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Chapter Eleven
Antony jumped back as far as he could from Lady Hermione, and she hurried to stand straight against the wall and fix her hair. The door opened, revealing the face of the butler.
“Ah, Mr. Harris,” Antony tried his best to affect a nonchalant tone, “it was Lady Hermione after all, just taking in the sea air.” She nodded in agreement with him.
“I see.” Mr. Harris did not look convinced though he had the decency to try and hide the smile playing upon his features as he opened the door wider for them to step inside.
Antony gestured for Lady Hermione to go in first. She hurried in and headed straight to the stairs, just as he lingered at the bottom, watching her go. Mr. Harris closed the door behind them. When she was halfway up the stairs, she paused and looked back to him. The connection of their eyes made something in his chest jolt.
What is happening to me?He’d felt such a jolt before but not for many years. He didn’t want to feel such things again; they were dangerous.
The look between him and Lady Hermione did not draw a smile from either of them, but there was something in the intensity of their gazes that made him long to follow her up those stairs straight to her chamber. She looked away and walked up the steps. He had to take hold of the newel post at the bottom of the stairs, practically stopping himself from the temptation to follow her.
As she disappeared across the landing, he moved through the hallway, taking the book he had discarded on the table nearby and carrying it back to the library with him. However, as he sat down to read, none of the words went in. His mind was in a much more interesting place. He was thinking of what could happen if Lady Hermione were not a respectable daughter of an Earl. If she were one of the ladies at the gentlemen’s club, he could more than happily indulge in his desire for her.
Such thoughts filled his mind with images, thoughts where she was in this library with him, perhaps splayed on the rug beneath him as he made love to her beside the heat of the fire. He could picture it now, with that golden hair fanning her face, her body arching against him, those beautiful eyes staring up at him as he pleasured her.
He snapped the booked closed, realizing just what he was doing. He hadn’t pictured making love to Lady Hermione at the club, buthere.In his own house. This he could not allow to happen.
He had to start putting distance between them. For the next couple of days, he decided it would be best to spend his time out of the house, on day trips, errands for the dukedom, anything at all. If he could busy his mind enough with other things, then perhaps, just maybe, he would stop thinking of Lady Hermione.
I pray it may work.
* * *
Hermione felt a genuine smile take over her face. For the first time in days, she was not worrying about the past nor worrying about the Duke of Benson either. She was merely thinking of the game of shuttlecock she was playing with Phoebe.
“My point again,” Phoebe declared with delight as she swiveled the spindly racket in the air.
“It was indeed,” Hermione laughed, picking up the feathered shuttlecock from the floor with her free hand. Rather pleasingly, the sun was out, giving the two of them a good reason to escape the house and enjoy themselves.
“It is so good to see you smile so,” Phoebe said, gesturing to her face with the racket. Hermione’s smile grew even greater as she walked around her sister in the garden.
“It feels good to smile so again,” she agreed, tossing the shuttlecock in the air and hitting it back to her sister, only Phoebe didn’t hit a return, and it fell to the lawn. “I think that was my point.” Hermione’s smile faltered, just as she saw Phoebe’s expression. She lifted the racket once more and pointed behind Hermione.
Hermione slowly turned around to see exactly what her sister had been pointing at. Her father and Cordelia were hurrying toward her, out of the house and through the flower borders.
“Oh dear, well it was a nice illusion of freedom whilst it lasted,” she sighed, passing the racket to Phoebe, knowing that was the end of her fun today.
“What are you doing?” the Earl seethed in a whisper as he reached her side.
“I was having fun with my sister,” Hermione declared quite happily.
“And whilst you have been having fun, His Grace has spent the last three days out of this house,” Rufus summarized succinctly. Behind him, Cordelia was nodding eagerly in agreement. “How do you think it fares for your conquest of him?”
“Conquest?” Hermione repeated in disgust before throwing up her hands in the air, pleading with her father to listen. “Father, he has been attending to his tenants and to business. What do you wish me to do? Plead with him to take me with him?”
“Yes,” Rufus said with a firm nod.
“Oh, dear, that might be quite improper,” Cordelia said softly, coming up to Hermione and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“Thank you, Aunt,” Hermione said, thinking her aunt had come to agree with her.
“No, I mean, it might be best if you ask him sweetly to show you the area, not beg him to take you with him,” Cordelia pointed out. She somehow said all the words with a gentle tone and a kind smile, softening Hermione’s objection to the idea.
“Maybe tomorrow,” she said, turning back to Phoebe in the hope that they could continue their game.
“No, today,” Rufus’ sharp voice brooked no refusal and made Hermione fall still. “The carriage is being prepared again for his departure. Go to him. Now.”
