Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“Where are we going, Papa?” Harry asked as Edmund helped him with his coat.
“We’re going to Hyde Park.”
Harry pouted. “Why? You always make me behave well when we’re there. I want to stay at home.”
Edmund grinned. “What if I told you we were going to meet Lady Daisy?”
His face lit up, and he gave a small yip of excitement. “Are we?”
“Yes, we are. Still want to stay at home?”
“No!” He took Edmund’s hand. “Let’s go!”
Edmund laughed brightly. “All right. Let’s go. Mr. Oswalt?”
“Coming.” The tutor came hurrying towards them. He had a satchel tucked underneath one arm, which was rather inconvenient while trying to slip his arms into his coat and clap his hat down on top of his head.
They paused to give him time to get himself together before setting off on foot with two footmen trailing after them.
Hyde Park was just around the corner from Edmund’s townhouse in Mayfair, but traveling with his son meant that he liked to be prepared for anything.
So the footmen carried umbrellas and a change of clothes for Harry.
They could also call for the carriage should something happen and Harry was injured.
Edmund knew it was perhaps a tad unconventional for someone of his rank and stature to waltz toward the park on foot, but he enjoyed these outings with his son and disdained sitting inside a stuffy carriage on such a lovely day.
He paused as he saw Lady Daisy and her father waiting by the entrance. They seemed a bit tense with each other, and Edmund frowned.
What could have transpired?
Then, Daisy turned and spotted him and Harry, and her face lit up.
Edmund watched her curiously. It seemed as if she held them in high regard, or else she was really desperate to win the prize and knew he was the only way she would.
But today there was no competition, and his aunt was not even present, so she had no need to look so pleased to see him if she was not. He stopped and bowed.
“Lady Daisy.” He took her hand and kissed the air above her knuckles. “Lord Claymore.” He nodded to the Earl.
“Your Grace,” they both said in unison before Lady Daisy smiled at Harry. “Lord Harry, how are you?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Harry said before executing a perfect little bow. “Shall we promenade, my lady?”
Lady Daisy raised her gloved hand to cover a giggle. “You are such a gentleman this morning, Lord Harry.”
“I am,” Harry agreed. He blinked up at Edmund. “Papa, now you should invite Lady Daisy to stroll arm-in-arm with you.”
“Indeed?” Edmund arched an eyebrow teasingly at his child. Harry nodded sharply. His serious demeanor caused Edmund and Lady Daisy both to laugh. Then, he held out his arm to the lady. “Shall we, my dear?”
“Thank you,” Lady Daisy said simply as she accepted him.
They embarked on the promenade. Mr. Oswalt and Harry walked ahead. The tutor pointed out flowers and other plants and asked Harry to name them. Daisy’s father trailed behind them, giving Edmund and Daisy a bit of privacy.
She turned to face him, emerald eyes sparking at him. “I meant to speak with you.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yes… I…Well…The other day at Almack’s…during the reading of our scene…you…I…”
Edmund had never seen Lady Daisy so at a loss for words. She cleared her throat and then dipped her chin. “I am worried that the lines between pretense and truth are blurring.”
He felt something squeezing in his chest at her words.
Why would she say that?
“Do not worry yourself, Lady Daisy. I know well what is real and what we must do to sell our performance.”
But do I?
She took a deep breath. “Then tell me because I am not sure.”
He smirked. “Surely you do not think we are falling in love.”
She shook her head. “No. I do not harbor such hubris as to think that.”
“Then what, Lady Daisy? What do you think is happening?”
She avoided his gaze, looking towards Harry and Mr. Oswalt, who were watching the ducks on the pond. Suddenly, Harry turned and ran back to them.
“Lady Daisy, come see these flowers. I’ve seen some daisies as pretty as you!”
She laughed, reaching forward to take his hand. “Show me.”
Harry dragged her away, and she went willingly, laughing all the while.
Edmund watched her go, her words echoing in his head as he wondered if it truly was hubris to think that something more might be going on between them.
Seeing her with his son, how natural she was with him, Edmund could not lie and say he remained unaffected.
He could not stop thinking about the life in her eyes or how she seemed to broadcast everything she was thinking in those emerald depths.
He could not deny how he noticed the swell of her bosom or her too-thin arms that were nevertheless soft to the touch.
He openly admired her, and at times, when her eyes would twinkle in his direction, he was certain she held genuinely affectionate feelings towards him and his son as well.
Her openness is refreshing.
But that did not mean there was anything more than a mutually beneficial arrangement growing between them.
Daisy let Harry lead her about, picking up flowers which they then passed to Mr. Oswalt. She was glad to just be here in this moment. When she was with young Harry, it was easy to dismiss all the worries that plagued her.
