Moonlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #2)

Chapter Eleven

C onnor saw his children settled in the care of Millie and Sarah and then returned downstairs to the parlor, where several of the older ladies had congregated and were listening to Eden’s mother complain about shoe buckles.

Dear heaven.

How was it possible this empty-headed woman and the lovely Eden were related?

He quickly moved on before he was roped into their conversation. “Just hang me from the yardarm,” he muttered, and hurried away despite their calls to have him join them.

Other guests were on the terrace enjoying the late afternoon breeze, and still others were playing lawn games.

He returned inside, once again hastening past Eden’s mother and her circle of friends, who were still talking about her confounded shoe buckles.

A few of the gentlemen had settled in his billiards room for a game, while others looked on and drank his scotch.

They still had a few hours before supper, and he had now taken stock of everyone but Eden. Where was she?

Aubrey stopped him as he marched down the hall to return to the parlor for another look. “Lynton, did you say something to Eden to overset her?” he asked. “She raced into the house, and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Me? I’ve hardly seen her all day. You were the one with her since morning. What did you say to upset her? And do not bother to deny it, for the culprit had to be you.”

“Me?” Aubrey furrowed his brow in genuine concern. “I give you my word, Lynton. If I am to blame, then I do not know what I could have said to rile her.”

Connor’s apish instincts began to take over. “Did you attempt to kiss her?” He was going to rip this man in half if he had tried.

The two faced off against each other like two dominant bulls fighting over the same pretty heifer, both of them refusing to back down.

But Connor was going to win this bout because Eden was his to love and protect, and no one, especially not this bloody arse, was going to take her from him.

“No, I did not kiss her,” Aubrey finally admitted with a sigh. He rubbed a hand along the nape of his neck. “She is a respectable girl. But I did tell her that I cared for her. Perhaps I revealed too much of my feelings. She seemed not to mind at the time. However, she was not herself when she came back to the food tent after searching for your daughter’s lost trinket.”

Connor uncurled his fisted hands and nodded. “Yes, I noticed that too.”

“Something must have happened between the food tent and the glassblower’s stall. I’m worried about her, Lynton.”

Connor truly wanted to detest this man, but could not. Aubrey was his stiffest competition for Eden’s affections, but who was he to blame but himself for even making it a competition? He should have said something to Eden months ago, when these deep feelings had fixed themselves so deeply in his heart that they could no longer be denied.

And still, he had denied them.

“I’ll talk to her,” Connor said with a sigh. “She’s probably hiding in her bedchamber.”

Aubrey’s eyebrow shot up. “You cannot go up there alone. I’ll go with you.”

“And this will make it less scandalous?”

“Perhaps not,” Aubrey muttered. “Then ask her maid to summon her to you. No one is in your study at the moment. We can speak to her in there.”

“ I’ll speak to her,” Connor insisted. “Go about your business, Aubrey. I’ll summon you if you are needed.”

Aubrey obviously was not pleased, but Connor was his host and also had claim to a title superior to his, so the obstinate lord was not going to win this battle of wills. Now realizing Connor would not relent, Aubrey gave him a stiff nod. “Lynton, I will call you out if you hurt her.”

“Rest assured, I will do the same if it turns out you have offended her in any way.”

“Fair enough,” the viscount said with another curt nod, and went on his way.

Connor strode into his study and rang for his housekeeper. The ever-efficient woman scurried in almost immediately. “Your Grace,” Mrs. Dayton said with a swift curtsy, looking so harried that he almost felt guilty for piling another chore upon her overburdened shoulders.

“I believe Lady Eden is in her bedchamber. Kindly ask her to come into my study right away.”

He waited impatiently for Eden to join him, but it was Mrs. Dayton who hurried in a short while later. “Your Grace,” she said, wringing her hands, “Lady Eden refuses.”

“She refuses ?” When had anyone other than his unruly children ever defied his requests? Was it possible Eden was angry with him , and this had nothing to do with anything Aubrey might have said or done?

