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

Chapter Thirteen

E den strolled downstairs to join the others in the parlor before supper. Evelyn’s maid had gone out of her way to make her look pretty this evening, no doubt sensing something was in the air. Had she noticed Connor standing outside her door and seen the two of them speaking intently to each other?

Perhaps it was the starlight in Eden’s eyes as she had washed and dressed that gave her away.

She hoped Connor would admire her in this gown of sea-blue silk that had several diaphanous layers of matching blue over the silk to give the gown an ethereal sway and movement. She rarely concerned herself with matters of fashion, but she wanted this night to be special in every way.

Her mother was seated amid a circle of older guests and still complaining about her shoe buckles. Never mind that she had almost cracked open her father’s head—to lose a buckle, now that was a true crisis.

Eden merely smiled and hurried past her and her friends before she was caught up in that excruciating conversation. But as she moved further into the room, she suddenly stopped and blinked, not trusting her own eyes.

To her surprise, her father was also here. “Papa?”

“Ah, Eden. Lovely party Lynton has thrown, isn’t it?”

She nodded numbly, wanting to glance back at her mother but not daring to do it while these two were in the same room and actually behaving. Fortunately, her father stood on the opposite side of the room from her mother with drink in hand as he engaged in conversation with Lord and Lady Lothmere. She greeted them warmly, for she liked them even if their son was a hound.

But what was her father doing here? Had Connor invited him?

Perhaps he had invited himself over. Yes, this was just the boorish sort of thing her father would do.

But she was glad he felt well enough to be up and about, and no doubt enjoyed showing off his stitches to all who would look and listen to his harrowing account.

Connor had become used to her parents after all these years and long since accepted the inevitability of their constant rancor.

Still, Eden was never going to speak to her mother or father again if they ruined this night for her. She wanted nothing to interfere with her moonlight kiss or the celebration that would occur when she accepted Connor’s proposal of marriage immediately thereafter.

She was about to look for Connor on the terrace when he strode into the parlor and immediately captured everyone’s attention with his commanding presence. He looked incredibly handsome in his formal attire, black tie and tails that accentuated the darkness of his hair that had a light sprinkling of gray, and his eyes that were hawk sharp and could pierce a girl’s soul.

She certainly was not immune to his stunning good looks. Nor were any of the other ladies in the room. Sighs could be heard floating all around.

Ah, yes. The Silver Duke aura on full display. His shoulders were broad, and he exuded power and danger as he started in her direction.

Eden’s heart was now pounding and her legs were in danger of buckling as she watched him move toward her with the lithe grace of a jungle creature. His eyes, the deep blue of a May sky, remained focused on her with predatory precision.

She had been wearing her spectacles and now hastily took them off and tucked them in the cleavage of her bosom, because these elegant gowns did not have any convenient pockets and she did not know where else to stick them where they would remain secure.

Connor grinned wickedly as his gaze darted to her breasts. “Let me know if you need my help retrieving your spectacles,” he teased upon coming to her side.

She laughed. “People will talk if you continue to stare at me like that.”

“Let them. By the way, Sir Nero Arnulfson was looking and also noticed you tucking your spectacles away. Well done, Eden. He’s just spilled his drink all over Squire Hartley.”

She laughed again. “You are making this up.”

“Not at all. Every word is true. Look.”

Indeed, a footman had a cloth in hand and was wiping wine off Squire Hartley’s jacket while another footman was hastily sweeping up the shattered shards of Sir Nero’s fallen glass.

“Good thing your staff rolled up that beautiful carpet for tonight’s dancing, or else it might have been ruined,” she said. “Red wine is no easy stain to remove.”

“Ah, ever the practical lass. But it is my duty as host to point out that your body is spectacular and every man here is completely besotted and cannot tear their gaze away from you.”

“Oh, Connor, stop. You are being ridiculous.”

“No, love. I am being honest, and kicking myself ten times over for waiting this long to tell you what has been in my heart for eons now.” He glanced around to make certain no one was close enough to overhear them, although all eyes were on them for certain. “Eden, I want to announce our betrothal tonight. Immediately after our kiss. Is that all right?”

