When a Rogue Meets His Match - Elizabeth Hoyt Page 0,115
ladies whispering nearby.
She scanned the ballroom again. Where—?
“Messalina!” Freya called, struggling through the crowd with Elspeth behind her. “Have you really bought a library?”
“Yes.” Messalina laughed. “My library is still mostly in packing crates, though.”
Freya smiled. “I thought Elspeth might help you sort and catalogue the books.”
“Thank you,” Messalina said with real appreciation. “I’d much rather have my library on shelves so I can enjoy the books.”
“Mmm,” Elspeth murmured, and then cocked her head. “Is that man putting dust up his nose on purpose?”
Freya coughed. “It’s snuff. I told you about tobacco before.”
Elspeth looked perplexed. “But you said tobacco was burned.”
Freya rolled her eyes and muttered to Messalina, “She spent nearly her whole life in the Wise Women’s compound. She still finds the oddest things curious.” She turned to her sister. “Come. I’ll show you the buffet. Just wait until you’ve seen a jelly.”
Lucretia perked up. “Oh, I’ll come with you.”
They disappeared into the crush, and Messalina began slowly making her way to the garden doors, stopped every step or two by her guests.
Finally she found the doors and slipped out. The night was clear, the moon a crescent hanging high above the city. She tipped her head back, trying to see the stars, but the light from the ballroom interfered.
Messalina walked farther into the garden until she could see each star winking at her in the blackness.
Firm hands closed around her shoulders, and Gideon whispered in her ear, “I thought you’d never leave that ballroom.”
She turned in his arms to face him. The garden might be too dark to see clearly, but she knew he wore one of the suits she’d picked out for him, the dark gray that had just a hint of violet. The suit fitted his wide shoulders perfectly, and she loved the embroidered waistcoat—not least because Gideon wore it for her.
She placed her palms on his chest. “Were you looking for me, Mr. Hawthorne?”
“I was, Mrs. Hawthorne.” He bent so close his lips brushed against hers as he said, “I always will.”
He kissed her and she opened for him, a thrill going through her at his touch. She had a feeling she’d still have that same thrill decades in the future.
She stopped thinking, though, as he drew his teeth down her neck, scraping gently.
A giggle sounded nearby.
Gideon straightened and glared at the bushes in disgust. “I should be able to make love to my wife in my own garden.”
Messalina linked her arm with his. “Yes, but not during a ball.” She pulled him toward the house and the lights. “I saw you talking with Lord Rookewoode.”
He grunted, his good humor not quite restored. “That man says the most frivolous things.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder. “And yet he’s smart enough to invest in your business.”
“Yes, he is,” Gideon replied, sounding satisfied. He darted a look at her. “Don’t worry. I haven’t been talking business at a social event.”
“Good,” she murmured, pulling him to a stop just before they entered the pool of light from the ballroom. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him again.
He grasped her arms, deepening the kiss, before he murmured against her lips, “What is that for?”
She pulled back. “Because I love you.”
She saw the faint puzzlement in his eyes. He was still getting used to hearing the words—and returning them.
“I love you as well,” he said as he touched her cheek. “I don’t know how I lived before you, my world was so dark and empty. You give me joy.”
Oh, but he was improving.
Smiling, Messalina linked arms with Gideon again and led him into the light.
Don’t miss Elizabeth Hoyt’s next book in
the breathtaking Greycourt series!
No Ordinary Duchess
Available Late 2021
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Hoyt is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six lush historical romances, including the Maiden Lane series. Publishers Weekly has called her writing “mesmerizing,” and in 2018 she received the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Historical Romance. She also pens deliciously fun contemporary romances under the name Julia Harper. Elizabeth lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with three untrained dogs, a garden in constant need of weeding, and the long-suffering Mr. Hoyt.
The winters in Minnesota have been known to be long and cold, and Elizabeth is always thrilled to receive reader mail. You can write to her at PO Box 19495, Minneapolis, MN 55419 or email her at [email protected].