“Yes, Your Grace.” His housekeeper nodded and then cleared her throat. “She said to tell you that she is not coming downstairs now or ever. She added that you can command her to appear until you are blue in the face and she still will not come down.”

“She said that? Lady Eden’s exact words?”

Mrs. Dayton nodded again. “Yes.”

He gave a curt laugh of disbelief, although he did believe this was something Eden would say. But to him? Why?

“Shall I try again, Your Grace?”

“No, it won’t be necessary. Thank you, Mrs. Dayton. I’m sorry I distracted you from your duties.”

“Not at all, Your Grace.” She bobbed a curtsy and hurried off.

Connor decided to march upstairs and confront Eden. Not that he was angry with her in the least, but she was clearly avoiding him, and he meant to get at the reason why. This behavior of hers was worrisome, especially since it seemed to have stemmed from something he had done. But Aubrey thought she was upset with him, too.

What in blazes had either of them done?

Eden was the calmest person he knew. Nothing ever rattled her.

Well, that was not quite true. She had been more overset than usual by the behavior of her parents. But how was he to blame for that? Nor did he seriously believe this was the reason she had locked herself away.

Come to think of it, had she bothered to lock her door?

He had the pass key to every room in the house and could retrieve it to let himself in if she attempted to shut him out.

He knocked on Eden’s door.

“Go away!”

“It’s me. Lynton.”

“I know who it is. Go away!”

How could she tell it was him merely by his knock? “I need to speak to you, Eden.”

“I am through speaking to you, so save your insincere words of sympathy because I do not wish to hear them. I have nothing to say to you. Nor to Lord Aubrey. Nor to my parents. Nor to anyone else,” she said between sobs and sniffles.

Had he made this sweet girl cry? “Eden, please open up.”

“Stay out! In fact, I would like everyone to stay out. Just leave me alone. I do not want to see any of you ever again.”

“I’m coming in.”

“Don’t you dare! As soon as I stop crying,” she said, her voice etched with pain, “I am going to pack my things and go home to Chestnut Hill.”

“Your father is still there,” he reminded her, trying to gently point out she would only be exchanging one headache for another.

He heard more tears as she said, “I am sending my father to you. And do not dare send him back to me or worse, exchange him with my mother and send her back to me. I am leaving both of them for you to handle because I want nothing more to do with them. Or with you. Or Lord Aubrey,” she repeated.

Yes, she was making it quite clear that he and Aubrey were the culprits. Her parents were irrelevant, because they were a longstanding heartache and this was not how she ever dealt with their misbehavior.

So it was down to him and Aubrey. And both of them were at a loss to understand what they had done.

“But I do not mind your mother and your children,” she went on between hiccups and sniffles. “I love them. They are wonderful.”

“They love you too. Shall I send my mother up to—”

“No! I cannot bear to face her just now. I cannot bear to speak to anyone yet. Why will you not leave me in peace? All I want is to be left alone,” she said with a sob, “and I do not want to talk to you. Definitely not you. Go away.”

She repeated that she was going to pack her things and leave.

For someone who was through speaking to all of them, she certainly had a lot to say. “Eden, I’m coming in.”

“No!”

He placed his hand on the doorknob. “Are you dressed?”

Several seconds passed before she finally responded. “No! I haven’t a stitch on.”

Gad, the girl was a terrible liar.

Even if it were true, what would it matter? He was going to marry her. Yes, it was highhanded of him, and the last thing he wished to do was place her in a compromising position and force her hand. But was he not the one who would be hurt most if he had to spend the rest of his life without her? “I don’t believe you, Eden. I’m coming in.”

He tried the door, relieved to find it unlocked, and entered cautiously on the chance something would come flying at his head. Fortunately, nothing did. Had Eden been anything like her mother, there would have been objects crashing all around him right now.

But she was all goodness and kindness, nothing like either of her spoiled and childish parents.

“Eden, love. What happened?” His heart tugged when he spotted her curled up in a little ball on her bed, her back to him. He shut the door behind him and crossed the room, taking a seat on the bed beside her in order to remain close. The mattress dipped, rolling her toward him.

