“We are squabbling in circles,” she gasped in reply, her voice strained.
Their panting breaths mingled in the narrow gap between them, and with a slow shake of his head, he rested his brow against hers. At any second, he expected her to shove him backward or walk away, but she did not. She stayed there, pressing her palm to his chest, closing her eyes with a sad serenity, as if he had kissed her after all.
And as they stood there in the quiet of the warm night, he suddenly remembered what it was he had called out to her for.
“Valery,” he whispered. “That story I told you about my brother…”
I want you to understand why I cannot end your struggle for you. I want you to know that I would never want to hurt you, and that is why I do not trust myself enough to marry you…
“Yes?” she murmured back, her eyes still closed.
He swallowed thickly. “I mentioned it because?—”
An explosion of drunken laughter jolted them apart, their heads twisting in unison to find the source of the sound. In the distance, a cluster of gentlemen stumbled across the lawns, carrying bottles and glasses, continuing the day’s celebrations. They were too far away to discern any particular faces, but if Duncan could see them, they would soon see the pair.
“Go,” he rasped. “Go, now.”
Valeria did not need to be told twice. Blanched of color, she hitched up her skirts and ran for the safety of the manor, while Duncan kept his eyes on the inebriates. It did not appear as if they had seen anything, but he meant to be sure.
Fixing a smile to his face, he set off toward them, praying with all his might that he had not just ripped Valeria’s reputation to ribbons.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
After a stressful night of worrying and cursing her stupidity, pleading with the heavens that she would suffer no devastating consequences for her misstep, Valeria walked out into the warm morning with her mind made up.
I will ignore him completely. I will pretend we are strangers again, unknown to one another.
The push and pull between them had become too much. It was exhausting, and if she continued to play that game of emotional, confusing tug-of-war, it would only tangle her mind into greater knots until, eventually, she would not be able to unravel them.
“Have you heard?” Roger came bounding up to her, carrying the refreshed air of someone who hadnottossed and turned all night.
Fanning herself, Valeria humored him, briefly grateful that the first man she had seen was not Duncan. “Heard what, dear viscount?”
“We are to have a treasure hunt!” He grinned boyishly; it was so endearing that she began to remember why she had liked him as an acquaintance in the first place.
“Goodness, are we really?” A very real prickle of excitement ignited her own childish delight. “I cannot remember the last time I went on a treasure hunt. Oh, this is good news indeed! And the grounds are so expansive, it is bound to last a fair while.”
Roger nodded, lowering his gaze in a shy expression. “I… had hoped that you might partner with me, Miss Maxwell. We are to search for the clues in pairs, you see, and… well, I wanted to make sure that no one got to you ahead of me.”
“No one has,” she told him, smiling.
I could be happy with such a man, could I not?She decided not to answer that for herself, preferring delusion.
“It is just that… well, I know you were conversing a great deal with William last night, and he has made no secret of his interest.” Roger paused, chewing his lower lip in consternation. “I fear that I have not been the best suitor that I could be, Miss Maxwell, and I should like to remedy that.”
Valeria resisted the urge to pat him on the back as if he were a child in need of reassurance. “You have been perfectly pleasant, Lord Campbell.”
“But I have not,” he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I can and I will do better, Miss Maxwell, to be worthy of your acquaintance. You gave me a lot to think about after the last ball we attended together. Since that night, I…” He gave an awkward laugh that colored his cheeks. “Well, the truth is, since that night I have been reading all about steam engines.”
She stared at him, her mouth falling open. He had mentioned nothing of such research at the luncheon yesterday. Indeed, he had not said much to her at all while they dined, though perhaps that had more to do with the fact that William had monopolized her attention with his champagne-fueled ramblings.
“It is fascinating,” he continued, almost wincing at her, as if expecting a dismissive reply. “Of course, I understand that you have other interests, but… if you would like to discuss steam engines, we can do so as we hunt for clues.”
Valeria could not stop the laugh that bubbled up the back of her throat and spilled out onto the terrace, turning Roger’s wince into a wide-eyed look of utter dismay.
“You donotwant to?” he asked flatly.
She shook her head, fanning the heat of her amusement away with greater vigor. “I should be glad to, Lord Campbell. I was not laughing at you, I promise. I was… so charmed that I could nothelp but giggle, for you do not know how long I have wished a gentleman would say that to me.”
