Free Romance: Detective Romance: A Vicious Affair (Victorian Regency Intrigue 19th England Romance) (Historical Mystery Detective Romance) by Lisa Andersen

hair was cropped close to his head. His jaw was square and strong. His eyes were blue tinged with purple. “I have frightened you,” he said. His voice was cold and calm, untouched by even the slightest emotion.
    “Not—not at all,” Elizabeth said, as she overcame the initial shock. “I merely came out here for some fresh air. I did not expect to see the Duke.”
    “Well, here I am.” He walked around to the bench and stood over her. “May I?”
    “Of course.”
    “What happened in there? Lady Barnes seemed quite angry with you.”
    “Our fathers do not agree on many things.”
    “I have heard,” the Duke said. “I have also heard that Lady Barnes can be sword-sharp with her tongue. You must tell me, how did you rebuff her?”
    “I’m sure you have more impressive tales,” Elizabeth said. “War, France, the King.”
    He waved his hand. “They are not nearly as impressive as a riposte as expertly executed as yours.”
    “It is rather a scandal,” Elizabeth said, whispering conspiratorially. “If I were to tell you, I would need your word that you would not spread the rumor.”
    “You have my word, upon the King,” the Duke said seriously.
    “Charlotte, two years ago, had a night in the stables with her family’s gardener.”
    “A night in the stables , you say? You mean they fucked?”
    Elizabeth blushed to her ears. She looked down at her hands, into the bushes, anywhere but into his eyes. When she glanced back, she saw that the Duke was staring steadily at her, his eyes burning into her. She quickly looked away. “That is—err, I believe what happened.”
    The Duke nodded, and then jumped to his feet. He offered his arm. “Take a stroll with me, Elizabeth.”
    Elizabeth accepted his arm and together they began to walk around the gardens. She was aware of the jealous eyes that peeped from behind every bush, but she didn’t care about that. All her thoughts were seized by the Duke’s presence beside hers, by his arm on hers, by the hard muscle that Elizabeth could feel through the fabric of the Duke’s jacket. He led them far to the back of the garden, where none of the other party were, and they sat on a bench.
    “It is nice here,” Elizabeth said.
    “It’s private,” the Duke said.
    “Is that a good thing?”
    “It is a great thing,” the Duke said. “I do not want to share you with the rest of the party.”
    Elizabeth did not know what to say to this. She looked around the gardens, watching a butterfly chart its course from flower to flower, watching a caterpillar crawl over and around a leaf.
    “Tell me, Elizabeth, what do you crave most in the world?”
    Elizabeth was taken aback by this question, and was not sure how to respond. What did she value most in the world? Was it riches? No. Was it love? Perhaps. Was it knowledge? Maybe. “I do not know,” Elizabeth said. “What do you, if I may, covet most?”
    The Duke shrugged. “I have no idea,” he said. “I merely follow the King, and do as the King orders me.”
    “That is a noble pursuit.”
    The Duke shrugged again. “Tell me, Elizabeth, have you ever been kissed?”
    Elizabeth was twenty years old, she had been an adult now for a long time, but she had never been kissed. She had thought impure thoughts before, and had felt horribly guilty afterwards, but in real life, she had never so much as been held by a man. “I have not,” she whispered.
    She almost flinched when the Duke’s hand touched her face. He brushed her chin with his fingertips and then turned her face toward him so they were looking into each other’s eyes. His face was calm and composed. Elizabeth made her face calm and composed, though within she was more scared and excited and alive than she had ever been. The Duke moved his hand down from her chin to her throat, and then he leaned in and kissed her on the lips.
    The kiss was full of passion. Feelings Elizabeth had not even known she possessed woke within her. She closed her eyes and breathed in