“Have no fear. After raising three sons, my mother is not easily overset by anything, even horrible creatures of the outdoors. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows the truth is only playing along.” He glanced her way. “But I am sure she would love to have you call upon her again, if you so desire.”
“Oh, well, as to that...” Victoria murmured.
“As you wish. Now, tell me what brought such foul words out of your mouth that Daisy feared for her hide.” Taviston came to a standstill and pinned her with a determined look.
This conversation had been going so well. She had truly never seen Taviston so relaxed. If she told him the truth, she knew the goodwill between them would blow away in the wind. But what was the point in lying? It didn’t matter now, nor had it ever, what Charles, the Duke of Taviston, thought of her.
“It was the sight of you,” she said without further preamble.
An odd look distorted his features for a few seconds and then he burst out laughing. He laughed hard. And long. And loud. Victoria glanced around them and noticed more than a few heads turning their way.
As Taviston laughed on, he glanced once at Victoria. The sight of her apparently sent him into another fit of laughter, leaving him doubled over at the waist. Soon he was trying to control his mirth just so he could inhale great gulps of air.
At first Victoria was taken aback, but as his unexplained amusement dragged on, her patience began to ebb. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him.
Eventually he was able to control himself, though hilarity still swam through his tear-moistened eyes. He said, with no amount of seriousness at all, “I am sorry.”
“Hardly,” Victoria said sharply. “What is so amusing?”
She saw him try, valiantly, to erase the grin from his face, but he couldn’
t quite do it. “It is only that my reaction to the sight of you on the horse path was much the same. Although I daresay my speech was much more colorful.”
Her irritation all but vanished. A smile crept over her lips as she realized the humor inherent in the situation. And drat it all, he looked so sexy and young and carefree when he laughed. The two sides of the duke crystallized before her eyes. There was the staid, serious aspect he showed to society and then there was this other, much more human side. She would wager not many saw this part of his personality.
The two of them stood smiling at each other for the longest minute. Finally, a loud snort and the stamping of a hoof by Excalibur brought them both back to the here and now.
“We had best continue on, Miss Forster.” Taviston had curiously cleared his face of any expression.
They fell in step together again, exited the park and headed toward the Brownes’ house via some of the smaller lanes. They had decided to avoid busy Oxford Street.
The conversation was pleasant; they talked about different social events, discussed the king’s condition, and even touched on the war with France. Before Victoria knew it, they approached Somerset Street. She abruptly halted at the corner and Taviston had no choice but to do so as well.
“I believe Timothy and I can safely make it from here,” she said with a smile, hoping he would acquiesce without an argument. While she was certain neither Louisa nor Mr. Browne would be awake to witness her arrival at No. 6 with the Duke of Taviston, at least one servant, most probably Morgan, would certainly note the event.
“I am sure you could, but I agreed to see you home and this is not your home,” he stubbornly retorted.
Victoria let out a small sigh. She put on her best pleading expression and looked into his eyes. His lovely grey eyes. “Please.”
He sighed loudly and consented with a nod. “Very well.”
Stepping closer to her, he continued, “But first, let me apologize for my words of the other day. I do not think you are a woman of loose morals, nor should I have said so.”
“Then why did you?” Victoria asked, boldly looking him in the eye.
“Why?”
“Yes, why?” she said, now impatient for his answer.
He looked at her for a long moment before resignation settled his features into a frown. “I wished to bring out that glorious spark in your beautiful eyes.”
She had no reply for some time, but never took her eyes from his face. No one, not even her father, had ever declared any part of her beautiful and so she did not feel the slightest twinge of guilt at basking in the moment.
Eventually she cleared her throat and spoke, though she skirted around acknowledging his compliment. “I want to thank you for rescuing me. I truly appreciate it.”
She glanced around and noted that no one was about, nor did Timothy pay them any mind at the moment. Using his arm to balance herself on her tiptoes, she reached her lips up to his cheek. She placed a soft kiss there, marveling briefly at the slightly rough texture.
Marching smartly past the oblivious Timothy, she proceeded around the corner to Somerset Street.