The Inconvenient Duchess

hold you.’
    She slid up the counterpane to a spot next to him and came stiffly into his arms.
    She smelled like violets and sunshine. Was this something he had bought for her, he wondered? A scent included in the London purchases, something she had found in the village or just the way she always smelled? Unlike any other woman he had lain with. He buried his face in her hair and breathed deep.
    She edged away from him and laid her hand on his heart. The pounding was receding, but still so noticeable that she had felt it through her gown. She looked inquiringly up at him.
    ‘Yes.’ He laughed, but the sound was tired. ‘You must come to my bed and soothe me to sleep like a frightened child. Not the devilish seducer you were expecting, am I?’
    ‘I was not expecting…’ She must be giving him an obvious lie. ‘I never know what to expect when I am with you, Marcus. You are always a surprise to me.’
    He pushed a hand between them and pushed the bedclothes away. ‘As are you to me. Lie with me, Miranda. Let me hold you tonight. Perhaps we will both sleep easier if we are not alone.’
    She crawled beneath the covers, still hesitant, but more relaxed than she had been before. He felt her tense again when she realised that he was naked beneath the sheets, and felt her thinking before settling her arm around his waist and letting her body melt into his.
    He sighed as his pulse slowed to normal with the touch of her body, and kissed her violet-scented hair. He had forgotten how it felt to lie like this with a woman. Perhaps he had never known it. Bethany was careful to always return to her room after the act, and he had never felt welcome there.And a mistress’s bed felt like a temporary resting place, even though it was his to rest in by right of ownership.
    Miranda snuggled closer to him, trying to find the most comfortable place against his body, and he could feel her begin to doze. He thought of rousing her with a kiss, and then relaxed and closed his eyes. This was the first of many nights with her and he would savour it for what it was. He did not have to rush if he had a lifetime.

Chapter Twenty-One
    S he woke the next morning in a fog of confusion. Even before opening her eyes she realised that things were different. The smells were wrong. And she was warmer than she had been in her own cold white sheets.
    Then she remembered. And opened her eyes. He was already awake, leaning against one arm and smiling down at her. Outside the hangings of the bed she could hear the valet moving around, readying to receive the duk
    ‘Good morning,’ he whispered. ‘Did you sleep well?’
    ‘Yes, thank you.’ She had, she realised, and the fact surprised her. She had been restless ever since coming here, and her easiest nights had been in the first weeks, when she’d worked herself to exhaustion and fallen into bed. But last night, after forcing herself into his bed to grant his request, she’d found more peace than she’d felt in a long time. It seemed there was even less to be afraid of than she thought. ‘And you? Did you sleep well?’
    He stretched and yawned. ‘That was the best night’s rest I’ve had since returning to this house. If I’d known that allthat I lacked to achieve peace with myself was to have you at my side…’
    ‘You’d have married me sooner?’ She smiled at the impossibility of it.
    ‘I’d have coaxed you into my bed long ago. I’d have never left your side to go to London.’
    And before she could move he’d leaned forward and kissed her hard on the lips. ‘And, now, my dear, I must rise and attend to business so that I may have my evening free to escort you to the ball. Shall I send for your maid?’
    ‘I think I can manage to walk back to my room, thank you,’ she said. He reached for his dressing gown at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. ‘So you do not catch a chill on the way.’ Then he slipped out of the bed himself, not fearing the cold air on his own bare skin.
    She hurried back to her own room to find Polly already laying out a day dress and chattering on about preparations for tonight’s ball.
    She smiled to see the girl so happy about it. And tried to push the thoughts that had kept her awake the night before to the back of her mind. There was still a gap in her preparations, and she saw no easy way to remedy it.

    After breakfast, she checked the books in the library, but found nothing to help fill in her education on the subject.