Page 22 of Miss Kimble Bites Back

“Not with me. Not now,” she promised, wetting her lips. “I merely wanted to say how very sorry I am that I believed the gossip. I wanted to apologize for the insinuations I made today, and I understand that you might never wish to acknowledge me again. I would deserve the cut.”

He pursed his lips and drew closer still. His eyes searched hers, and he nodded. “It is not easy to know the truth about other people.”

“But I should not have leaped to a wrong conclusion and accused you of wrongdoing at your own table. You’re taking care of your sister as best you can,” she told him. “I respect you for that.”

And then, because he looked so very surprised by her words, she stretched up on her toes and dropped a kiss on his cheek the way she would finish an apology to Bennett.

Mamble’s skin was warm and slightly rough against her lips, and he smelled of the most divine shaving lotion. He smelled so good that she put her hand on his chest to steady herself as her knees suddenly trembled. Her thoughts about the duke had come full circle and were finally in the right order again though. He was a man worthy of admiration.

He met her gaze, and his eyes were hard. “The other rumors about me are true,” he said quietly. “I am still a man, Miss Kimble, and right now you are in grave danger of being kissed witless.”

Although it was meant as a threat, Gabby found that funny. “I’ve never been kissed before, witless or otherwise.”

The tips of his fingers were suddenly pressing against her middle and pushing her back into the morning room, where he’d left her earlier. He followed, a predatory gleam shining in his eyes. The same look he’d leveled at her in the Windermeres’ library. Gabby gulped and nearly stumbled. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to put her entire trust in the duke’s good nature in all matters.

In fact, she might have just made a grave blunder seeking him out. There would be no Lady Windermere to save her today, and Bennett was clearly occupied elsewhere.

The duke’s fingers rose and captured her face, tilting it up toward his firmly until she couldn’t look anywhere but into his eyes. They were so blue, and he studied her face in a way that made her pulse race with anticipation. Gabby’s eyes fluttered closed of their own accord. The next moment, she could feel his breath whisper across her lips, and hers parted as she waited for her first kiss to be delivered.

But his fingers dropped away and the kiss she expected never came.

Gabby opened her eyes to see him some distance away, at the door.

“You deserve someone better than me for your first kiss, Miss Gabriella Kimble,” he whispered. “You cannot get what you might wish for from someone like me.”

Gabby blinked several times, still off balance from his nearness. “What is it I wish for?”

“A husband,” he answered curtly, then he was gone, slipping out the door, leaving an empty space before her and a similar strange emptiness in her soul. She shook her head to clear her confusion and hurried out to the hall again, but Mamble had well and truly vanished this time. Returning to Bennett, no doubt, who would not be at all happy that the duke had almost kissed her, or to know Gabby might have even let him.

Gabby turned about and went to sit at the breakfast table again in a state of utter confusion. She’d almost been kissed today, and to her considerable surprise, she wasn’t the least bit sorry it had almost happened. But she was puzzled by her own behavior. Shouldn’t she have felt guilty?

Wasn’t her great love another man? Lord Brookes. But he’d been far from her mind that morning. In fact, her only thought today had been for the duke, and what he must be going through taking care of his troubled sister.

He had her sympathy and hope that somehow everything would be all right. Yet it was not up to him but Lady Cordelia. It was her life, and Lady Cordelia had to find the will to live it fully or not. Gabby knew from experience that there was little Mamble could do to help his sister than he must already have tried.

When Bennett returned to her alone, solemn, and she was disappointed that the duke was not with him. She had no chance to even see him, as Bennett was keen to be on their way again. He did not look happy with her at all and spoke little on the carriage ride home. But he waited until they were in the privacy of his study, he spoke his mind about her groundless accusations. And the likely repercussions of falling out of favor with so close an acquaintance of Lady Windermere’s. A woman she depended on.

CHAPTER SIX

Sebastian lit another candle from the fire because it was late in the day now and he couldn’t seem to shake the gloomy mood that had descended over him these past weeks, even with the company of a good friend. “Another drink?”

“Any more and Esme will ring a peal over my head for drunkenness,” Windermere murmured. “I’m to escort her to a dinner and then a ball later. Will you be there? At the Foxwood ball?”

“No. I’ve already sent my apologies.”

Windermere frowned to hear the news. “You are in danger of becoming a recluse again. Hiding from society only strengthens the rumors.”

“I’m not hiding. I go to my club, and riding each morning, too.”

“But I don’t see you at dinners or out dancing like you were a few weeks ago. I could always stand another sensible man to talk to between sets or courses.”

“Is your wife not enough company for you now?” Sebastian asked, surprised by Windermere’s comments. They had gone months before without seeing each other, and he’d never once complained.

“She is but,” Windermere said slowly, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, “she’s involved herself in a scheme I cannot fully support.”

Sebastian stared at his friend in surprise. Windermere and his wife might actually have a disagreement over something at last. It had been all roses and heated looks since the moment they’d married. Sebastian had assumed those two had put any difference of opinion firmly behind them when they’d tied the knot. Apparently not all of them. “What sort of scheme?”

“What was her favorite topic the last time you spoke to her?”