tucking the card back into the arrangement in front of her without having read it. Pleasant and nice did not come close to describing what had transpired in the music room; wild and passionate didn’t quite convey it either.

‘Those are not to your liking?’ Edward’s voice sounded just over her shoulder. Busy, as she had been thinking about him, she had not realised he had approached.

‘What do you…?’

He nodded at the card she had just returned. ‘You did not look pleased with Rupert Williams’ offering.’

For a moment, she studied his face. He looked the same as always; there was no narrowing of his eyes, no clenched jaw to suggest he was jealous of the attention.

There was no way she was going to confess what she’d been thinking, not when he looked singularly unbothered by the blatant sign of other men interested in courting her.

And why should he? It had been she who had initiated the kiss, not him.

He had obviously enjoyed it, she did not think he was that good an actor, but he would probably have been the same with any woman.

There had been the beautiful woman with whom he had danced at the ball.

Her stomach had twisted uncomfortably as she’d watched them twirl around the ballroom.

They’d moved together with an easy familiarity in their smiles that only came with knowing someone well.

Edward had become good at kissing from somewhere; it was plausible he had with that woman.

‘Have you sent anyone flowers this morning?’ she blurted out, wishing she could cram the words back in as soon as she had said them. It was none of her concern and asking sounded petulant and jealous and she’d rather he didn’t realise she felt both of those things.

He raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you asking me if I am courting someone and kissing you in the same morning?’

Kate glanced across the wide hallway; Freddie and Emily were having a deeply animated conversation about the contents of one of the cards. Sutton was nowhere to be seen. ‘You did not initiate the kiss. I asked you to do that as a favour.’

His lips parted, a soft huff of air escaping as if he could not believe what he was hearing. ‘Do you really think so little of me, you believe I would agree to do that with you while interested in another woman?’

‘I am sorry,’ she said, her voice thick, embarrassed tears forming. She had no right to her envious feelings and even less right to take out her frustration on Edward, who had done nothing wrong. ‘I have heard rumours of how men of the Ton behave and I…’

‘You think we are all the same.’ His face was shuttered and she could not tell what he was thinking.

‘Of course I do not think you are the same as, say… Chorley. But I did not want to assume just because we… that because you were kind enough to indulge me this morning that you were not…’

His face gave nothing away during her mangled apology, which didn’t contain the word sorry and therefore probably did not count.

‘I am sorry,’ she said eventually. ‘I have made you uncomfortable and I…’

‘You have not. I am sorry too. I keep forgetting you are not familiar with us.’

Did he mean with the Dashworths or with the Ton in general?

Both were true to a certain extent. Existing on the fringes of Society for a long time, she had never belonged in their ranks, she still didn’t, even if she and the Dashworths were pretending she did.

From the sidelines she had seen many husbands misbehave and wives too.

Servants always saw more than their employers would ever appreciate and her years as a governess had not given her the best view of the members of Society.

But she believed Edward to be honourable; everything he had said and done in the time she had known him had shown that to be the truth.

If she told him all this, if she admitted it was not the Ton she was judging but the ugly side of jealousy making her ask such a ridiculous question, then she would reveal too much of herself, would make herself vulnerable in a world where she was already at a disadvantage.

So she held her tongue, even when it might have been better to apologise again.

‘You have made quite an impression, it would seem.’ He nodded at the flowers around her, not answering her question and leaving her squirming with unresolved tension. The effort not to fidget was almost overwhelming.

‘I am sure they will not be as keen when they realise I am a vicar’s daughter with no connections,’ she managed to say.

‘You are connected to us.’

There was no response to that either. Either it was a breathtakingly arrogant, but probably justified, comment about the Glanmore name or it was a kindly reminder she was not alone.

‘I cannot imagine what it must be like to receive all of this.’ He gestured around to the flowers surrounding them. ‘How do you feel about it?’

‘Truthfully, a little disassociated. It does not feel like it can be for me.’ She stroked the soft petal of a rose with her forefinger. ‘Do you know how much the duke has offered for the dowry?’

Edward named a sum of money so vast it made her stomach drop. It was an absurd amount, which could be used for something far worthier than to get her married off.

‘Are you sure?’

Edward nodded gravely. ‘Yes.’

‘No wonder I am so popular.’

‘Do not do yourself a disservice. Some of these might be fortune-hunters, but we will be able to sort those from the others.’ There was a strange stabbing sensation in her chest at his words.

She did not want to sit or stand with Edward and go through which of these men were after her for herself and which were those who may want access to the Dashworth money.

Mumbling something she hoped sounded like a thank you, she began to walk away.

‘Kate,’ he said quietly. He moved, leaning close so when he spoke his breath whispered against her neck.

‘There is no one to whom I would like to send flowers.’ He moved to step away, then paused.

‘Well, perhaps there is one lady.’ He winked at her before striding away.

She didn’t realise how wide she was smiling, until she caught sight of herself in the highly polished metal banister.

Even then, it was difficult to get her expression into a normal position in order to face Emily again.