An Unlikely Duchess by Nadine Millard Page B

control before entering the drawing room again.
    Oh to have some of Caroline’s stiff upper lip right now.
    As her thoughts turned to her sister, the tears she’d been battling burst forth and she slumped back against the wall and buried her face in her hands.
    Oh, God. What had she done? What had she done?
    She looked around as if an answer to her problem was lurking in the hallway.
    I need to calm down and think this through .
    He had said he had no idea about the contract and, though she only knew him a day, she instinctively knew he was trustworthy. He wasn’t lying. He really had no idea.
    That meant that he hadn’t come here to ask for Caroline’s hand in marriage. The thought gave her more relief than she had a right to feel.
    And what about what he’d said? That he could not stop thinking about her . Not Caroline. Not a perfectly proper, gently bred paragon of femininity but little old her.
    Rebecca could not help a small smile at this. He’d seen her at her worst today— she’d assaulted him, accidentally of course, but still. And he still felt — well, feelings for her.
    Her heart slammed against her chest.
    He’d kissed her.
    Her first kiss. And how glorious it was.
    Rebecca had suspected when he’d stepped toward her that his intentions were to kiss her. She’d been rooted to the spot by excitement, a delicious, almost frightening anticipation. Having never been kissed she had no idea what to expect. She’d read the romance novels that her mother disapproved of so, but she’d also heard enough from the local married women to know that what was written was very different from what actually happened, which sounded rather disappointing to be frank.
    Never had she imagined though that the reality would be so much more than anything she’d ever read. The women who complained were obviously kissing the wrong men.
    As soon as his mouth had touched hers she had lost herself completely. Her heart had exploded and she’d seen actual stars behind her closed lids. Sensations that she’d only ever read about and even then hadn’t fully understood had raced through her body as his lips had met hers.
    She’d found her body reacting quite of its own accord, pressing itself wantonly against his hard, muscular frame, her arms reached up to twine themselves around his neck, clinging to him like a brazen hussy and she hadn’t cared!
    She’d heard the sound of moaning and had been shocked to realise it was her. And still she did not care. And still the kiss went on.
    His tongue had darted out to dance with hers and she’d almost perished on the spot. Only his strong arms wrapped around her had prevented her from swooning to the ground.
    When she’d read of such kisses she’d felt a little ill, not knowing how something so disgusting could bring pleasure to anyone. Oh, how wrong she’d been.
    She could have spent the rest of her life kissing him.
    But when he’d suddenly pulled away and pushed her from his body, the hard reality of the situation slammed into her like a runaway carriage. She could do nought but stare at him while desperately struggling to get her breathing under control.
    She could not speak, could not move, and could not tear her eyes from his. He’d looked as dazed and confused as she felt. What had just happened between them? She was an innocent but was sure that the power of their kiss was rare.
    His silver eyes bored into hers, as if seeing into her very soul. And she was terrified of what he’d see there. Terrified of what she was beginning to feel for him.
    The sound of laughter had splintered the air and Rebecca had felt panic like she’d never known. She could not be seen there with him like that. She would be ruined! The scandal, her parents… Caroline!
    Rebecca had tried to say something, anything, to make sense of what had happened. In the end though, she had felt the very last shred of her control slip and knew she would have to leave before the tears came.
    And now, here she