What the Hart Wants - Fiona Davenport Page 0,19
know what I mean, lass.”
He drew her close, and his eyes darkened. Her heart fluttered at the hunger in his expression.
She parted her lips in anticipation and tipped her head up. She only had to move a little closer…
“Delilah!”
Dorothea’s voice broke the spell, and she withdrew from his grasp.
Her brother and sister stood before them. Dexter’s brow was furrowed as his gaze passed from Lilah to her companion. Thea’s appraisal, though just as searching, was considerably less critical.
“Delilah, perhaps you’d care to explain yourself,” Dexter said. His voice held an edge of steel, and he moved closer, his body casting a shadow across the path.
Lilah turned to her companion. “Your Grace, may I present my brother and sister, Mr. Dexter Hart and Miss Dorothea Hart? Dexter, Dorothea, this is Fraser MacGregor, thirteenth Duke Molineux.”
“Yes, I know who he is,” Dexter said, “and I want to know why you’re in his company, unchaperoned.”
“Forgive me, Mr. Hart,” Fraser said. “I happened upon your sister a short while ago and offered to accompany her until she rejoined her family.”
“You know him, Dex?” Lilah asked.
Dexter’s eyes narrowed.
Fraser exchanged a glance with Dexter, then smiled. “Mr. Pelham was kind enough to introduce us shortly after I arrived in London.”
“Have you been long in London, Your Grace?” Thea asked.
“Almost a month.”
“And what do you think of it? How does it fare in comparison to Edinburgh? Your accent is Scottish, yes?”
“I’ve never been to Edinburgh, Miss Hart. I’m afraid I’d be considered something of the savage, for I prefer the wildness of the Highlands to the confines of a city.”
Thea smiled. “Do you dislike London?”
“Not all of it,” he replied. “I have found much to admire here.”
His gaze settled on Lilah, and warmth bloomed in her cheeks. His mouth twitched, and her lips tingled with the thought of his kiss. As if he read her thoughts, his tongue flicked out and caressed his lower lip.
“I’ve heard much of the friendships you’ve been making while in London, Your Grace,” Dexter said, “some of them considerably more—intimate—than others.”
“Dexter!” Thea admonished, before casting a glance at Lilah.
“Forgive me, Molineux,” Dexter said. “I was intimately acquainted with Mrs. Whitford at one time. When you see her next, do give her my best wishes.”
Dexter’s words doused the warmth in Lilah’s heart.
Mrs. Whitford. The harlot who Lord Granville had humiliated her with.
“Dexter, please!” Thea rolled her eyes. “It’s not seemly to talk of a harlot, not when the duke may be looking for a wife.
Fraser laughed good-naturedly. “I assure you, Miss Hart, I have no desire to find a wife in London.”
Stricken with shame for desires which were not returned, Lilah pulled her arm free.
“A man must enjoy himself,” Dexter said.
“True, but the whole sorry business of courtship is not an activity which holds any interest for me,” Fraser replied. “I have a considerable amount of work to do to restore Clayton House to make it habitable.”
“You intend to settle in London?” Dorothea asked.
“My heart is in the Highlands, Miss Hart,” he replied, “but while I’m expanding my business, I must accept that London is the center of the commercial world.”
“Is there much work needed?”
“I believe so,” he said. “The structure of the main house is not altogether sound, and the furnishings have succumbed to the elements. Some of the outbuildings are in want of attention.”
“I hear the aviary is in need of repair,” Thea said, glancing at Lilah.
“Work is already underway,” he said.
“And what of the inmates?” Despite herself, Lilah couldn’t help asking.
His gaze settled on her. “Rest assured, Miss Delilah, the birds are being tended to. I’ve been informed that to simply free them would be to sign their death warrant.”
“Of course.”
“But,” he continued, “if they have been enjoying the company of a visitor these past two years, I would not wish to see them deprived of further visits.”
He winked at Lilah, and she looked away. Not only did he delight in relating tales of his conquests of doxies, now he wished to ridicule her in front of her family!
“Would you mock me, sir?” she asked.
“On the contrary, Miss Hart,” he replied. “You’ve done well to tend to the birds these past months, and I’d consider it an honor if you continued. I’m sure they’d be pleased to see a friendly face.”
Dexter snorted. “You’re not seriously saying that birds are intelligent enough to possess a working memory or that they have feelings?”
Lilah sighed. Dexter may be a shrewd businessman, but he sometimes displayed a shocking lack of insight.
“I wouldn’t dismiss such