Free Lord Romney's Exquisite Widow by Jenni James Page B

the great pile of self-doubt you carry. I am a fiend, my lady, and I will prove to you I am the monster, not you."
    "You cannot expect a simple pansy to believe she is a rose, sir."
    "Nay, I would never dream it, for the pansy is a noble, vibrant flower in her own right. A blossom that blooms at the end of chilly snow and gives hope to all of us that spring is almost here." His gaze tugged at hers, and his dimple played peekaboo with her heart again. "However, sweetling, you are not a pansy, nor are you a simple rose. Nay, my dear, you are the beautiful peony, the queen of all flowers, whose petals are the largest and most enchanting of all."
    How could he have known? "I have always loved peonies."
    "As have I, and they have often reminded me of you."
    She looked down at the kitten and then back up at him. "They are the symbol of luck and good fortune and happy marriages."
    "Are they?" He grinned. "That is something I did not know, yet I can see how effortlessly that fits with you."
    "What?" She laughed just as the kitten bounded onto her lap and then back off again. "I only expressed to you the meaning so you would apprehend how much they are contrary to me. Goodness!"
    He sat down and crossed his legs under him. "No, you shall not sway me. Indeed, I have even more hope for my cause. You most certainly are lucky. Meeting you stopped me before I made a nodcock of myself and wedded a woman I did not love."
    Catherine attempted to keep some decorum between them. It would not do to have such a lovesick sop pining for her in the upstairs parlor—though her heart beat wildly once more and belied her words. "Kindly remember that I am not yours, nor am I likely ever to be. You are a fiend to insinuate so."
    "A fiend, am I?" He chuckled, that delicious dimple causing all sorts of havoc. "If I am a fiend, what does that make you? A heart-stealing villainess? A cruel temptress?"
    She pretended to think about it for a moment. "Perhaps. I am a merry widow, after all. Do you expect me to be anything else?"
    "My widow. I expect you to be my widow."
    "Ha! So I may plan your demise now. What should it be? A blow over the head with a garden rake? Some poison in your tea?"
    "Great thunderation, my lady!" He laughed. "If I do not watch my back, you will have me dead before the altar."
    "I will have you dead before this week is through!" she parried. "Never underestimate a merry widow. You know what they all say about such soiled women—"
    "No, I do not, though you have just proven that we must be wed within a sennight so I may die happy."
    "Of all the outlandish things to say!" She could not help but laugh loudly. "You, sir, did not let me finish my most witty banter, barging in with your own comeback before I had a chance to finish mine. Truly, it is unkind to do so."
    "Very well." He grinned and bowed his head as he leaned over to pet the frisky feline. "I concede to the lady. Just what were you about to say before I released my boorish manners once again and so rudely interrupted you?"
    She raised her hands. "Oh, I have forgotten exactly what now, but I assure you, it was a very good piece of frippery about no one being certain how my last husband died, and how the gossips should be wondering who my next victim will be."
    Lord Hamson roared, and then picked up the little kitten and kissed him right on the top of his furry head. "I knew you were in there somewhere," he said. "I knew my witty minx had not gone too far, and I am glad for it. I had been apprehensive these years that I would never have my friend back."
    Oh, how they had laughed those short times together! How he had made her chortle and dream as they bantered their hours away. Never had she been happier than with him then. "’Tis true. We certainly enjoyed ourselves."
    "Aye, we did. And with such enthusiasm too." He cleared his throat and handed the furry rascal over to her. "So are we in agreement, then? Before the week is through?"
    It was that blasted twinkle in his eye and