She’d grown up sheltered, but she’d learned many shocking things since coming to court. Still… Her curiosity couldn’t be denied. “Grey, do you mean to say she—with him—there in the cave? She wouldn’t.”
“I beg to differ. I’m sure she shares a room with another servant, which means she’s restricted in where she can acceptcompanionship. I’ve met the woman. She’s got a healthy appetite. And if the man she’s with is also sharing a room and it is currently occupied…” He shrugged.
“You bedded her.” Gads. She’d not meant it to come out so irritated and accusing. She had no right to be angry. It was none of her business who Grey had slept with.
“Not me. I swear.”
His blunt denial and the foolishly hopeful part of her that wanted to trust him overcame her sensible side, and she decided to believe him.
“Do you recognize the man?” Grey asked.
Madelaine squinted into the distance. “No, but they’re so far. Did you see the scars on his face?”
Grey nodded. “He dresses oddly.”
“Perhaps he’s from the village.”
“Perhaps.” Grey’s brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t have thought her to be a woman to give herself to a commoner though. She seemed rather scheming when I met her.”
Madelaine was dying to know exactly where Grey had met her, but they stood in silence as the chambermaid and her companion disappeared toward the castle. Once they were gone from sight, Grey swaggered ahead. She pressed her lips together on her curiosity. If he didn’t want to offer explanations, she had no right to ask. She had to double her steps to keep up with his long strides, but falling slightly behind had definite benefits. His breeches hugged his derriere and powerful thighs and his morning coat displayed his broad shoulders rather nicely. She was so busy staring at him that she forgot to watch where she was going and stubbed her toe on a broken tree branch. She bit down on her lip to avoid crying out, but she must have made some noise because Grey stopped.
“What’s the matter?”
There was no point in lying. Besides, she was a terrible liar. She tended to stammer when she lied. “I stubbed my toe.”
“Weren’t you watching where you walked?”
“Oh yes.” Half embarrassed and half irritated, she smirked. “I was indeed. I saw a rock and thought to myself ‘I’ll walk right into that to see if it hurts.’”
“Beautiful and sharp-witted. I like that.” He winked and continued with his swaggering.
The scoundrel! He knew she’d been staring at him. Grey stooped down at the edge of the lake under the same tree the queen had stopped to rest under. “You paused here?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“The flattened footsteps lead here in a pattern that shows someone was walking, but here they become jumbled together and unless you were all walking into each other, you had to have stopped.” He looked around and stood before walking to the tree the queen had sat under. “Did Queen Charlotte rest here?”
“Yes. We put a stool there for her. Oh! And she took her gloves off here!” Madelaine rushed over to where Grey was bent over. He reached down and came up with the queen’s ring grasped in his fingers. The ruby stone shined in the sunlight. “You found it!” Overcome with gratitude, she threw herself into his arms.
The force of her collision sent their bodies swaying backwards toward the tree, and for a breath, she thought they would fall in a tangle of arms and legs. Grey’s grunt rumbled in her ear as his solid arms encircled her waist and pulled her firm and tight against a wall of hard muscle. He righted them but made no move to release her.
Embarrassment heated her as she stared at his chest. “I’m sorry. I was overcome with excitement. Thank you.” Too mortified by her impulsive actions to look at him, she tried to pull away, but his arms tightened like bands of steel around her waist.
She glanced up.
Amusement danced and flickered in his gaze, and pleasure tipped up the corners of his mouth. “If you don’t want me to have thoughts of seducing you, then you cannot go throwing yourself into my arms. You’re quite simply irresistible.”
The world around her grew quiet and murky, and then one thought crystallized. He thought her irresistible. She was the oddball. The lady who did not fit in. She had to say something and cease staring like a simpleton. “You’re irresistible too.” Gads! What a stupid silly thing to say.
A strange glint filled Grey’s eyes. He ran a finger down her cheek. “I want to kiss you very badly.”
“Go on then.” Her heart hammered with her bold words. “Kiss me.”
He cupped her chin causing a tremor to run through her body. Grey stroked her lips with a thumb, and deep inside a pulsing need awoke. He leaned down until his lips almost touched hers. “You’re sure?”
She’d never been surer of anything in her life. “I’m certain.”
“And you believe I want more than to seduce you?”
