Chapter 2

Two

A sennight later

The Duke and Duchess of Selkirk's country estate

S eth Mowbray, Marquess Gulliver, squinted against the morning sun as the figure of a woman came into view.

The slip of a woman sat upon the grass at the edge of the creek. She had her knees tucked up under her skirts, and her bonnet and stockings lay beside her in the grass.

His breath caught when her face came into focus, and he quickened his stride. The woman was none other than Lady Constantine Hartley.

She turned her head toward him, and her gaze collided with his.

He offered a playful grin. "You doenjoy skirting propriety," he teased. His gaze traveled the length of her, pausing at her little round bare toes. He had a sudden urge to caress them as he directed his attention back to her lovely face. "Not that I am complaining." He added a wink for good measure.

She blushed, her peach toned skin taking on a rose-colored tint. "I hadn't expected to encounter anyone," she said as she reached for her stockings.

"You needn't dress on my account."

"I am hardly naked." She shot him a reprimanding look, her brows scrunched, and bow-shaped lips pursed as she shook her head.

"Mores the pity," he drawled as he moved closer.

Her cheeks flamed scarlet. Constantine averted her attention to the task at hand, her eyes trained on her stocking as she pulled it over her foot, then rolled it up her calf.

Seth suppressed a groan of longing as he lowered himself to sit beside her. "I did not mean to offend. I only meant to compliment you. You are a beautiful woman, lady Constantine. I can only imagine that you are even more breathtaking when you are not covered in muslin and fripperies."

"This is hardly a proper topic of discussion, my lord." She smiled. "All the same, I will thank you for the compliment and beg you to cease this line of conversation."

"Do you often spend time out-of-doors in bare feet?"

"Lord Gulliver!" She admonished.

Seth held up his hands in defeat. "Very well, what would you consider a proper topic for discussion?" He asked.

She worked to put her half-boots back on as she answered, "I am uncertain, but I doknow the previous topic is quiteimproper." She sighed, her shoulders rising and falling gently. "Perhaps we should discuss the weather?"

"How deadly dull." He shook his head. "You will have to do better than that."

She reached for her bonnet, and he watched with regret as she put iton. The wide brim shaded her face so thoroughly that he could no longer read the emotions in her warm golden-brown eyes.

His fingers twitched with the urge to remove the monstrous thing and let down her hair. He bet the honeyed curls would be silken beneath his touch.

"Hum..," she said on a breath, her chin tilting up. "We cannot discuss politics or other scholarly topics. Neither can we share gossip, or speak of private affairs. I'm afraid religion is also out of the question." She frowned and gave a slight shake of her head. "That brings us back to the weather."

She stood, then turned toward him. "It is a lovely day, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed," he drawled as he stood. "Join me for a walk, won't you?" He asked as he offered his arm.

Constantine rested her glove covered hand on his elbow.

"Why discuss the weather when there are so many more interesting things to talk about?" Seth challenged.

"Because ladies are not permitted to speak of those more interesting things."

"I won't tattle on you if you do." He turned his head, offering a wink. "You have my promise on that score."

"Oh! I've got it," she exclaimed. "As I recall, you never got to finish sharing your frog escapade with me, and I would so love to know how it ended."

He chuckled, her excitement at having found a proper topic of discussion lightening his heart. Desire sparked deep in his soul as he watched her.

Lord, she was a vision with her pink lips curved into a smile and eyes sparkling. He very much wanted to know her better.

He wanted to press his lips to hers too, but now was not the time. Instead, he said, "I shall confide in you, but only if you agree to tell me a story of your own once I have finished mine."

"Very well." She nodded.

Seth led her along the river's bank, the sun's rays warming his back as he began the tale. "As I said before, I brought a frog to dinner. He was a large, green hopper, and when I turned him loose, he took one grand jump, directly into my sister's lap."

Lady Constantine laughed as she had the last time he'd conveyed these details, only this time she had not stifled her laughter.

He was rather glad she hadn't for the sound of it tickled his soul, and he rather liked the way it made him feel. Light-hearted and playful, almost as if he were a boy again.

"Dorthy, my sister, was six and ten at the time. She is three years my senior and squealed like an overheated teapot as the creature landed. In an instant, she was out of her chair, running neck-or-nothing from the dining room."

"Did you get in much trouble?" Constantine asked, her expression turning sympathetic.

He gave a devilish grin. "Father and Mother scolded me and sent me to my room, but it scarcely stopped me from further shenanigans."

He slid her a sideways glance, reveling in the chagrin he saw etched across her heart-shaped face. "Your turn. What's the most mischievous thing you've ever done?"

She released an audible breath. "As a girl?"

He shook his head. "In your lifetime," he said. Then waited as she strolled beside him, seeming to ponder the question.

Constantine glanced over at the water flowing through the creek beside them. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten into anything so mischievous as your frog escapade."

"Come now. Surely there is something in your past."

"Very well. I once kicked one of my slippers off into the river that ran behind my house. Afterward, I pretended it had gotten lost."

He short her an incredulous glance. "I fail to see the mischief in that."

"I did it on purpose. The maids searched for it for days, but they never found the offensive thing."

"Why would you do that?" He looked at her, one brow raised in question.

"I preferred my boots." She grinned.

"And what of your siblings?" He asked, wishing to know more about her.

Constantine's face sobered. "I don't have any." She looked past him and continued. "I always wanted sisters, but Father never remarried after Mother passed away."

Seth drew her to a stop and stepped around in front of her. "How old were you when your mother died?" He knew he was prying and that he should not do so, but he could scarcely stop himself. Something about this woman captivated him. He wished to know her in a way he had never wanted to know anyone else.

"Seven," she said, her voice cracking. "After that, Father moved us to his country estate. He sequestered himself away, and me along with him."

The pain in her eyes tightened his chest, and he brought his hand to her face, cupping her cheek. "I am sorry."

"Don't be." She held his gaze, her back stiffening slightly. "It hasn't been all that bad. In fact, I find country life very much to my liking. It was only the loneliness that bothered me."

"I can well understand loneliness. I've had it in spades," Seth said, his hand still cupping her cheek. "I'd not compare my situation to yours as I had a family, but they had no use for me other than that I was the heir. I spent most of my time away at school or in the care of servants."

Her lips parted a fraction, then she darted her tongue out, wetting them. "It would seem we are kindred souls." She quickly added, "of a sort."

He could not stop himself any more than a starving man could resist a wayward morsel. In the fraction of a heartbeat, his lips were upon hers. His tongue tasting and probing the sweetness of her mouth.

Constantine wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him as their mouths slanted together. Seth had never experienced such electricity, such need, and longing, such all-encompassing desire.

God had made this woman for him. There could be no other explanation for how she affected him. No other reason why he would feel so compelled to be near her.

Constantine pushed away, severing their connection. "Someone is coming."

He reached for her, determined to pull her back into his arms, but she sidestepped.

Turning away, she nodded into the distance as the Duchess of Selkirk and her sister-in-law Lady Celia stepped from a clearing.

Constantine pivoted back to him and said, "I don't think they saw us." She blushed as she dipped a curtsy. "Good day, my lord."

"Wait—"

She shook her head, cutting him off, turned, then strolled toward the approaching ladies.

He could have told her, her lips were kiss-swollen. He could have told her thathe meant to have her. Seth should have straightened her bonnet, but he did none of those things.

Instead, he watched after her retreating form, an unrepentant grin stretching his lips.