A Duke's Temptation Read Free Page B

opinion.”
    He looked completely unconcerned. “I wouldn’t have even come here tonight if I didn’t know how much you loved your books. Have your evening, Lily. But know that I’m counting the hours until we share a bed. Give me a kiss for luck before I go.”
    “Where are you going?” she asked in vexation.
    “I just told you. Kirkham and I have been invited upstairs for cards.”
    She lifted her face covertly, then pulled away, aware of an attractive gentleman lounging against the wall. He was dressed as a knight, and although he was too far away to hear what she and Jonathan were discussing, his insolent stare indicated that he found their encounter amusing.
    How long had he been watching them?
    A strange prickle of warmth stole down her neck into her white-plumed bodice. She forced her attention back to Jonathan’s reassuring face. “Don’t be late for the unmasking. Put the crown on before you come back.”
    He nodded. “Stay where Chloe can keep an eye on you until then. I promise I won’t be long. And, Lily—don’t let any rakes steal you while I’m gone.”

Chapter 3
    L ily smiled ruefully at Jonathan’s parting remark. He could be overly protective at times and utterly oblivious at others. As if she would let a rake ruin her evening. In the first place, the only gentlemen she had met at the party had expressed more interest in the fine arts than the amorous ones. Which was what one would expect at a literary affair.
    Furthermore, it would take an unprincipled scoundrel to pursue a lady in such elite company. If the unthinkable happened and she found herself accosted by a rogue, her cousin would come to her rescue.
    The viscountess had been Lily’s official chaperone in London over the past two months and had confided openly in Lily about her past experiences with the opposite sex. A dedicated wife and mother now, Chloe freely admitted that she had not only caused but courted a few scandals in her day. She seemed to regard it as her penance to guard a country relation like Lily from succumbing to the same temptations.
    What those temptations had been Lily could only guess. She suspected the greatest of them had been Dominic Breckland, Chloe’s brooding viscount.
    Lily spotted Chloe talking to yet another pair of gentlemen, neither of whom was her husband, who had refused to wear a costume. “Lily!” she called gaily. “Don’t stand there all alone like a little lost duckling! Come and meet two of my dearest friends.”
    Lily shrugged helplessly. Guests hemmed her in at every angle. She straightened to squeeze toward an opening to escape, only to be bumped forward into the next person in line. Lily was not a petite person. She played a strong game of bowls and ate generous meals. She could have given the rude guest a return shove with her rear end that would have knocked him back a few yards. Instead, she craned her neck and attempted to catch Chloe’s attention to signal her inability to move.
    “Would somebody be so kind as to—”
    She broke off. No one was paying any notice except the insouciant scoundrel leaning against the wall, who appeared to be enjoying her dilemma. She glanced up at him amid the tricornered hats and frilly caps and bewigged heads that bobbed back and forth before her.
    Some sort of spear stood at his side. If he was supposed to be a knight, he struck Lily as more wicked than chivalrous. His lithe figure conveyed a leashed energy that she could feel across the room. He kept nodding at whatever was being said to him.
    But his eyes glittered at Lily from the slits of his black silk mask. A lady’s hand reached through the crowd to caress his shoulder. To Lily’s amazement, he showed no reaction to this impropriety. It did not appear to provoke him in the least. Nor did he seem pleased by it. But then Lily had let Jonathan kiss her on the cheek, and she had pretended not to notice in the hope no one else would either.
    Don’t let any rakes steal you while I’m