He wanted to draw her into his arms and hold her, but had not expected her to look quite this wounded and was now at a loss as to what to do. “Eden, I am not going away, so you may as well talk to me.”

She sat up and turned to him with a tearful glower. “You cannot be in here, Connor! Are you mad? If anyone saw you come into my room or notices you coming out of it, I’ll be ruined and then you will have to marry me! Do you hear me? Marriage. Wedding vows. Church bells.”

She studied his expression, no doubt surprised he wasn’t flinching or trying to hurry away. “I will not let you destroy my reputation and blithely ignore the consequences. So get out now before you find yourself trapped in marriage to an aging spinster.”

“Are you through berating me?”

She gasped. “I am not berating you. I am trying to warn you of a dire circumstance that you seem to be taking far too casually. Or do you think so little of me that you do not care if I am shamed and you will never do the honorable thing?” She turned away from him and sank back into her curled position, emitting another sob.

“Eden, have I not said I will always protect you?”

“I don’t recall.”

“I’m sure I have said it many times,” he muttered. “Will you turn around and look at me?”

“So I can be blinded by your Silver Duke brilliance? Your Silver Duke I-am-never-going-to-marry brilliance. No, I prefer to wallow in darkness.”

She had not drawn her drapes, so the afternoon light was pouring into the room. Nor was Eden’s heart or soul even remotely dark. The girl was pure sunshine.

“I can feel you mocking me, Connor.”

“I am not mocking you, just trying to figure out what happened to leave you so undone. Just talk to me. Don’t you know by now that you can tell me anything?”

“Ha!”

“You can, Eden. I will listen and never judge you harshly.”

She gasped. “Judge me? Me? What right have you to judge me?”

“None whatsoever. You are right, of course,” he said, feeling quite exasperated because he had not a clue what was wrong with her. “Let’s try this again. Have I said or done something to upset you? Or is it Lord Aubrey who has upset you?”

He was met with silence.

“Eden, I will not let you leave my home until I have the truth out of you. So you may as well start talking. Who upset you? Me or Aubrey?”

“Both.”

“Ah, both.” Connor ran a hand through his hair in consternation. “What have we done?”

She gave an indignant sniffle. “Oh, plenty!”

Connor still had no idea what she was talking about. However, she was the last person on earth he ever wished to hurt. “For pity’s sake, Eden. Just give me a hint, will you? And do not tell me that I ought to know what I did, because I don’t have an inkling. Consider me dense and too stupid to figure it out on my own. Tell me what terrible thing it is that I have done and I will apologize and promise never to do it again.”

“You are not stupid.”

“All right, then, I am dense.”

She sat up again, turned to face him, and spared him no more than a glance before bursting into tears again.

“Oh, Eden,” he said with a wrenching ache, and drew her onto his lap. “Do not fight me. Just let me hold you.”

He thought it might have been the wrong thing to say, because she moaned and cried some more. But she also leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck as though holding on to him for dear life. Was this not a sign of trust on her part?

“Love,” he said gently, his heart truly aching because he had never seen her looking so frail or hurt, “tell me why you are so sad.”

“How can you not see it, Connor? Is the truth not obvious?”

He wrapped his arms more securely around her. “No, love. As I said, I am dense and still do not understand what happened.”

“ Love. That’s just it. Nobody loves me. Nobody wants me. And I was so stupid…so incredibly stupid to believe… But he just lied to me and was using me. He was going to drop me like a stone as soon as the week was out.”

She sobbed some more.

“Eden, are you speaking of Lord Aubrey?”

She nodded against his chest. “He told me this morning that he cared for me and wanted to pursue a courtship. I believed him. I believed his lies. He had me completely fooled. Have I gotten so pathetic that I should fall for false words and think for a moment, for one stupid moment, that someone truly liked me?”

