prove acceptable to you.”
“I am not inclined to dance tonight, sir.” She didn’t look at the man who came to stand beside her. She had instructed the housekeeper to turn him away from Reed Park, which she had five times, but it seemed he meant to persist in his pursuit. “You should see if Miss Hardiwick has yet promised all of hers. She is an enthusiastic dancer, I believe.”
“Prudence giggles too much. Also, I think her mother wishes to abduct me and lock me in her daughter’s room for a night. I dare not provide her with any such opportunity.” A strong hand took hold of hers, clasping it with easy intimacy. “Come and walk with me.”
“No.” Sometimes the best refusal was the simplest.
“What do you imagine I mean to do, Jenny?” William Gerard tugged her to face him, and his voice dropped low as he added, “Drag you off into the woods there and have my way with you?”
Her heart aquiver now, Jennet placed a restraining hand on his chest. “The last time we were alone together, Liam, you very nearly did.”
This secret dance of theirs had been going on since Christmas, when William had caught her under a kissing bough at the village hall. No one had seen him pull her into his arms and covered her mouth with his, but the effect on both of them had been shocking. He had dragged her into another room, where his second kiss turned into an embrace so passionate they had all but undressed each other. He had even tried to convince her to come back to the lodge with him.
He was remembering that night, too; she could see the heat flaring in his wicked green eyes.
“This is how we started the last time we were alone together,” Jennet told him, hoping that would cool his ardor. “We must be sensible and avoid making another mistake.”
“A mistake?” He sounded distracted, and had his gaze fixed on her lips. “I would call it a revelation. A glorious, tempestuous miracle that ended far too soon. I swear you have grown more beautiful. How is that possible? When last I saw you, you were perfection.”
“Liam, please.” She nudged his chin until he looked into her eyes. “I am very flattered, but this is a calamity in the making. Your family doubtless has expectations of you. You will be a baron someday.”
“I cannot escape my father’s title,” he agreed, and cupped her cheek with his hand. “That has nothing to do with us.”
“There is no us.” And it tore at her heart, but she had to be practical now. “We cannot give in to temptation again. The consequences for us both would be disastrous.”
His brows drew together. “I disagree.”
“In time you will forget this, ah, infatuation with me,” Jennet assured him, “and make a sensible match.”
William nodded. “Will you permit me to say–”
“Catherine knows many fine young ladies in the city,” she said, smiling as if her heart was not shattering. “Perhaps I might persuade her to–”
“Do shut up, my darling.” William pressed a finger to her lips. “I have spoken to my mother about her expectations, and settled them. Tomorrow she and I will talk with my father, and then we will all come to Reed Park to sit down with your mother.”
“Why would you…” Her eyes widened as he went down on one knee. “Oh, no. You cannot be serious.”
“You will not dance with me. I cannot take you into the woods and ravish you. I can think of nothing else—the ravishing, I fear, not the dancing—yet you will not abandon your inflexible morals. We are at an impasse.” He looked up at her, his eyes shining. “Then there is the fact that somehow we have fallen madly in love with each other.”
“You noticed,” she said faintly.
“Our mothers have, which means everyone has. Only one solution, really.” He brought her hand to his lips. “Miss Reed, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Jennet pressed her palm to his cheek, savoring the moment before she answered him. “Yes, Mr. Gerard. I will marry you.”
I will marry you.
Opening her eyes to darkness, Jennet pushed at the mound of coats covering her until she freed her arms. Her hand went to her throat, which felt tender but not bruised. If Liam had meant to kill her, she would be dead. Instead he had done something to make her swoon so he could leave her here, and then piled coats atop her to