“You’ve had worse than this? I do not believe you for an instant!” To disabuse him of the notion, she hurriedly took it to the wastebasket and dumped it.
His low laugh pulled a smile to her lips.
He grabbed the sole remaining apple. “Let’s share.”
She nodded, sauntered over, and rested her hip on the counter. The duke held the apple out to her, and she leaned forward and took a generous bite. He scowled, then glanced at the apple and back at her.
“What big teeth you have, Miss Danvers.”
Kitty giggled, crunching her generous portion hungrily. He then took a bite before holding it back out to her.
And they ate the apple like that, neither commenting on the fact that a knife rested on the stone counter, and he could easily have cut the fruit in half.
Chapter Twelve
A few minutes after breaking their fast with the apple, George had returned to the small cottage, to Kitty’s abject relief. To spend another night with the duke in the same bed had simply been too much to contemplate. She was sure something debauched and regretful would have happened. She would have been ruined and sad and, well…the duke would be himself, none less for the wear.
“Didna I tell ye no’ tae worry,” the coachman had said in a mocking thick brogue when he had returned. There had been a definite salacious twinkle in the man’s light hazel eyes as he’d glanced between her and the duke. Alexander hadn’t rebuked the coachman for the impudence. He had only smiled and informed the man it was fortunate he’d returned just now.
Kitty had sent them her fiercest scowl, to the coachman’s amusement. Then it had warmed her heart to observe the gruff way the coachman questioned Alexander if he were well, and the genuine love and concern in his eyes.
She’d simply accepted their unorthodox relationship, admired it, even.
The carriage that had collected her now rumbled along a rocky road, and the driver urged the horses with speed, uncaring of her posterior. The duke had elected to ride ahead on his stallion, and once again, Kitty did not mind the privacy his decision afforded her. Unfortunately, it gave her time to dwell on his wonderful kisses—she could still taste and feel him against her lips—the improper manner in which he had teased her, and the wicked desires he roused in her heart. She was still slightly annoyed with herself for letting her guard down with him in the cottage.
I can give you more pleasure than you dream of.
And foolishly, she wanted to explore with him. Reckless!
Still, Kitty closed her eyes, leaned her head against the squabs, and allowed herself to imagine kissing the duke endlessly. If she were thinking clearly or logically, she would have been urging her thoughts in the opposite direction. But it seemed the only place she could be with him so freely and wantonly was in her dreams, and she would shamelessly indulge.
After about thirty minutes of driving along the rough, muddied path, they entered a well-paved road with towering elm and beech trees on each side of the road. The long driveway was stately and well tended, the rolling lawns spied through the trees seeming to spread for miles. She moved aside the curtain covering the carriage window, her breath catching at the magnificent view ahead.
Kitty felt as if she’d entered a fairy tale.
She had expected a dark castle with crumbled walls, thinking the duke’s reclusiveness had meant he’d shut himself away from everything. How utterly wrong she’d been. The rolling lands the carriage rumbled past were breathtaking. The looming castle atop a slight incline, surrounded by verdant grass and flowers,
was a palace of dreams.
The carriage pulled into the grand courtyard some minutes later, and the steps to the coach were knocked down. The door opened, and the duke was there to assist her from the equipage. Kitty allowed him to help her, and once she was from the carriage, she stared about her in stunned wonder.
The harsh gray of the granite castle was offset by beautiful gardens decorated with classical fountains—sea nymphs frolicked around a statue of Neptune, and a stag worshipped at Diana’s feet.
Behind the exquisite castle, a sweeping lawn led down to the picturesque lake. Within the lake were many small islands that were bedecked with weeping willows and abundant greenery.
“This place is magnificent, Alexander. A paradise.”
Before he could respond, a squeal of surprise or perhaps excitement tugged Kitty’s gaze to the steps leading to the large oak door with a lion head knocker.
A young girl and a gentleman walked toward them, and in their fair coloring, Kitty saw a resemblance. They were both blond and quite beautiful. The girl wore a pale pink dress, her blond ringlets caught in a loose chignon with artful tendrils cascading to kiss against her shoulder. As she drew closer, the shocking blue of her eyes was a perfect reflection of the duke’s wicked gaze.
The young man beside her, while they shared the same blond hair and fair complexion, had eyes of a pale green, and they were filled with friendly welcome. Sudden self-consciousness bit at Kitty, and she ran her hand across the front of her wrinkled, deplorable gown.
“You are beautiful, always. I daresay even in a sack you would be ravishing,” the duke murmured.
“Outrageous nonsense,” she said under her breath. Deep down, though, she was so pleased, she could barely contain it.
He smiled and stepped forward as the couple arrived.