Page 24 of Make Mine a Marquess

“Small?” She could hardly imagine Landon as small. Now tall and solid muscle, he was an imposing sight. “I’m sure tongues stopped wagging then.”

His lips twitched. “Let’s just say the bullies ceased their taunting.”

She openly studied his bronzed complexion and raven hair. His mother must have been beautiful. “Your mother, the marchioness, must have been a fascinating woman.”

“She was. She was a talented pianist and father and I often listened to her play for hours. She passed away from a bad cold that traveled to her lungs. My father was despondent and died a year later.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You know more about me now. Does it put you at ease?” he asked.

“A bit, my lord.”

“No more ‘my lord’ when we are alone, remember?”

He’d asked her to call him Robert in the lake. She couldn’t. Wouldn’t. “Fine. I’m a bit more at ease, Landon.”

He nodded in approval. “I shall endeavor to take you riding more often then. Even swimming,” he added with a wink.

Her lips twitched. “Swimming is unlikely.”

“’Tis a shame. I’ll stick with riding then, although I’m sure I’ll be in competition with my cousin for your time.”

Willard had never taken her riding. He didn’t even know that she liked riding, and he hadn’t shown her much interest at the house party so far. To be fair, it had only been three days. Yet she knew more about the marquess than she’d learned about Willard, even during his courting.

Standing side by side, looking at the peaceful river below and the playful otter, she realized she was growing comfortable in his presence. Enjoying it.

Almost.

She looked up at him. “I do have another question. That night in the gardens during the masquerade ball, was it the first time you’d been back, or had you returned even earlier?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters to me.”

He hesitated and she thought he wouldn’t answer. “It was my first night back. I needed time.”

“Time to adjust to your return?” she asked.

“You could say that. I was also taken off balance by another that night.”

“By whom?” She shouldn’t ask. Not when she suspected she knew the answer. Why couldn’t she help herself?

He stepped closer. “A goddess in the gardens.”

Her heartbeat quickened. “It was just a costume,” she whispered.

The undisguised heat in his dark eyes made it hard to breathe. “Perhaps, but it was an enchanting one.” His gaze lowered to her mouth, and he had the same look as in the lake when he’d confessed that he’d wanted to kiss her.

Oh, my.

She shivered. The fluttering that had been building in her stomach quickened. She must be wicked because she wanted him to kiss her. She’d also been tempted by him in the lake, hadn’t she? She’d dreamt of him and had woken with a wetness between her thighs.

No! No! No!

If only she felt the same traitorous pull in her gut when Lord Willard had sought to kiss her. Was she one of those loose women who was doomed to fall for a rogue? Was she powerless to resist them?

She turned to face him. “My lord, I…I—”