“Are you certain this is what you want?” she asked him.

“Yes, don’t you?”

She had always had feelings for Connor. First loving him as her savior when she was barely able to toddle. Then in friendship and admiration. And now in full awareness of him as a man who might soon be her husband.

Was there any doubt she was eager to share his bed?

“Yes, Connor. I am certain.”

He nodded. “This is what I want, too. Not a single doubt. That first kiss is for your satisfaction, not for mine. I know how delicious you are. I’ve already kissed you a thousand times in my dreams.”

She let out a soft breath. “You have? You are impossible to resist, you know. Every woman in the room is wishing they were standing in my place.”

“Perhaps, but you are the only one I hope to claim. I’ve told my children about my feelings for you.”

She was glad he had done so, for they were so much a part of who he was. It was right that they should be told and given the chance to voice objections. “What did they say?”

He grinned. “They berated me for being so dense and waiting this long to realize you were perfect for us all. They want me to send for them when I am ready to announce our betrothal.”

“Oh, yes. Please do.”

“I had already planned on it. They think you are marrying all of us and consider it their moment, too. They love you, Eden.”

“The feeling is quite mutual. I hope they know how much they mean to me. Connor, have you also told your mother?”

“I’m sure she suspects, but I decided not to tell her beforehand.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“She’ll interfere. Is this not what she always does?”

Eden frowned, for this would hurt her so much. Evelyn had always been so loving to her. A valued mentor, mother, and friend. “How would she interfere? Do you think she will object to your choosing me?” After all, this party was Evelyn’s idea, and she had selected the ton diamonds to be invited. Perhaps she wanted someone younger and fresher for Connor.

“No, Eden. She adores you and will be delighted. But I do not want to tell her anything until after you have received your kiss.” Having made that declaration, he bowed over her hand politely and moved on to chat with his other guests.

Lord Aubrey came in shortly after she and Connor had finished chatting. Eden was now talking to the dowager duchess, who had pounced on her the moment Connor left her side because she knew something was in the offing. “Eden, what did my son say to you?”

“He said I looked pretty tonight. Evelyn, I—”

The dowager suddenly turned away and gazed toward the doorway. “That one,” she muttered as Lord Aubrey walked in and began to stroll about the edges of the crowded room.

Eden was hardly surprised when he did not acknowledge her or attempt to approach her. Connor had warned the viscount to keep away and would go after him like a rampaging bull if he dared disobey.

“What about him?” Eden asked, curious to know why the dowager was scowling at Aubrey and appeared to dislike him as much as Connor did.

“He is trouble.”

“How so?” She hoped he would not be so brazen as to cause a scene. Some women might not have minded having two handsome men fight over her, but Eden was not of that mind. She had been raised in a household of constant fighting and knew how hurtful it was not only to the combatants but to those who witnessed it.

These men were too evenly matched, and both would be bloodied if fists flew. Connor’s daughter especially would be undone if she saw her father bruised and sporting a black eye.

Eden breathed a sigh of relief when Lord Aubrey noticed Connor chatting with her father and turned to walk in the opposite direction. He approached a young lady and bowed rakishly over her hand. The girl, the wealthy Miss Olivia Applegate, tittered and blushed as the handsome lord turned on the charm.

Eden breathed a sigh of relief and continued her conversation with Duchess Evelyn. “Why do you say he is trouble?”

“It is only gossip, but is there not always a bit of truth in every rumor? Your mother told me that he was quietly pursuing several heiresses at this party and intended to purposely compromise one of them to force a marriage.”

“Pursuing several?”

“Oh, yes. I noticed the way he circled you. Margaret Wallingford and Olivia Applegate appear to be his current prey. Perhaps he has been eyeing others, too.”

