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The very acknowledgment, though unsurprising, heightened her misgivings to immense proportions, because whatever hope she’d had of shielding herself from Dustin’s spell was now gone. The die was cast, the risk taken.
And her heart was no longer hers.
Now it was in the hands of fate.
Reflexively, her fingers went to her throat, brushing the soothing shape of her wishing locket where it hung gracefully—and, for tonight, openly—about her neck.
“You’re very pensive,” Dustin observed as they strolled through the woods.
“Am I?” Nicole blinked, raising her overheated face to the cool night air. “I’m sorry. I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be.” Dustin’s midnight gaze roved possessively over her. “You look exquisite. Precisely as you did the night we met.”
“That’s probably because I’m wearing precisely the same gown I wore the night we met,” she replied, her heart drumming against her ribs. “I own only two. This one is a bit more stylish than the other.”
“What made you decide to wear it tonight?”
Nicole averted her gaze. “I suppose I wanted to look like a woman, for once.” The slightest of pauses. “For you.”
“Thank you.” Dustin’s voice was husky. “I’m honored.”
“Where are we going?” she blurted, noting the remoteness of this section of woods, now blocking the tenants’ cottages from view.
“You’ll see.”
Staring at her slippered feet, Nicole contemplated what she should say next, and how in God’s name she could speak past the lump in her throat.
“There.” Dustin paused, pointing. “That’s where we’re going.”
Her head came up, her brows drawing together as curiosity temporarily supplanted anxiety. “A cabin.” She gazed questioningly up at Dustin. “Who lives there?”
“No one. At least not permanently.” Looping an arm about her waist, Dustin urged her forward. “Come. Your father a
llocated one hour to this walk. I don’t want to waste a moment of it.”
Reaching the door, he eased it open, leading Nicole inside. Rather than lighting a lamp, he crossed over and threw open the wooden shutters, waiting as moonlight drenched the sparsely furnished room. “For you,” he announced, beckoning her over. “A gift I’ve never shared with another. And, in our case, one I believe will mean far more than diamonds or sapphires.”
Nicole walked over to stand beside him, staring, first out at the rapid descent of the trees, then upward to the starlit skies, her view of the heavens unmarred by so much as an oak or a church spire. “How beautiful,” she breathed. “The moon and the stars. Brilliant diamonds cast across a sapphire sea. No jewels could compare.”
“I agree.” Silently, Dustin followed her gaze. “I built this cabin several years ago.”
“You built it?”
“Um-hum. My father was an architect—a brilliant one—as is my brother Trenton. I dabbled alongside them. And while I cannot boast their genius, I absorbed enough knowledge to design a structure or two. This one is my favorite, simple though it might be. It’s my own personal sanctuary.”
“From what?” Nicole whispered.
“From the elaborate life you think I value so highly. You know—the lavish balls, the countless women, the frivolous parties.” Moonlight drifted over his magnificently handsome features. “Here there are no balls, no vapid conversations, or meaningless liaisons. There’s just me, my thoughts, and the night.” He turned to her, his expression tender. “And now you.”
Emotion constricted Nicole’s throat as she savored the full extent of his offering. “I’ve judged you unfairly, haven’t I?” she asked in a small, shaky voice. “There’s so much more to Dustin Kingsley than the marquis of Tyreham.” A breath of a pause. “Tell me about him.”
“What would you like to know?”
“Whatever you’ll share with me.”
His knuckles caressed her cheek. “I’ll share anything with you, Derby.”
Nicole felt her insides melt. “Trenton—is he your only brother?”
