Chapter 6 #2
Not only did she recognize the lilt in his tone, but Theo could feel the Duke standing behind her.
As much as she wanted to turn to him, she refused to give in so readily.
He came around the bench and sat next to her.
Her eyes flew to her sister and Maria before they landed on him.
Theodora’s breathing shallowed when she saw the Scarlet Duke’s full face without it half hidden beneath a mask.
She hated to admit that he was handsome.
Too handsome.
The Duke smirked. “Do not worry, sorceress. Your research is safe with me. I shall not put you in any danger.” His body leaned ever-so-slightly towards her and whispered, “Unless you want me to.”
Her cheeks heated as she made to stand up.
His hand shot out, covertly grabbing her hand to hold it to the bench. “Calm down, Miss Dowell. I do not wish to ruin anyone’s reputation. I am sorry if I gave you any indication that was my motive.”
She pulled her hand from underneath his and held it in her lap. Her hand felt as if it was on fire. She kept glancing at it to make sure there was nothing amiss with it.
Why does this man cause such distress within my body?
“What is your motive, then?”
The Duke stretched his long legs out in front of him as he laid his arm along the back of the bench. His fingertips just grazed her shoulder, sending tingles down her spine. Theodora inched closer to her side of the bench until the arm rest dug into her side.
“You need my help, remember?”
Theodora barked out a very unladylike laugh causing a passing couple to gawk at her. She covered her mouth and dipped her eyes in apology.
“I do not need your help, Your Grace,” she whispered. “I am doing just fine with my studies.” She lifted her chin proudly.
The Duke drew her attention to a cove of trees where the Earl of Bixby was wiping his brow. “Not according to the dear old Earl over there.”
Theodora blushed. “Well, he should know it is rude to repeat conversations to others who were not involved.”
The Scarlet Duke smirked. “I will be sure to tell him the woman studying the effects of love and physical touch on men would like to have a word with him about social etiquette.”
Theodora turned her head so quickly to face him that her head spun. “You wouldn’t!”
He clucked his tongue. “No,” he admitted. “Like I said, I am not here to ruin your reputation. I am here to help, which you so plainly need.”
Theodora looked down at her notebook. Other than her interactions with the infuriating man next to her, she really did not have much luck inciting any other reactions with the men with whom she had spoken.
“Being purely speculative, how would you go about helping me?”
Her companion licked his lips, and Theodora’s eyes dropped to them. Every waking hour she had imagined how they would have tasted. She shook her head and the Duke nodded to the approaching group of women.
“Watch and learn how I can simply talk to these women and garner a reaction out of each and every one of them.”
Theodora rolled her eyes. “Highly doubtful. You are not that charismatic.”
“Ah ha! You admit I am somewhat charismatic.” He winked as he stood slowly and approached the women.
Theodora did not have time to respond, and he was already introducing himself to them.
She watched with rapt attention as sure enough each woman blushed when he complimented them. The ladies giggled as he shamelessly flirted. One woman even found a reason to touch his arm. His laughter rang through the air and caused Theodora to shift in her seat.
Perhaps having a rake as an assistant for my studies would not be such a bad idea.
He threw a glance over his shoulder in her direction.
When their eyes connected, a smile lit his face before he turned back to the young women all vying for his attention.
Theodora dropped her eyes and tried to control her suddenly elevated breathing.
The tips of his boots appeared in her vision, and she looked up to see him standing in front of her.
“Each one of them asked if I would be at the next ball,” he said smugly as he took his place next to her, closer than before.
“Since I was not with you, and was not able to observe, I can only assume you bribed them,” she said primly.
The Duke let out a laugh that shook her senses to their very core and had her losing her breath again.
“That tongue of yours, sorceress, will one day get you into a lot of trouble.” His voice dropped low.
She risked looking at him out of the corner of her eye. She did not know what he meant by that statement but by the way he was looking at her, she could take a guess. Her stomach flipped and she adjusted the way she sat. She was suddenly uncomfortable on this old wooden bench.
He fully turned to her and Theo held her breath.
“How about we make a trade?”
“A trade?” She allowed her body to turn slightly towards him. But not too much, because they were out in public at Hyde Park, after all.
He dipped his head. “I know your secret.” He nodded to her book. “And so far, I have told no one—”
“How do I know you did not tell anyone?” She interrupted.
The Duke looked at her with furrowed brows. “This is the ton, sorceress. If I told someone, everyone would be talking about it.”
Theodora scrunched her nose. He had a point.
“Now, as I was saying, I kept your secret and offer my assistance with it. Now you can find out a secret of mine and help me with it.”
Theodora sat up in surprise. He was right about the ton and its ability to keep secrets, or, that is, its inability to keep secrets. If the Duke had a secret, it must be one of immense importance.
“What do you need help with?”
He corrected his posture and returned to facing front. “For that, you will need to come to my home.”
Theodora’s hand flew to her mouth. “I think not! We have had this discussion before. I do not want to move on to the phys-”
He sat with that blasted rakish smile tickling his lips as he held up a hand and looked back at her. “I keep my word, sorceress. I wish you no harm...or pleasure.”
Theodora gulped audibly as she imagined what pleasures such a man as him could offer.
“The secret has to do with my sister,” he continued.
His jovial smirk disappeared and Theodora sat straighter.
“Your sister? I did not know you have a sister.”
He dipped his chin. “I do and I need help with her. She is physically fine, mind you, but she is…” His words dropped, leaving Theodora scrambling to fill in the blanks.
“I do not understand. How can I help her?” She frowned at him.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “That I cannot say, but I have tried everything else.”
Theodora caught movement just past the Duke. Evelina and Maria must have finally noticed who was occupying the bench next to her. She did not have much time before they decided to come and break up their conversation.
“May I think about it?” she said hurriedly.
“Of course, sorceress. But do not take too long. I like challenges, but I am also not a patient man.” His eyes darkened causing Theodora to shift in her seat once again.
“I am curious about you, Scarlet Duke.” She tilted her head as if she were summing him up.
He chuckled. “As I am of you. I am also curious to know what you have truly written about our last encounter.”
His hazel eyes travelled the length of her body and although she felt uncomfortable when other men did it, she felt exhilarated when he surveyed her.
The Duke of Hawthorne stood suddenly and adjusted the sleeves of his coat. With each pull, the material stretched over his lean muscles and caused her stomach to dip in a very pleasant way as she remembered how his hands felt wrapped around her waist.
Theodora barely noticed that Maria and Evelina arrived until the Duke bowed slightly and excused himself.
“What was that about?” Evelina inquired as she sat next to Theo.
Lying was something Theo despised, even more so since learning of her father’s extramarital affair but for the sake of her study, and the Duke’s own secret, she erred on the side of caution. She lied.
“He was just commenting about the weather.” She tipped her head back and looked at the looming clouds.
Maria laughed. “The weather? Does the Duke think it will rain?”
Theodora shrugged absently. “I honestly could not tell you because my mind was somewhere else. You know how I abhor discussing such mundane topics.”
“I understand, sister. My mind would have been elsewhere too if I was sitting next to the handsome Scarlet Duke.” Evelina winked at her before they all burst out laughing.