“And he meant to compromise one of us?” Had he intended her to be the one compromised, but then realized Connor was onto him and would protect her? Well, so much for her Helen of Troy “conquering the hearts of kings” moment. She was nothing but a coin purse for Aubrey to steal, after all. Only one among other pretty coin purses. “Evelyn, will you excuse me a moment?”

“Yes, of course. Is everything all right?”

“Quite perfect. I will only be a moment.”

She stepped out onto the terrace and took in a refreshing breath.

Thank goodness Connor loved her.

Thank goodness she loved him with a deep and abiding conviction—something she ought to have made clear earlier, but she hadn’t, and needed to give him more than a delayed acceptance of his proposal and the tame I love you she had given him seemingly as an afterthought.

She had loved him for so long that when the moment was upon her, she froze.

But her love had never wavered. Of this she was certain. Even when Lord Aubrey had shocked her by proposing, there had not been a moment when she was tempted to marry him instead of Connor.

And a good thing that was. She would have lost everything had she fallen prey to his charms. Lost her beloved Chestnut Hill, her funds, and everything else she owned. Most of all, she would have lost Connor forever.

“Eden, I need a moment of your time,” the very fiend himself said, stepping onto the terrace after her. “I won’t approach you, I promise. I’ll step no closer than this. But there is something I must say to you.”

“Haven’t you said enough already?”

He sighed. “I just tried flirting with Miss Applegate, but could not endure more than a minute in her company. She laughs like a goat.”

“That is a cruel thing to say.”

“Perhaps, but is it not important that one not cringe when speaking to a potential wife?” He held up his hands in a gesture meant to forestall the next remark she was about to toss at him. “Eden, to my dying day I shall regret not being honest with you from the start. Losing your trust is quite a severe punishment for what I thought was a harmless deception in giving my sister a few minutes with Lynton. But in doing so, I have lost all chance with you.”

She said nothing, intending to walk away before he could spout more lies.

“Don’t go. Please,” he said when she took a step toward the parlor. “Just one more moment of your time. I’ll be leaving tomorrow because it is best for all. My family will be staying on. You’ll be pleased to know that Persephone has given up on the duke and will now set her cap for the Marquess of Rathburne’s son.”

“Damien?”

“He’s a bit of an idiot,” Lord Aubrey said with a wry smile, “but he’s a better match for her than Lynton. She’ll rule that roost, and Rathburne’s son will be all the better for her firm guidance. Lynton is not a man she could ever tame.”

“Is this what you came out here to tell me?”

“No, although I do not know why you would ever believe me. Perhaps one day you will. Here’s what I wish to tell you.” He raked a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “I know a treasure when I see it, and I do not mean your house or your trust funds. I mean you . Not that you need my assurance that you are beautiful and wonderful. But you need to know that my affections were not false. They were never false. That is all I am going to say. It was a pleasure spending the day with you. I shall never forget a moment of our time together.”

“Oh.” She did not know how to respond to that. However, if he was telling her the truth, then she wanted to know more. “Lord Aubrey, I am hearing gossip that you had your eye on every heiress at the party. Are you here to hunt fortunes?”

He laughed. “No, my family is filthy rich. Most of the wealth has already been settled on me, since my grandfather seemed to think I showed promise and would make a better earl than my father, who was too intellectual for his liking. When my parents named me Trajan, that was it for my grandfather. He had hoped I would be named William after him. But no, when he threatened my father and told him the unentailed properties would be left to me unless he bent to my grandfather’s will, my father refused to bend. For the record, my full name is Trajan Hercules Ramses Aubrey.”

Eden laughed. “Ouch! But good for your father. Three cheers for standing his ground.”

“Do not tell him so—he’s already too stubborn by half.”

She nodded. “Your mother spoke kindly of me when she was arguing about me with your sister.”

“Yes, both my parents liked you very much.”

“I suppose they liked the other heiresses, too.”

He raked a hand though his hair again. “There were no other heiresses of interest to me. That is nonsense. Where did you hear that rumor?”

She shrugged. “Just floating around. So why did you bother with Miss Applegate just now?”

