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CHAPTERTHREE
Rhys could not move. The realization of what he had done, what his body still wanted him to do, kept him in place. Impossible! He stared at her both in disbelief and wonder, asking himself how he had not recognized her until she removed her mask. In his defense, he could say that he had not interacted with her enough to know what she truly looked like, but he knew that would be a lie.
He knew what she looked like, and he had imagined kissing her lips the first time he had seen her at the start of the season, but her disapproving glares had quickly changed his opinion of her, and he had made it a priority to ignore her.
The mask had perfectly disguised her tonight, and Rhys was wishing she had not removed it, so he could maintain his fantasy.
“I know the fate that awaits my sister if she marries you,” Lady Elizabeth stormed, “and I will never allow it.” She bent to try to free her dress again, and he knew he had to help her. The sooner she was free, the quicker they would leave each other’s presence, and he would be free of her spell. He should not desire her.
“The bush is holding you prisoner, and you need my help,” he observed.
“I do not,” she argued.
“Very well. I am sure there would be no questions if you returned to the ballroom with a ripped dress.” Rhys immediately regretted saying the last two words because they painted an unwelcome image of her in his mind.
She sighed and looked up at him. “You may help me.” Most women would look helpless, but Lady Elizabeth held herself as Athena would, and Rhys cursed himself for being impressed by her.
He went around to her side and found the hem of her dress tangled in the branches of the brush. He knelt and began to untangle it. He now suspected she had heard his conversation with Mayton. That and recognizing him after they had kissed were the only explanations for her anger. “Did no one ever tell you that it is rude to eavesdrop?” he asked.
She looked away, her cheeks coloring. “You have no proof that I was eavesdropping.”
“You were hiding behind this bush, were you not? And the flame in your eyes tells me you heard everything.”
“I hid when I heard someone approach.”
He paused. “When did you realize who I was?”
“When you entered the ballroom, and I saw my father talking to you,” she replied stiffly. Like him, she was not happy with what had occurred between them in the library. “It does not matter because now. I have what I require to discourage my sister from accepting your suit.”
“Why do you disapprove of me? You barely even know me,” he asked.
“Because you are a rake,” she returned. “I know the sort of debauched life you live.”
His habits were not a secret in Society, but he did not care what she thought. “Is that your only reason?” he asked, looking up at her and meeting the sight of her bosom which excited his blood against his wishes.
“You are arrogant and have no respect for women. Are warming your bed and having your children their only purposes?”
Lord! He had come here to find the woman who had charmed and beguiled him, but not this one. “Women have many great purposes, ” he answered with a calmness he was not truly feeling.
“Yes. They must ensure that you do not sire imbeciles and should only speak when spoken to—” Her tone was made of ice. “My sister deserves better.”
Her words made him disapprove of her character, yet his body rebelled. Rhys continued untangling her hem so that some distance could be created between them.
Once her hem was free, he rose. “However did you tangle your hem?”
She lifted a small shoulder and looked away. “Impatience.”
He was supposed to step away from her, but he did not. “It is gracious of you to tell me that.”
She smiled up at him, her eyes icy. “Complimenting me will not change my opinion of you, Guildford.”
“Then I suppose it is a good thing that I do not need your approval to marry your sister,” he chuckled.
Her smile remained, but she did not say anything more. Rhys thought he would feel triumphant after saying that, but something in her demeanor was telling him that she had won this argument.
She replaced her mask. "I thank you for your help,” she said over her shoulder as she started to move past him. Then she tripped.
Rhys caught her, and the breasts he had been staring at for a while pressed against his chest. He knew he could not allow her to leave.
