The Third Duke's The Charm by Emma Wildes

Author:Emma Wildes
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-08-13T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

What a beautiful day.

Was he actually whistling? No, ridiculous, he didn’t whistle, not just because the sky was blue and the green leaves on the trees reminded him of a certain young lady’s eyes.

Surely he was looking forward to his wedding with far too much enthusiasm. Weren’t most men reluctant to give up the freedom of bachelorhood?

Perhaps it was the memory of soft, smooth skin, the whisper of a sigh, the silken feel of her hair.

The first inkling he had that he was in trouble was the sensation of someone right behind him. Lucien spun around, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to escape the blow. It caught him under the right ear, and he stumbled, stunned with both surprise and pain, wondering just what the devil was going on.

The second forceful impact sent him to his knees.

Considering it was only late afternoon on a prestigious street, he had a hard time believing footpads would assault him, but apparently so, for the third strike made the world start to fade into darkness.

***

“Stockton is unforgivably late.”

Vivian glanced at the clock, as she had for the past hour, and tried to ignore the censorious tone of her mother’s voice. “I don’t know that it is unforgivable to be delayed for some reason.”

“A short note would have been courteous.”

“I have no idea what his daily schedule is, but perhaps he is not in a position to be able to send one.” She smoothed her skirt of flattering blue tulle and tried to ignore her mother’s growing impatience. “Do go on with Father and we will join you. There’s no need for you to be late on our account.”

How odd it was to phrase it that way, as if she and Lucien were one entity, which she supposed they would be soon enough.

Well, in a delicious erotic sense, they had been already.

Her mother’s face clearly reflected indecision. “I have no desire to be late for the theatre, but then again, letting him take you for a short drive is one matter and leaving you with him without a chaperone in the evening another.”

Actually, afternoons were just as dangerous Vivian thought with a measure of amusement that shockingly lacked maidenly regret over her seduction. She hadn’t yet seen him since that wicked picnic and had to wonder if it would be at all awkward. After all, the man had seen her naked, kissed her breasts, touched other scandalous places as well.

And it had all been intriguingly wonderful.

“I am going to be alone with him quite often in just a week,” she pointed out calmly. “I am certain he has a good reason for his tardiness and will feel all the worse for making you late as well.”

Considering she knew her mother wanted to be part of the usual observations over who was wearing what jewels, whose gown might be cut too low, and what gentlemen escorted certain ladies, it was an effective argument. Especially when her father said decisively, “She has a point, my dear.

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