“Dear heaven… Eden, what makes you think he lied to you?” His heart sank, for he had not seriously considered that Eden might fall in love with someone else in the span of a house party, and now she would never consider his own feelings that he had stupidly never revealed to her.

She was still crying into his chest and clinging to him as she spoke. “I overheard his sister talking to their mother about me. It was all a trick, a setup to keep me away from you. She told her brother to woo me in order to keep me distracted while she pursued you. This is exactly what he did.”

“I’ll call him out. The bounder, I’ll challenge him to—”

“Don’t you dare do anything so foolish. You are a father and have your children to think about. You cannot get yourself hurt over me.”

“Who is to protect you if not me, Eden?”

“You? Connor, you are just as bad as he is.”

“What?” Lord, this was why he had chosen to remain a Silver Duke. Casual liaisons. No complications. Walk away without hurt feelings. But he could not walk away from Eden. He did not ever want to walk away from her.

She was in his heart to stay.

“How am I as bad as Aubrey?”

“He said too much and you said nothing . Not a thing in all the years we’ve known each other. Well, you can keep your Silver Duke reputation and you can keep your moonlight kisses, because I do not want to be kissed by someone who does not love me. I am not that pathetic… Well, maybe I am pathetic. But I still have my pride. I will endure and go to my grave with the ache of never having been kissed.”

He took out his handkerchief and began to gently dab away her tears. “Eden, were you hoping for Aubrey to be the one to kiss you?”

She merely glowered at him. Now what had he said wrong?

“Did you fall in love with him? Is this why you are feeling so hurt?”

“Him? You think I fell in love with him? Him? ”

Gad, why was she getting so angry? Should he not be asking about her feelings for his rival? Should he not be worried that he might lose her to Aubrey? He was so many things that Connor wasn’t. Younger, fitter. Perhaps handsomer. Just as wealthy. Just as titled. Although of a lesser rank, and holding only a courtesy title of viscount. Still, he was an earl’s heir and next in line to become earl. “Eden, help me out here. What am I not understanding? Just tell me straight out. If it is in my power, I will give you everything your heart desires.”

“And you assume it is him that I want?”

Lord, his head was spinning. “Isn’t it?”

“Well, if this is what you are hoping for in order to wriggle out of kissing me, then I hereby free you from all obligation in that regard. No kiss. Not ever. Not in daylight. Not in moonlight. Not in rain or sleet or snow. You do not have to kiss me ever.”

Yes, he did have to kiss her. He had to kiss her because he loved her, and it was past time she knew it.

“Blessed saints, Eden. You are the most exasperating woman I have ever met. You also happen to be the most endearing. I do not care if you have freed me of the obligation to kiss you. It was never an obligation for me. You will have your moonlight kiss tonight.”

She frowned at him. “Do not concern yourself. I just told you I want to be kissed with love or not at all.”

He tucked a finger under her chin to tip it upward and keep her gaze firmly on his. “And I just told you that you will have your desired kiss.”

“A moonlight kiss? With love? From you?”

“A moonlight kiss. A daylight kiss. A million kisses,” he said in a husky murmur. “A kiss every morning and every night, and all of the hours in between if you will have me, Eden. Will you?”

There!

He had just proposed to her.

Dear heaven.

He had just proposed to Eden.

Gad, he hadn’t meant for it to happen this way.

This girl was in desperate need of romance, and he had planned to provide it tonight by way of a moonlight kiss followed by a marriage proposal.

Now everything was rushed and had come out backward. He had not even spoken to his mother or children yet about his remarrying. Well, his mother had contrived this house party for the sole purpose of pushing a new wife on him. Surely she could have no objections over his choosing Eden, since she had already accused him of immense stupidity in not seeing what was before his very eyes.

His children adored Eden and would cheer loudest upon learning he wanted to marry her. They would likely insist on having the wedding take place tomorrow, before he said or did something else idiotic to chase her away.

She was staring at him as though he had just spoken to her in a strange foreign tongue unheard for a thousand years. “Eden, will you?”

