warmth and languid, and it would be so easy to slip her hand into his and lead him down one of Carriford’s garden paths, where, in the privacy of a green bower, she could show him how much pleasure he gave her.
It would be so easy, so right . . .
Someone coughed, a discreet servant cough.
Noel moved his hand at the same time Jess stepped away, putting needed distance between them.
“Apologies, Your Grace,” Vale, the butler, said from several yards away. “I was reluctant to disturb you, but the gentlemen were most insistent.”
“Gentlemen?” Noel raised an eyebrow. “One of the guests.”
“Indeed, no, Your Grace. These gentlemen just arrived. They demanded that I pass on a message.” Vale coughed into his hand. “They said, ‘Tell the toff bastard that we’re desperate for his company. Desperate, but not serious.’ Those were the words I was instructed to say verbatim.”
Horrified by the insulting message and the impertinence of the men who demanded Vale deliver it to Noel, Jess looked at him. She expected to see seething anger or even cold disdain on his face.
Instead, he wore the widest smile she’d ever seen from him.
“Convey to them the following message.” He planted his hands on his hips. “‘Don’t expect a place in the country when you sodding buffoons come calling without warning. I’ll be there in ten minutes, so don’t go burning down the house.’”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Vale bowed before withdrawing.
When they were alone again, Jess said, “Those men sound awful. Rude. You can’t mean to let them in your house.”
“I can and I will. There’s always room in my home for the Union of the Rakes.”
“The what?”
Looking boyish and eager, a far cry from the urbane duke, he grinned. “The Union of the Rakes. A terrible name we coined for ourselves at Eton, and unfortunately the moniker stuck.”
She followed as he strode toward the house.
“There were five of us that day in the library.” He paused by Lady Farris, Lord Pickhill, and Mr. Walditch. “I have additional guests to see to. When you’re finished in the gardens, just head into the house and Mrs. Diehl will see you settled in your rooms. Dinner is at seven.”
He didn’t wait to hear the others’ response before taking a step in the direction of the house. She lingered behind.
He threw a glance over his shoulder and, with a mischievous lift of his brows, indicated he wanted her to accompany him. So she did.
They both crossed the threshold leading into a corridor. “Five of you? A library?”
“We were being punished for various infractions. The senior boy made us sit in the library all day and write an essay about who we thought we were. The task eventually fell to Holloway, who wrote one essay for the five of us.” He stopped and shook his head, but his smile remained in place. “Thought for certain we’d wind up killing each other before the day was over. Turned out, we forged a friendship that’s endured for twenty years.”
“No small achievement.”
“Five boys couldn’t be more dissimilar. Myself, a ducal heir, Holloway, a commoner who was a brilliant scholar, McCameron, a Corinthian. Then there was Curtis, a criminal, and a . . .” He snorted. “I’m not sure what Rowe qualifies as. An eccentric, I suppose. Mayhap in our differences we found a kind of common ground.”
“You like them so much you let them insult you.” It was impossible not to see the affection in his face, not to hear it in his voice. He’d never spoken of anyone with such fondness as he did these men who comprised his select cadre of friends.
He lifted a warning finger, though there was no anger in the gesture. “Don’t ever say that in front of them, or I shan’t hear the end of it. They do so love to torment me.”
“Men who torment a duke.” She smiled widely. “I must meet them.”
“Brace yourself.” He waved her forward as he walked toward the front of the house.
She could hear masculine voices in the Great Hall, rumbled words intended only for a few ears, followed by laughter. She thought she heard someone threaten to hit the other with one of the medieval flails attached to the wall.
“I’ll set the dogs on the lot of you,” Noel said as he and Jess stepped into the chamber. Three men turned to face them.
“That’s fortunate, as Curtis here is wearing beefsteak for drawers, and is particularly hard up for any attention below his waist.” This comment came from