They circled the pond to look at some lilies when she glanced up and caught sight of Lord Dulforth. Her entire body froze, and Harry let go of her hand to run after the ducklings.
“Lord Harry!” Mr. Oswalt chased after him, calling his name.
Daisy registered all this in some nether region of her brain because all of her attention was on Dulforth as he approached, staring at her with lust in his eyes.
Run!
She was not motivated by taking a closer look at the ducks or picking the flowers as Lord Harry had been.
Something visceral inside Daisy had her running towards the trees in full-blown panic.
For some reason, she felt as if an evil thing were after her, and if she let him catch her, she would end up cold and buried, alone and abandoned.
She burrowed behind a tree, breath coming fast, causing small clouds to form against her lips before disappearing in the chilly morning air.
Even as the cold took over her body, sweat beaded her brow. She heard someone calling her name and scrunched lower, trying to hide.
Suddenly, a warm hand touched her arm, and she jerked in fear. She looked up and met the Duke’s honey-warm eyes, staring at her with concern.
“Lady Daisy? What is the matter?” he asked.
Daisy looked around, realizing that she had walked into a copse of trees and was hunkered down behind a large oak. Her face heated with embarrassment as she got back to her feet.
“I-I-I’m fine.”
He shook his head. “You’re not.”
She whipped her head quickly, searching for Lord Dulforth. When she was convinced that he was no longer in sight, Daisy conceded, “All right, maybe I’m not perfectly well at present, but I can manage this myself, thank you.”
The Duke tilted his head, staring at her with a softness in his eyes that was quite disconcerting. “There’s no need to manage the danger on your own, Lady Daisy. I am here.”
She released a faint sigh. “You know just how to say all the right things, Your Grace, but in this case, you are wrong. I do need to deal with this on my own. It is my problem.”
She tried to move, to go around him, but he put his arms out, trapping her against the tree.
“Daisy,” he murmured. “Do not run from me. Let me help you.” His voice was gentle and coaxing.
Daisy felt all her resolve melting rapidly, and yet, she fought to maintain control over the situation.
“You have helped me. I was a little upset, I admit it. But you pulled me out of it.”
“But why were you upset? What happened, Daisy?” He bent his head, trying to meet her gaze, but she avoided him, her cheeks heating.
I cannot let him see. If he stares into my eyes, I shall tell him everything…I know it.
“I…” she mumbled.
He cupped her chin with the same kind of gentleness that had been in his eyes. She felt her whole body break, all the tension leaving as she surrendered.
She stared helplessly up at him, unable to find words to explain anything. She could not tell him about Dulforth’s advances, not without sharing all the details of her father’s disgrace.
“Daisy,” the Duke said softly.
She nodded slowly. “Y-yes?” she whispered.
He stared intently into her eyes, his face getting closer by the moment. She lifted her chin, heat rising within her as he got nearer. A warmth spread from her swooping belly to every extremity. She licked her suddenly dry lips, and his gaze dropped to her mouth.
He let out a groan and closed the distance between them.
Before she could blink, his lips were pressing against hers, his tongue running along her bottom lip, tasting her.
Daisy moaned, going up on her toes so she could press her lips more firmly against his.
His arms closed around her waist, pulling her flush against him.
Her hands clung to his arms as she parted her lips and let him into her mouth.
Their tongues met and then tangled together as they moaned together.
Instinctively, she slanted her head to the right and he to the left. They fitted together like pieces of a jigsaw. Effortless and easy, the kiss felt, as his mouth explored hers, and her knees went weak in reaction.
His hands moved up and down her back, tracing her spine and squeezing her waist as the kiss got more enthusiastic. She leaned into him, her whole being taken up with his taste, his scent, and enveloping herself in his essence.
Suddenly, the Duke pulled away from her, panting hard, his eyes dark with desire. Daisy stared at him. Her body swayed towards him. With her mouth still half open, she hoped he would resume his kisses.
“We… we should get back to the others,” he said.
Daisy almost shook her head, but halfway through the motion, she changed it to a nod.
He took her arm and led her out of the copse of trees, heading towards Harry, who was picking flowers with Mr. Oswalt and the Earl.
What was that?
The thought popped into her head as the Duke towed her toward the others in their party.
She had no name for what had just occurred nor any experience that could be equal to it.
Daisy stared at the Duke, trying to read his expression, but he gave her no indication of what he was thinking or feeling.
When he pulled them up short so that they might stand alongside Harry near the shoreline, Daisy continued observing the Duke.
He said he knew the difference between what was real and what was just for show. So, what am I to make of that kiss? Was he just pretending to comfort and soothe me, or…did it somehow mean much more?