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As she had mentioned the two characters of him in her mind, he felt like he fought them as well. One part of him wanted to whisk her away to some private place to have her as he pleased. The other part of him simply wanted to enjoy her company, to make her laugh, to tease her. Even in her moment of anger, facing him in fury, he wanted to kiss her.
Once they came upon the lake, he realized that he had been absorbed in his thoughts. Lydia was pointing up to a window on the house. “I think that would be my rooms, there.”
“You would be right,” Michael said, following her gaze. He pointed to the windows the floor above hers. “Those would be mine.”
He had been intentional in having her so close to him in the manor. When he invited her out, he thought perhaps that he could try to initiate a tryst between them. However, now, he felt guilty in the thought, despite how much he wanted it. She was so innocent, so pure.
“Your Grace?”
He looked back to Lydia. “Hmm?”
“You are staring into air,” she pointed out. “What is on your mind?”
For a moment, he wanted to tell her exactly what he was thinking, but seeing Kitty and Joseph watching as well, he held his tongue.
“Where shall we go next?” he asked.
* * *
“What has come over him?” Kitty demanded, pacing the floor. “He has never been like this, fawning over a girl.”
“I think he’s just having a bit of fun,” Joseph responded. Sitting on the couch in her sitting room, he watched as his fiancée seethed, confused.
“He said he only meant to figure out the rumor, not court her. I don’t understand.”
“There’s no harm in him getting to know her.”
“What do you think his game is?” she asked, pausing to stare out the window.
“Who knows? Maybe he wants the papers to think the engagement is real, so that she is not embarrassed by him exposing her,” he explained. “Maybe he met her and realized that he wanted to help her, after all.”
“Help her how?”
“She needs an advantageous match,” he said, leaning his arm over the back of the couch to turn to look at her. “She is a nice enough girl, except for this rumor she started. Why shouldn’t he help her?”
She turned quickly, the expression on her face cold. “He could fall for her, after all!”
Laughing boisterously, he said, “Then you do not know my cousin at all. Whatever his game is, I can promise you, he will not fall for her, and moreover, he will not be marrying her.”
She came back around the couch and sat next to him, pouting.
He took her hand in his and caressed her knuckles. “At the end of two weeks, Lady Lydia will be back in London, and everything will be as it once was again.”
He kissed the back of her hand. Kitty relaxed slightly, smiling at his caresses.
“I can see your dislike for her, and I’m sure she can too. May I suggest that you at least try to get to know her? She is the daughter of a viscount, after all. Even if she doesn’t marry Michael.”
“Do not tell me you are asking me to be friends with her,” she pouted.
“I am. You grew up as a commoner, Kitty. You must learn to play the game of theton, understand the politics, the intrigue. You cannot just wear your heart on your sleeve and expect everyone to cater to your whims.”
“I do not wear my heart on my sleeve!”
“Just try, for once, not to look like you want to spit in Lady Lydia’s face. If you can do that, I might believe you. I’m just trying to help you.”
“Fine,” she agreed. “I still do not see why we should let him keep entertaining her alone, though, it isn’t proper.”
“He is the duke, so what he says, goes. So, next time he asks us to entertain ourselves, I suggest we do as he wishes.”
