Page 38 of To Steal a Kiss

She smiled then, a sweet, soul-stealing smile that made him feel about ten feet tall.

“I do,” she said shyly.

That deserved a kiss, he decided, and he refused to allow her to speak for several more minutes. When he released her, she was flushed, dishevelled and utterly lovely.

“You want me to court you,” he repeated, understanding a little better now.

She nodded and leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. “I want us both to be sure, Nate, or at least as sure as we can be in such a short time. I just want to know you a little better, and for you to know me, to be certain of me.”

He sighed and refrained from pointing out that he was certain. He’d said it before, but she refused to believe it. Not that he could blame her, and there was no harm in doing as she asked… except that they risked discovery.

“I can’t call on you, Alice,” he said, feeling wretched at the admission, though she must know it well enough. “I can’t bring you flowers and take you for walks in the park. From what you’ve told me, your parents would never allow it.”

“I know that,” she said, so solemn it broke his heart. “They would never agree to our marriage, so we must do this in secret.”

Nate balked at that as he realised what it meant. “No,” he said, knowing how badly this would reflect on her. “I don’t want it to be that way. We can contrive to meet each other easily enough if Matilda helps us, but I won’t make this more clandestine that it must be. Once you are certain, I shall ask for your father’s approval.”

“Oh, Nate, no!” she said, clutching at his shirt. “There’s no point. He’ll be dreadful to you, and he’ll never allow it. He’ll just make it impossible to see you again.”

“He wants membership to my club, doesn’t he?”

Alice hesitated, and then shook her head. “It might tempt him, it’s true, but marrying into nobility, being accepted among the higher ranks of the ton, that’s what he craves most.”

Nate shrugged, a strange sense of belligerence forcing him to cling to the idea. He wanted this done properly, for Alice’s sake. He’d started things badly, he knew that much, but could he not make amends by doing the right thing now? He wanted everything to be perfect for her, with no hint of shame. “Perhaps. But I have to try, Alice.”

“Why?” she demanded, not understanding why he would willingly beat his head against a brick wall and suffer the humiliation of being refused to boot.

“Because,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her mouth, “you are worth doing everything right. If I fail, then I’ll put you over my shoulder and carry you to Gretna Green if it comes to it, but I must try to be honourable in this. You deserve that. Good Lord, Alice, you deserve a far better man than me, but I swear, if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll never give you cause to regret it.”

Chapter 12

Dearest Prue,

How I wish you were here with me. I need your advice. How did you know you loved Bedwin? When were you sure he was the one, and that he loved you?

―Excerpt of a letter from Miss Alice Dowding to Prunella Adolphus, Duchess of Bedwin.

Noon. 25th June 1814. Hunter’s, Covent Garden, London.

“Good Lord, Alice, you deserve a far better man than me, but I swear, if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll never give you cause to regret it.”

Alice stared at Nate. It was hard to breathe and look at him at the same time. When she’d walked into the room and seen him just in his shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to show powerful arms… it had been the most extraordinary thing. She’d gone hot and then cold, her knees had felt uncertain, and her mouth had gone dry. He’d been devastating enough dressed like a gentleman, but dishevelled and unshaven with a roguish, rumpled appearance, he was positively lethal.

All she could hope was that Matilda hadn’t gotten it all horrible wrong, for if so, she was in a great deal of trouble. Except Matilda hadn’t been wrong at all. Nate loved her.

He didn’t, of course. Alice might have dreamed of love at first sight and handsome princes as a girl, but at the ripe old age of two and twenty, she did not believe a man could fall for her in the space of two evenings. Especially not an extraordinary specimen like Nathaniel Hunt. She believed he desired her, however, and that he liked her, so far at least. Surely, love could come? It was more than many marriages began with.

“I don’t think that’s true,” she said, rousing herself to answer. “That there is a better man,” she added in a rush, before he could take her meaning all wrong. She’d never realised men were so easily hurt and offended. His pride seemed a fragile beast that would need careful handling. “And I believe you will make me happy, Nate, only… let us do as I ask, and get to know each other.”

He nuzzled into her neck, making her sigh. “I have no argument against spending time with you, darling. I never want to be anywhere else.”

She chuckled and shook her head. “You say that now. I’ll no doubt be consigned to the rank of nagging wife in short order if we do marry.”

“When we marry,” he said, his tone brooking no argument. “And I swear that won’t happen.”

“How can you possibly swear?” she demanded, tart now, though a smile tugged at her lips. “I might play the part of a shy little nobody when really I’m a dreadful harridan.”

“Then,” he said, nipping at her earlobe, “you may command me to love and obey you and I’ll follow behind, meek as a lamb.”