Free The Duchess of Love by Sally Mackenzie Page A

make an excellent match.”
    â€œHa!”
    She walked even faster. She had long legs, but his were longer. Still, she was obviously used to walking distances in the country; he had to hurry to keep up with her.
    â€œIs there a problem?” A stupid question. Obviously there was a problem, but for the life of him, he couldn’t discern what it was.
    â€œYes!”
    They reached the center of the maze. As he’d hoped, there was a bench underneath a splendidly leafy tree. Anyone—or two—sitting on the bench would be completely invisible to someone in the house or on the grounds. Unfortunately, even the most inveterate gambler wouldn’t take odds on his chances of persuading Venus to join him for a protracted bit of lovemaking. From the sharpness of her glare, he’d be lucky to emerge with all his body parts intact.
    He clasped his hands behind his back, but quickly thought better of it—that position left his tender bits too unprotected—and dropped his hands back to his sides. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. Could you explain the difficulty?”
    He’d never really thought looks could kill, but he might have to revise his opinion.
    â€œYour London friends stopped in the village looking for you,” she said.
    Damn. “Do you mean Lady Mary and Mrs. Blackburn?”
    â€œWhom else could I mean? Little Huffington is not exactly littered with Londoners.”
    â€œWell, I wasn’t certain since I wouldn’t consider them friends, precisely.”
    This was the wrong thing to say. If Venus had been angry before, she was now utterly furious. He half expected her hair to transform into snakes and her eyes to shoot lightning bolts. He glanced around the clearing to be sure there weren’t any other, more prosaic weapons at hand.
    â€œOh, no.” She spat the words as if they were some vile-tasting tonic. “They are far more than friends.”
    â€œThey are?” What the hell had those two harpies said?
    â€œDon’t try to deny it. Lady Mary told us she is betrothed to the duke.”
    â€œShe is not!” He saw red for a moment. He’d like to shake that lying jade until her teeth rattled in her head. How dare she say they were betrothed? He might—perhaps—expect her to try such a lie on poor Mrs. Edgemoor: Lady Mary wouldn’t see a housekeeper as meriting any respect. But to lie to Venus …
    Venus waved her hand, as if she didn’t really care. “And”—now her voice started to break—“she said Mrs. Blackburn is affianced to you !” The last word came out on a wail.
    What? But Venus had just said Lady Mary claimed to be his—oh, right, Venus thought he was Nigel.
    He’d waited a fateful moment too long before stepping toward her and extending his hand. “Venus—”
    She slapped his fingers away. “Don’t touch me, you despicable blackguard.”
    He was not used to being insulted. Anger flared in his gut. He tried to swallow it, but his voice sharpened. “Be reasonable.”
    â€œReasonable?!” She swiped at her nose with her sleeve. “You want me to be reasonable?”
    â€œAt least lower your voice. You’re shrieking like a fishwife.”
    â€œWhat? Are you afraid everyone will discover what a disgusting, dishonorable liar you are?”
    How dare she call his honor into question? If she were a man, she’d be meeting him in a duel. “I haven’t lied to you.” Perhaps he’d let her assume a few things, but he’d never out and out lied.
    She swiped at her face again. Didn’t the girl carry a handkerchief? He reached for his.
    â€œSo you’ve always been completely honest with me?” She sounded just a little hopeful.
    He froze, his hand still in his pocket. He wanted to say yes. If he said yes, maybe she’d calm down and let him put his arms around her and explain. Maybe they would end up on