“Will I what, exactly?” She looked utterly confused, but his words had to be sinking in, because she was no longer sniffling and her lips were no longer trembling.

Was that the hint of a smile at the corners of her very kissable lips? Those beautiful, bow-shaped lips that were slightly pouty, slightly turned down at the corners, and slightly plump, so that they would feel deliciously soft as he sank his mouth onto hers, which was something he had ached to do for ages now.

“Will you marry me, Eden?” He’d said it again. How much clearer did he have to be?

Silence stretched between them.

Was she going to accept him or not?

What an idiot he was. He had not considered that she might refuse him. But she would if she was in love with Aubrey, even if that wretched man had dashed her hopes.

“Eden?” What was she waiting for?

Then he realized what else needed to be said, because this was Eden and love was the very thing she had been deprived of all of her life. This was the reason she had been crying her heart out moments earlier.

Love.

He cleared his suddenly tight throat. “I am not asking you to marry me because I find the situation most convenient. I can see how you might mistake it, considering how well you get along with my children and my mother.”

She nodded.

“In fact, my feelings for you are most inconvenient . I had fallen into an easy routine and was comfortable living the life of a Silver Duke. I thought I had my heart securely protected behind thick walls, and for the most part, it was true. But I found I had no defense against you. Your beauty, your wit and charm, your kindness and intelligence. There is not one wall left standing because you have demolished them all. You conquered my heart quite some time ago, Eden. I simply did not know how to broach the subject with you. Sometimes it is hardest to be honest with those you care for most. But here it is now. I love you.”

“You love me?”

Her voice was so fragile, it made him ache. “Yes. Quite fiercely and irrevocably.”

“Are you certain you love me in the way a man loves a desirable woman and not because I would make a good governess for your children?”

Her eyes were big and wide as she stared up at him, revealing all the hurt she had endured over the years—and just how vulnerable she felt right now.

“Yes, I love you with embarrassing desperation,” he assured her. “I cannot think straight when I am around you, and miss you with a cavernous ache whenever you are not around.”

He sighed and continued, because there was no turning back now and he may as well make a complete arse of himself, pour out his heart until there was not a drop left to drain. “You are so beautiful, you leave me breathless. I was in torment as I undressed you last night.”

She shook her head and laughed softly. “You shouldn’t have done it.”

“And left you uncomfortable all night? Priscilla was about to push you out of bed. Besides, your gown would have been wrinkled beyond repair.”

“It could have been ironed out.”

“You might have torn it while tossing and turning.”

“It could have been sewn…maybe. Well, it is a delicate fabric.”

“And had more tapes and lacings than I’ve ever seen on a gown,” he said with a groan. “Eden, you were asleep and I was not going to touch you in any inappropriate way. You would have laughed at me had you seen the contortions I went through trying to avoid any impropriety.”

Although it could not be denied that she had fallen against him a couple of times, her soft bosom pressing against his chest and roiling him in unmentionable ways. This did not bear mentioning at the moment, especially since her perfect breasts were once again pressed against him as she remained on his lap and holding on to him.

She felt nice against him. He liked that she was comfortable in his arms. They fit so well together.

He wanted it to be this way for them always.

“It is quite ironic,” he said, breaking the momentary silence between them, “that someone with a Silver Duke reputation has trouble stringing romantic words together. What I am trying to say, rather ineptly, but speaking sincerely from my heart, is that I do not want you for my children. I want you for myself. I want you for a lifetime, and I want you for my wife.”

Her tears flowed again.

He rubbed his thumb along her cheeks as he spoke. “Eden, I’ve loved you for quite some time now, but never dared let on because…I don’t even know what was going through my head these past few months. More than a few months, for I’ve had these feelings for you for well over a year now.”

“Why did you never say anything to me?”

He gave a short, mirthless laugh. “You were so perfect, it scared me. And our friendship was so precious to me, I feared to lose it by saying something you did not wish to hear from me.”

“Me? Perfect?” She shook her head insistently. “You are the perfect one, the unattainable Silver Duke. I am just the eccentric spinster.”