He released a sigh to mark his exasperation. “To see if I could settle for something other than love. Apparently, I cannot. It took me less than a minute to figure that out. So I will take myself off in the hope that someday, sometime in the near future, I will meet the right girl and find that ever-elusive, enduring love. I thought you were the one, but I do not think I ever had a chance with you. Lynton has always had your heart.”

She nodded. “Ever since I was two and fell into his fishpond.”

“Since you were two? He’s had that long a head start?” Aubrey gave a mirthless laugh. “I really never stood a chance then. Farewell, Eden. I wish you every happiness.”

“I wish the same for you, Lord Aubrey,” she said with all sincerity.

She watched him stride away, but felt no satisfaction in regaining her Helen of Troy moment. Perhaps his affections were genuine, but having a bevy of men interested in her was not what she’d ever wanted. There was pain in not being loved, and she did not wish this on Lord Aubrey or anyone else.

To her surprise, Connor stepped out from behind one of the pillars as soon as Lord Aubrey had disappeared back into the crowded parlor. “You saw him?” she asked, surprised Connor had not made his presence known sooner.

He nodded.

“And you did not rush at him like an angry bull?”

He shook his head. “I wanted to, but you would not have approved.”

“Did you hear what he said to me?”

He nodded again. “Every word.”

“I’m glad you did not stop him. He isn’t worth a fight. I’m sure it was all lies he was still spouting anyway.”

Connor frowned. “No, Eden. He was sincere and every word he said was true. I was wrong about him.”

“But your mother heard he was chasing every young lady at your party.”

He laughed lightly. “Yes, and she heard it from your mother. We all know what a reliable source she is.”

“Oh, that’s true.” She winced. “Then he was never chasing heiresses?”

“No, only you. And he was not interested in your fortune, since he is already a wealthy man. His interest in you is why I’ve had my eye on him from the moment he arrived here. Persephone may have viewed you as her competition, but I viewed her brother as my competition. I have been in complete and utter agony, and apishly jealous from the moment he walked up to you and introduced himself.”

She cast him a tender smile. “Why are you telling me this now, Connor? You could have let me continue to think ill of him.”

He rubbed a hand along the nape of his neck. “Yes, I could have done that. But I don’t want you to make your decision about marrying me based on the mistaken belief that Aubrey was a cad. Especially if you did have feelings for him.”

“I see.”

“I do not want us to enter into a betrothal upon a lie, Eden. Whatever the outcome, I want you to follow your heart and find your true happiness. I hope you will find it with me, a dense, arrogant clot whose only saving grace is that he loves you and will always regret not telling you sooner.”

“I did a bit of denying, too.” She had poured her feelings into her diary while hiding them from Connor even once he was free to love her. Much of that time, she had denied them to herself, too. She had almost convinced herself that loving him was merely a fantasy and could not be real. Then the party had started and all those beautiful debutantes began to flutter around him.

Oh, that pain of losing him was quite real.

What would have happened had her parents not arrived when they did? She might have remained at Chestnut Hill trying to pretend she did not care if he chose someone else. She would not have been here for Connor to finally accept these feelings he had for her. Persephone would not have had any competition and might have weaseled a marriage proposal out of him.

No, it would not have happened. Likely he would have remained a Silver Duke, ever resistant to marriage.

“Your happiness matters more to me than my own,” he said. “There should only ever be honesty between us. Well, there it is. The honest truth laid out before you. I haven’t said anything yet to my mother, so no harm done if you choose Aubrey over me.”

“But your children know.”

“They only know that I meant to propose to you. They will get over the disappointment if you reject me. Is this not what children do best? Recover and move on. But the champagne toast is ready…whether it is me or Aubrey that you choose.”

“That is awfully generous of you,” she remarked, moving into his arms, which he closed around her, his expression clearly one of surprise and relief. “You do recall that I told you I loved you.”

He cast her a wry smile. “Yes, Eden. But you may have said it because of a false impression about Aubrey.”

She shoved at him lightly.

