LITMIR.BIZ

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I was thinking . . . what if you tripped, and the duke had to catch you? That would surely encourage his affection. Or spill wine on your dress, and he would whip off his cravat to mop it up.” Before Emma could respond, Mary perked with another idea. “Ooh, you might even turn your ankle. Then he would have to carry you. That would be romantic.”

      “I’m not going to turn my ankle.”

      “You don’t think you could try? Even just a little stumble?”

      “No.”

      “Never mind it. We’ll think of something else. I was pondering, what if you went up to the attic . . . and then Mr. Khan sent the duke up to the attic . . . and then you and the duke were locked inside the attic, together. Accidentally.”

      “Mary. You need to abandon these ideas. The duke is not going to fall in love with me—not even in a locked attic. In fact, he’s rather put out with me at the moment.”

      Or at least he was put out with her cat.

      With a sigh, Mary put the last pin in Emma’s hair. “There, now. Turn and let me have a look at you.”

      After looking Emma over, Mary reached forward and grasped the sleeves of her gown, slid them off her shoulders, and tugged the bodice down so far, it barely covered her areolae. “That’s something, at least.”

      When Emma arrived in the dining room, the duke wasn’t even there to angle for a glimpse of her areolae. She waited a quarter hour. Nothing.

      He must truly be infuriated with her. Perhaps she wouldn’t see him later tonight, either. At this rate, they would never accomplish procreation.

      She prepared to return to her rooms, planning to ring the maid for a dinner tray and sink into bed with a novel. As she passed down the corridor, however, someone called to her in a low whisper.

      “In here.”

      She turned, curious. The duke was in his library, barefoot and sitting cross-legged on the carpet, staring at the empty, unlit fireplace.

      “What are you doing?”

      “Shh.” He raised an open palm in her direction. “No sudden movements.”

      “All right.” She drew out the words, kicking off her slippers and making her way into the room on stocking feet, sitting next to him on the floor. She folded her legs beneath her skirts and stared into the fireplace, too. “What are we looking at?” she whispered.

      “Your cat. The little beast is hiding behind the grate. We’ve been waiting one another out.”

      Emma peered into the dark fireplace. Yes, she could just make out a set of green eyes gleaming back at her from the sooty recesses of the hearth.

      “How long have you been here?” she whispered.

      “What time is it now?”

      “Half seven.”

      “Four hours, then.”

      “Four hours? And how long do you plan to stay like this?”

      He set his jaw and glowered at the fireplace. “As long as it takes.”

      She noted an open trunk sitting on the opposite side of him. Two thick leather straps with buckles lay at the ready.

      She gasped. “You’re going to lock Breeches in a trunk?”

      “For the night, yes. Doors don’t seem to contain the beast.”

      “With no food, no water?”

      “I made air holes. And believe me, he’s fortunate to get that much.”

      “But . . . why?”

      “Is it not obvious?” For the first time since she’d entered the library, he slid a glance toward her. “Because I intend to impregnate you tonight, or make a valiant attempt at it. And this time, there will be no interruption.”

      He turned back to regarding the grate.

      “Oh.” Emma bit her lip, trying to ignore the hot flush creeping from her neck to her hairline. “Were you terribly hurt last night? Are you furious with me?”

      “I don’t know that I can ever forgive you,” he said in a dry tone. “I’m going to have a scar.”

      She paused a moment, then laughed.

      The corner of his mouth quirked with a smug little smile. He was pleased with himself for having provoked her to laughter. Emma was pleased, as well. When he wasn’t using that sharp wit to slice her to ribbons, he had a rather charming sense of humor.

      “I’ll be back,” she said, drawing to her feet.

      A quarter hour later, she returned with a tray of sandwiches, two glasses, and an uncorked bottle of wine.

      “Here.” She offered him a roast beef sandwich. “To keep up your stamina.”

      He accepted it and took a large, manly bite.

      “No progress?” She bit the corner from an egg-and-cress sandwich.

      He shook his head. “Where did you acquire this pestilent, mewling jackanapes?”

      “Where did you acquire the habit of cursing with such imagination?”

      He reached for another sandwich. “For that, you can thank my father. The summer I was nine, my mother overheard me utter some foul words I’d learned at school. My father drew me aside and told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was an educated gentleman and he never wanted to hear me use such crude language again. He said, ‘Blaspheme as you will, but at least use words from Shakespeare.’ I’d read all the plays by the summer’s end.”

      “Quite ingenious of him.”

      “He was a wise man. A good man. I may not be a wise or good man, but I at least possess a sense of duty. His legacy, and everything and everyone he protected, has fallen to me. I won’t let that wither and die.”

      “And you still draw your curses from Shakespeare.”

      “I try, in speech at least, as a way to honor his memory. I cannot claim my thoughts are always so literary in their inspiration.”

      Emma let the quiet abide for a moment. “You must miss him a great deal. And to lose him so young. How did it—” She broke off the question. Perhaps she was delving too deep.

      “A fever took them both. I was away at school.”

      “Oh, dear.” She inched a bit closer. “That must have been terrible.”

      “I’m glad I wasn’t there to see them ill. They’ll always be strong in my memory that way. Likewise, I’m grateful they never had to see me after I was . . . you know. Like this.”

      She gathered his meaning, but she didn’t believe he was sincere. Having a loving family around him would have made all the difference.

      He downed a large swallow of wine, then glanced toward her. “What about your parents? You mentioned leaving home for London at a tender age. What was that about?”

      She chewed a bite slowly. “The usual. Strict discipline. Youthful rebellion. Words exchanged that couldn’t be taken back.”

      “That,” he said, “was not an answer.”

      “Yes, it was. You asked a question. I replied. With words and everything.”

      “I gave you details. Ages, events . . . feelings. I cracked open my soul.”

      She gave him a disbelieving look.

      “All right, fine. I don’t have a soul. But the point remains. You can be more specific than that.”

      “It’s a boring story, truly.” Before he could object, she withdrew a clipped bit of newsprint from her

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