Page 36 of The Duke’s Wager

Edward could hardly think straight over his racing heart. He had never seen anyone quite as remarkable as Lucy Beaumont was in this moment.

God, he was staring. The realization hit him when she looked away uncomfortably. He had no idea how long he’d been staring but it was long enough to picture Lucy in his arms in a passionate embrace.

“My lord… It is kind of you to stop by.”

Her cool voice shook him from his reverie, and he smiled sheepishly. Did she not feel the tension between them? How did she manage to stay so completely cool and unaffected?

“I must say, I am rather surprised. This is the second time you’ve sought me out in two days. Is there something you need from me, my lord?”

Speak. Words. He had to speak, had to use words – but he had forgotten how. Think, Lockhart, think.

The flowers!

“My lady…” Finally. His voice broke through the struggle, and he managed to put on what he hoped was a flirtatious smile. “I brought you flowers.”

This was why he was here. He had a job to do, had a bet with Julian Pembroke. He was not here to fall into her trap and lose his wits at the sight of her.

“Oh. You shouldn’t have.”

Edward hesitated. He had not expected her to remain so… well, cold, after receiving a bouquet like this. “My lady, this is a rare breed of roses all the way from France, and… Well, I saw them and thought that no one else’s beauty could compare to theirs except yours.”

She still did not take the roses. She only looked at them coolly. “Thank you, but really… you should not have wasted your money.”

“Wasted my—” He swallowed the rest of his words, only staring at her blankly. What kind of a woman was this, that she called him bringing her flowers a waste of money? Was she mad?

He realized now that he still held the roses out to her – she’d made no movement to take them – and he put them on a table rather irritably. Lucy’s gaze followed his movements.

“You see, my lord… I am rather ill-affected by roses.”

He paused and looked at Lucy curiously.

She nodded earnestly. “Indeed, my lord. They cause me to sneeze uncontrollably.”

It sounded like a blatant lie. Roses caused her to sneeze? It was hardly possible, and besides, she had not sneezed even once.

As though she could read his mind, a sneeze escaped her – a high-pitched, adorable sound that immediately made him grin. The smile vanished the second he realized she had not lied.

She truly was affected by roses. It took all his self-control to not throw his hands up in the sky and scream to the heavens. Was there really nothing he could do right with this woman?

“My lady…” Edward took a step towards her, then one back, unsure of what it was he wanted to do. “Lucy. I wanted to apologize.”

This seemed to grab her attention and she tilted her head, looking at him with interest. The humiliation of the previous night rushed back to him, and with it, the nausea.

“Do you mind if I sit?”

She shook her head and he practically fell into a seat. Lucy seemed to remember her manners as hostess in this instant, and she rang a bell.

“Yes, my lady?”

“Abigail, would you bring Lord Edward and me some tea, please? Then sit with us? Thank you.”

The girl left wordlessly, and Lucy sat too. Edward looked at her nervously and laughed.

“Where were we?”

Lucy, on the other hand, did not laugh. She looked at him with those eyes and pursed her lips. “I believe you were apologizing to me, my lord.”

“Please…” He was getting annoyed with her formality. How was he ever to seduce her if she insisted on being as formal as possible at all times? “Call me Edward.”