Free Duchess by Mistake by Cheryl Bolen Page B

corridor--his eyes widened when he gazed upon her. "How beautiful you look." There was something in his hand. A silken box.
    "I've brought you some of the family jewels. I had hoped to see you wear the Aldridge rubies tonight." He swallowed hard as his simmering gaze raked over her.
    "How amazing that I chose to wear the red tonight!" She moved to him as he began to open the box. When she saw the scalloped necklace of large rubies and diamonds set in gold she froze. "Oh, your grace! I shall be afraid to wear anything so beautiful and so valuable!"
    His gaze still simmering, he moved to place the necklace on her, and he spoke in a low, husky voice. "Oblige me by not calling me- -  -"
    "Your grace. Sorry. . .Philip." Her eyes could not leave the looking glass as he clasped the opulent necklace at the back of her neck. Then his head dipped to give her a nibbling kiss in the hollow of her neck.
    Goosebumps covered her exposed flesh.
    By the time they reached the dinner room, it was quite dark beyond the tall casements, but the three chandeliers above the table glittered with the light of more than a hundred candles.
    "I've requested that your place be beside me since there's just the two of us," he said.
    A smile played at her lips. "I am happy, indeed, that I shan't have to shout down the table at you."
    A footman poured wine into their glasses as another footman came from the kitchen to spoon clear turtle soup into their bowls. While Philip was consuming his soup, she took the opportunity to peer at him.
    What power he emanated! There was an air about him that bespoke authority, and his very solidness in stature and personality commanded respect from male and female alike.
    The fire at his back danced in his dark hair as her gaze pored over his nearly black eyes, strong jaw line, and handsome face. She came to realize that even were he not a duke, he could have had any woman in the kingdom.
    Why me?
    She should be flattered, but she was not. Everything about their so-called courtship had happened so rapidly, she felt as if she'd been tossed into a cyclone. Would she ever feel normal again?
    For most of the dinner, they ate in silence. After the sweetmeats were eaten, he placed his hand on hers and spoke in a gentle voice. "I thought you and I could sit before the fire in the library and enjoy a glass of Madeira before going to bed."
    Anything that would delay the bed business held vast appeal. She nodded.
     

 
     
Chapter 7
     
    He had selected the library for two reasons. First, it was his favorite room at Glenmont, and secondly, on a blustery night like this, it was the warmest chamber in this chilly house. That was the trouble with all this bloody marble: when it was cold outside, it was cold inside.
    As he strolled into the chamber and began to pour the Madeira, Elizabeth stood statue-still in the room's doorway.
    Was something the matter? He spun around to peer at her just as a smile lifted her fair face, and a sparkle glittered in her eyes. "It's a wonderful library! I had expected something massive--like the rest of Glenmont--but this is a most comforting chamber."
    Her comments oddly satisfied him. She obviously shared his good opinion of the Glenmont library. "I thought it clever of my grandfather to run the books vertically rather than horizontally to keep the chamber's intimacy." Despite that a second story of fine, leather-bound books in dark wood bookcases soared to lofty heights, the library managed to retain its coziness. The square room owed its intimacy to the red-hued Turkey carpets and the fireplaces on each of the four walls, all of them ablaze tonight.
    "Won't you sit at the sofa?" he asked. A pair of blue velvet sofas faced each other in front of the room's largest fireplace.
    A moment later he set the two full glasses on the table in front of her and came to sit at  her left, offering her the glass of Madeira. They sat there sipping in silence for a moment, both watching the fire blaze as winds howled