“What?” He laughed when she gave him another gentle push. “Am I not being gallant and admirable even though my heart is at risk of being ripped to shreds?”

“For someone with your reputation with the ladies, you really know nothing about us.” She took his hand. “Come with me.”

She led him into the garden and the fishpond tucked away in a far corner.

“All right, here we are. The original scene of the crime,” he teased. “What happens next?”

“What happens next is that you kiss me, Connor.”

He glanced up at the sun hanging low on the horizon and still shining. Sunlight glistened upon the waves so that the water shimmered blue and splendid. “It is still daylight.”

She nodded. “I’ll have my moonlight kiss now, if you please.”

“Now?”

“Yes, because I have belatedly realized it isn’t the moonlight that provides the magic. It is you, and only you. The time of day is irrelevant. Although moonlight is awfully nice, isn’t it?”

He smiled and drew her into his arms again. “Yes, it is nice. But so is this… Close your eyes, Eden. Imagine a thousand stars twinkling overhead. There’s also a moon shining full and bright above us. Do you see it?”

She closed her eyes. “Yes, I see it shining very brightly in my heart.”

“I’ll give you starlight and moonlight every night for the rest of our lives, if you wish it,” he said in a throaty whisper, before lowering his head to hers and capturing her mouth with possessive heat as he proceeded to make her dreams come true.

She had waited a lifetime for his kiss.

This kiss.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as Connor sank his lips onto hers with all the confidence of an experienced rake, pressing warmly, deeply upon hers and proving he was right. She was going to love all his kisses. This first one and all those to come throughout their lives. She was going to love them because she loved him and always would.

She kissed him back with all the sincerity and hope in her heart.

He had to know that she would respond this way, trusting him and his Silver Duke prowess as he unleashed all the sensual power under his command.

Dear heaven.

It was considerable, a full assault on her senses.

Her skin tingled and her senses reeled, for he made her entire body thrum and spring to life with every light graze of his hand along her spine and the subtle shift in pressure upon her lips. She gave herself over to these new sensations, amazed at the complexity of a single kiss. There were so many nuances, and Connor understood them all, for his kiss showed both sides of him. Rough and yet tender. Conquering and yet protective.

And so blazing hot.

His mouth moved over hers with confidence, never a doubt he was going to win her heart. And yet he offered up his own heart in surrender as well.

His splendid lips continued to press firmly but gently over hers. She had spent pages in her diary describing their fullness and perfect shape. When he smiled, his lips were as beautiful as sunshine and capable of melting a frozen wasteland.

His tongue dipped into her mouth, gently invading when she opened for him. Until this very moment, she had not realized there was more to a kiss than the mere press of one’s mouth to another. In truth, they were a splendid assault on one’s being, a magnificent invasion of the soul.

It was also the introduction to the intimacy of their bodies joining physically. She looked forward to it, for he made her feel desired and safe within the circle of his muscled arms.

She moaned as she breathed in his divine musk scent.

“Eden, dear heaven.” He laughed softly afterward, smiling at her as they eased apart. “I knew it would be good with you.”

“Just good?” She leaned her head against his chest when he drew her closer again. She felt his strong and steady heartbeat, while hers was wildly racing.

Had she made a cake of herself? Shown herself to be inept?

“It was spectacular, love,” he whispered against her ear.

“Yes. I thought so too.” She gazed up at him, melting again when he smiled at her. “I saw moonlight and starlight. It was even more incredible than I ever imagined a Silver Duke’s kiss could be. But I learned something important, something that you probably knew all along.”

“What is that?”

“Your kisses will always be moonlight kisses, the best sort of kisses because they are given in love.”

He gave her an exquisitely tender kiss on the cheek. “There are plenty more in store for you, if you wish it.”

She nodded. “I do wish it.”

“Good,” he said, releasing a light breath as he studied her intently. “Do you need more convincing? Or have I removed all doubt? Eden, love. Will you marry me?”

She had never felt so much joy in her life as she responded, “Yes.”