He froze in place as he realized what was happening, too shocked to kiss her back. After a moment, they both broke apart.
The two of them simply stared at each other for a long moment, both too stunned to speak.
Deborah had never been kissed before, and this was certainly not how she had imagined her first kiss was going to be. But as she brought her hand to touch her face, she felt a strange tingling sensation where the man’s lips had been just moments ago. There was a spark between them that was difficult to deny.
“My Lady, what on earth is the meaning of this?” The man was the first one to break the silence. His shock was now replaced with anger as he glared at Deborah.
Deborah shrugged her shoulders, opting to act nonchalant, even though her heart was thumping wildly in her chest.
“There is no meaning,” she replied casually. “However, I am glad that I finally have your attention.”
The man narrowed his eyes at her, and his face grew darker. “Was this your plan all along? I would never have guessed a woman who looks as innocent as you has been waiting here just to trap me.”
The Duke’s paranoia was growing by the minute. The kiss had caught him off-guard, and he had never met a woman bold enough to do so, unprompted. He eyed Deborah with suspicion, feeling his anger simmering beneath the surface.
“My plan?” Deborah repeated. “I merely acted on an impulse. It was a moment of spontaneity.”
“I do not believe you for a second,” he said, seemingly having forgotten all about Emma. “You must have heard that I am looking for a wife and have plotted this to trap me into a scandal. You should be ashamed of yourself, as no dignified woman would act this way.”
His insults plucked a raw nerve within Deborah and doubled down on her resolve to defend herself, not being one to back down. She folded her arms across her chest and stood up straighter, even though she was much shorter than him.
“You must think very highly of yourself,” she said firmly. “I assure you, I have no interest in trapping someone whose existence I was not aware of a few moments ago. Besides, I was here first, and you are the one that approached me.”
The Duke shook his head, not believing a word that was coming out of her mouth. “That is no excuse. You pounced on me. It is a manipulation of the highest order.”
Deborah was offended now. “So, not only do you think very highly of yourself, but you also live in delusion. I did not pounce on you. You simply invaded my personal space when you approached me, and I was curious.”
“Curious?” he repeated, baffled at both her boldness and her cavalier attitude towards the kiss.
“Why, yes,” she maintained. “I simply wanted to know what it feels like to kiss a man. It was out of curiosity. I have no intention of trapping you in a marriage.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“That is up to you,” Deborah said, sneakily glancing behind her to see if the couple was still inside the maze. To her relief, it appeared they had finally realized that someone was there and left. “However, as far as I am concerned, I do not wish to marry anyone.”
The Duke stared at her in stunned silence. The gears of his brain were working overtime. Everything that he knew to be true about women was being proven wrong by this strange lady that he had met moments ago.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Deborah interrupted him.
“In any case, I shall take my leave now. I must return to the ball, as I do not have all night to spend here talking to you. I wish you well.”
And with that, Deborah simply walked away, leaving the Duke staring behind her with his mouth agape.
CHAPTERTHREE
Inside the well-lit ballroom once again, the reality of what had just happened finally began to dawn on Deborah. She had put up a confident façade in front of the man she had just kissed, but now that she was surrounded by people once again, she wondered if she had done the right thing.
You promised Peter to guard the premises.
In fact, she had only done what was necessary out of a sense of duty. Surely a kiss was excusable in those circumstances.
Her bottom lip was still tingling, even though they had merely pecked, and Deborah realized that she did enjoy the sensation quite a lot.
It was a shame that she did not even know the name of the man whom she had just given her first kiss, a highly coveted prize when it came to a young lady like herself.
“There you are.” Nicholas’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts. “I was worried you had vanished into thin air. Where have you been?”
A mischievous smile spread across her face. “I was on a righteous mission. Of course, I cannot divulge too many details to you now, in case anyone overhears.”