“Hopefully, soon to be my eccentric duchess. Honestly, Eden, what more must I say to convince you that you are the only one for me? I love everything about you, even your owlish spectacles. In truth, I adore the way you look in them. Yes, you are beautiful without them. But your true beauty shines through when you are being you and not London’s notion of some fashionable ideal.”

“Fashionable?” She laughed softly, which was another thing he loved about her, the gentle warmth of her laugh. “I am certainly not that.”

He caressed her cheek. “You set your own style.”

Her body had remained relaxed against his as they spoke, and he hoped this was a good sign.

Her smile seemed genuine as she said, “I will forgive you if you are not enamored of this hideously drab gown I am wearing.”

He smiled back. “It is quite practical for bird watching. Completely unfashionable. But my point is, you could be wearing a sack and still look stunning. You do not need silks or satins or fine jewelry to sparkle like the diamond you were and always will be.”

Finally admitting he loved her was surprisingly freeing. “I am going to kiss you now.”

She shook her head to stop him. “No!”

“No?”

“I do want you to kiss me,” she said with an emphatic nod, “but…should you not have done it before you proposed to me?”

“No, I already know how it will turn out.”

“You do? How is that possible? What happens if you are wrong and decide you were mistaken about our kiss?”

“Eden, it is never going to happen.”

“Never?”

He nodded. “I am going to like it and so will you. Trust me on this. It will only deepen my feelings for you. Hopefully, it will do the same with regard to your feelings for me. Do you have any idea how long I’ve ached to kiss you?”

She laughed softly. “Apparently not.”

“My fault entirely,” he said, knowing they should have been honest about their feelings months ago. Their deep friendship would be the basis for a good marriage going forward, but it had also held them back and caused needless distress because both of them were so afraid of losing that precious friendship if their feelings were not reciprocated.

He was sorry it had taken heartbroken tears from Eden before they found the courage to reveal what had been in their hearts all along. It was done now and had led to this happy result.

Well, he hoped it would be a happy result. She had not accepted him yet. Why hadn’t she accepted him yet?

“Close your eyes, love.”

She pushed against his shoulders. “Don’t kiss me yet, Connor.”

“I thought we cleared the air. Why don’t you want my kiss?” Being a duke and never being refused by anyone had not prepared him for this rejection. Was she rejecting him? No, he could not be reading her body wrong. A woman’s body was something he knew quite well. Eden still had her arms around his neck and was leaning into him again, exhibiting all the signs of attraction and desire.

“I do want it, I assure you. Have I not waited ages for it? But will you be angry with me for wanting my first ever romantic kiss to be a moonlight kiss?”

No, how could he ever be angry with her? She asked so little of him.

“A moonlight kiss it shall be, then.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes, tonight.”

She laughed. “You had better make it worth my while.”

He cast her a rakish smile. “Is that a challenge?”

He was going to kiss her with heat and passion, and all the fire of love in his soul. He was going to kiss her until her legs turned soft as pudding and could no longer hold her up. But she would never be in danger of falling while he had his arms around her to always keep her safe.

She was his to love and protect from this day forward. All he had to do was give Eden her moonlight moment.

Yes, he’d give her moonlight and starlight and every bit of enchantment she deserved to have. Being a Silver Duke had its advantages.

Despite his exaggerated reputation, he did know how to kiss a woman. Eden was going to experience a kiss to carry in her heart forever.

She blushed as he regarded her. “Will it set fire to the pages of my diary? I am going to write down every detail as I describe it in my entry.”

“Yes, love. Scorching inferno,” he said, casting her a steamy look.

Her blush deepened. “I am looking forward to it.”

“So am I,” he said with a chuckle, knowing she was already affected by the rakish smolder in his eyes. But he was affected, too. Despite his experience and familiarity with a woman’s body, he had too much at stake with Eden because he cared for her so deeply. Their kiss needed to end all doubt they were meant to be together for a lifetime. “Eden, you haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Will you marry me?”