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Evie gave a self-derisive snort. Of course, it was an unprecedented response. How could it be anything else when she rarely saw any gentlemen under the age of fifty!
Indeed, the only men she saw on a regular basis were the local vicar and doctor when they came to call upon Lady Margaret. Both those gentlemen were aged in their late fifties. The vicar was unmarried, but far too old and only interested in having Evie confess to sins she hadn’t committed. The doctor was a married man with four children and sixteen grandchildren, all of them older than her.
“You find this situation amusing?”
Evie turned to glare at the cause of her recent embarrassment and confusion of feelings.
Yes, the duke might be handsome as the devil, but he was also haughty and unpleasant. So much so that Evie had no explanation as to why she should have experienced arousal whilst laying across his thighs having her bottom spanked.
She made a mental note to ask Lady Margaret about it when she next saw the lady who had been her sole companion and confidante these past five years.
Merely thinking of that stern, yet kind lady was a stark reminder of the worry Evie must have caused Lady Margaret when she left Lincoln Grange in the middle of the night almost three weeks ago. Let alone when she had later learned of Evie’s abduction by vagabonds.
“Not in the least,” she snapped. “Now, if you have quite finished posturing, perhaps you could cut me loose and we can return to Lincoln Grange so that I might reassure Lady Margaret of my well-being and take a much-needed bath.” In the face of the duke’s impeccable appearance, despite his having recently been taken prisoner by her kidnappers, Evie was more aware than ever of the scantness of the brief washes she had been allowed for the weeks of her capture.
* * *
Posturing?
Posturing!
Dear God, Hunter believed this girl was going to be the death of him. Either from his having to constantly attempt to restrain his sexual responses to her or because he had to use that same restraint trying not to strangle her for her impertinence!
A realization which in no way diminished the physical arousal he had difficulty controlling when in her company. He did not relish the thought of having a constant cockstand for as long as he was forced to reside in Yorkshire. Which meant he needed to resolve this situation as quickly possible.
“I am more than ready to return,” he assured grimly, then turned to his men. “Round up these gentlemen and escort them back to Lincoln Grange with us. Without harming any of them,” he added in harsh warning when one of the armed men instantly pushed one of the kidnappers by thrusting the butt of his rifle into the other man’s back. “If you would care to be seated in the carriage, Evelyn, I will drive you home.” He used the knife from his boot to cut the rope secured about her waist.
Her brows rose. “Youwill?”
“Once I have harnessed the horses, that is exactly what I will be doing, yes,” he answered evenly.
She eyed him mockingly. “I am surprised you know how.”
“You have made your feelings obvious as to what you perceive to be my lack of ability in several areas,” he acknowledged coolly. “If you please.” He held out his arm to her, as if the two of them were in a London ballroom rather than a cold, damp forest in the middle of Yorkshire.
Evie obviously did not please, because instead of placing her hand on his arm, she chose to stride unaccompanied across the campsite to where the carriage and horses waited.
Yes, without a doubt, this young woman might indeed prove to be the death of me!
CHAPTERSIX
“Lady Margaret, what does it mean when a woman becomes…moist in a gentleman’s presence?” Evie had waited until after she had thoroughly washed her hair and was luxuriating in a hot and scented bath in her bedchamber at Lincoln Grange before asking this question.
They had arrived back at the house an hour ago. Despite the unevenness of the ground, the duke had no difficulty driving the carriage through the woods and along the muddy tracks to Lincoln Grange.
Lady Margaret had rushed out into the drive to greet them by the time Evie had stepped down from the carriage. She hadn’t left Evie’s side since, seeming to need the comfort of being in her presence in order to feel assured she really was back safe and sound.
The older woman had been in her element as she directed the butler and maids to bring a bathtub and water upstairs to Evie’s bedchamber. They had placed the former in front of the fire, then filled it with the hot water. She had ordered Evie’s dirty clothing be taken away by one of the maids and burned.
Although that dear lady now looked more than a little discomposed after hearing Evie’s question. “Moist?” she repeated cautiously.
A blush warmed Evie’s cheeks. During the past five years, due to there being no other females in the household she could ask, she had necessarily bombarded Lady Margaret with questions that dear lady would probably rather not have been the one to answer. The ones after Evie’s courses began had possibly been the most awkward.
To date.
Their current conversation threatened to replace it at the head of that long list. “Between my legs,” she explained when the older lady still looked puzzled. “What does it mean when you become very hot and wet down there when in a man’s presence?”
Lady Margaret’s eyebrows rose to her hairline. “I trust you were not forced into allowing any of the men who abducted you into taking liberties? If so, I am sure the duke will ensure they are made to suffer for their actions.”
