The Duke looked at her lips, and he ached to touch them, but he did not want to ruin the night.
Another slight breeze blew between them, and a lock of hair fell over Bridget’s face. The Duke took action and pushed the lock of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
How dare it obscure her beauty!
Bridget stared back at him with a look that was easy to decipher. She wanted the kiss, too.
The Duke was careful. He waited to be sure. He did not want to rush and scare her off. He was about to lean in to test the waters when Bridget’s eyes widened, and she flinched.
“I must go,” she said suddenly.
The Duke nodded, disappointed but understanding.
Bridget leaped up as if a fire had been lit beneath her. She looked the Duke in the eye once more before she turned to flee.
“And Mr. Peaches?” he called.
Bridget stopped and spun around, coming back to retrieve the cat. When she bent down to lift Mr. Peaches, her face came close to the Duke’s again, and she hesitated. The Duke waited for her to come to him this time, but she did not.
Bridget stood back up and took the cat back toward the house.
Nicholas was disappointed, but he was overjoyed, too. He had not become intimate with Bridget or even kissed her, but he could not remember a night as enjoyable as that one in a long time. He did not know what would come next with Bridget, but he was excited to find out.
CHAPTER19
Good Morning
Bridget felt tired as she walked toward the breakfast room, but her excitement overrode her fatigue. She should not have been excited to see the Duke again, but she was. All she had been able to think about before going to sleep and upon waking up was how they had almost kissed.
That was not the scandalous part. The scandalous part was that she had wanted it—it had taken every ounce of her strength not to kiss him. Yet, the more she thought about it, the more she could not think of a reason why she did not want to kiss him.
Bridget caught Margaret’s eye as she approached the breakfast room. Her mother was there too. Even though she was excited to see the Duke again, she was glad to have more time to compose herself and have some food before he spoke to him.
Bridget entered the breakfast room and smiled at her sister and mother.
“Good morning, Lady Bridget.”
Bridget spun around to find the Duke and his brother sitting at the table on the side closest to the wall. She had not seen them as she entered, but she saw them now, and she could not help staring at the Duke.
“Oh, yes, good morning,” she replied when she had composed herself.
She looked away from the Duke for fear she might blush, and she took her place beside Margaret, glancing over at the Duke as she sat to see him looking back at her with a small smile on his face.
Bridget focused on the basket of bread in the middle of the table to take her mind off him. She reached forward and took a slice, then scooped some butter from the bowl with her knife and spread it over the bread. She was not very hungry, but she ate anyway, or she might look suspicious.
“Mr. Peaches came back!” Margaret informed her.
“Oh, that is certainly good news.” Bridget smiled faintly. “Where was he?”
“I don’t know where he went, but he was in my room this morning when I woke up. I shall have to be more careful around him.”
“I am glad he is back,” Bridget replied.
She had been very quiet the previous night when she had slipped the cat back into her sister’s room and was glad not to have woken her.
“I thought I heard someone walking around the house last night,” Penelope noted. “Did you hear anything, Bridget?”
Bridget wanted to look over at the Duke but used the same restraint she had used with him after walking around the house. “I didn’t hear anything, Mother.”
