wouldn’t be right.”
“I thought you would say that. I suppose you’re invoking the gentlemen’s code of honor.”
“You don’t approve of a code of honor?”
“Yes, as long as it makes sense. I understand that a gentleman shouldn’t truly compromise a lady unless he intends to marry her, but what about the sort of thing my mother tries to arrange?” She hesitated, then decided to test him a little. If he were genuinely as reasonable as he seemed… “She tried several times to trap me with Lord Boltwood—once, we were just talking in a corridor—but when I deliberately spent an hour in private with Tinker Johnny, she laughed it off because he wasn’t eligible. Everyone knew I had kissed him, too!”
“You kissed Tinker Johnny?”
Just what she’d anticipated! She removed her hand from his arm. “Don’t you dare make a fuss about it.”
“I’m not fussing, merely surprised. Ladies don’t usually kiss tinkers—but Johnny’s a handsome fellow.” He didn’t look outraged, but maybe he was politely hiding his feelings. She eyed him narrowly. If anything, that twitch of his lips meant amusement. Most likely, he didn’t care whom she’d kissed.
Annoyed now, she planted her hands on her hips and glowered. “Johnny Magee is a wonderful, kindhearted man. Just because he’s a tinker doesn’t mean he’s not a worthy human being. He explained much about—about what goes on between men and women. I wouldn’t have known anything otherwise, so I’m grateful to him.”
“You needn’t defend him. Apart from his involvement with the smugglers, I liked him.”
Why must Cecil be so agreeable? She was used to arguing about senseless social rules, particularly the code of honor, which often led to duels over mere nothings. “Just because a gentleman and lady are alone together for a few minutes, it doesn’t mean they should be forced into a marriage they don’t want.”
“I concur—as long as nothing untoward has happened.”
She huffed. “Even a kiss or two?”
He grinned. “Kisses are relatively harmless.”
Did that mean her kisses hadn’t affected him much? It wasn’t fair, because she longed to kiss him again.
“It’s where they lead that’s a problem.” He tucked her arm in his again, and they headed toward the house.
Humph. She was a problem, was she? Then why wouldn’t he dispute with her? “What if the lady were trapped? What if the gentleman ravished her?”
“Then he’s no gentleman. Her male relatives should force them to wed, spirit her away before he gets his hands on her again, and knock him on the head and throw him in the Thames, thereby solving her problem. She’s no longer ruined and can eventually marry again.”
She gaped. “How very violent of you. I thought you would say it was her fault that he ravished her.”
“Definitely not! A gentleman should control himself,” he said austerely, “whether he wants to or not.”
Did that mean he didn’t want to control himself? Or didn’t want to seduce her? “So…a seduction is acceptable, according to your code of honor, if both parties intend to marry.”
He pondered. “Unwise, perhaps, but not dishonorable either.”
She bit her lip. She’d had enough of being wise, but unfortunately, a lady didn’t propose marriage.
That little voice inside her posed its usual question: Why not? But this time she just couldn’t.
He halted and took her hands. His gaze was full of tender understanding. Or maybe it was just kindness. She wished she didn’t want him so badly.
He leaned in with a smile. She put her hands on his shoulders and put everything in her heart into that kiss.
“Dorothea! Come indoors this instant!”
Chapter Ten
The inevitable interruption—Lady Darsington bellowing from her bedchamber window—was almost welcome, for much as Cecil wanted to propose marriage, he intended to do so in private, after disclosing his circumstances to Dorothea.
The place he’d claimed as home was his uncle’s estate, which he stood to inherit. He hadn’t spent much time there growing up, because of the estrangement between his father and uncle; now, he dwelled in London most of the time. After his father’s death a few years earlier, he’d inherited a small property not far from his uncle’s estate in Wales. Cecil had immediately reconciled with the old fellow; he was a decent sort, far more worthy of an honorable position than Cecil’s father had ever been.
Sooner rather than later, his secret must out. He just had to find the best way to reveal it without turning Dorothea against him. She might consider him a hypocrite for hiding his origins. For professing to believe in progress while he stood to benefit from the