Free Daring Miss Danvers by Vivienne Lorret Page A

However, at the time, he’d felt it was his duty. After all, her brother had asked him to look after her.
    Now, with Rafe away again, he was still looking after her. Only it was different now. Much different.
    What if . . . he heard a voice say in the back of his mind as the seedling idea strained against the confines of its husk, stretching out with the solitary tendril of a root.
    “I know what you’re doing,” she said quietly, refusing to look at him. “It won’t work this time, so you might as well give up.”
    “What am I doing, Emma- mine ?”
    “Wooing me. Flirting with me to get your way—though I can’t think of what else you could want in addition to my agreement to your scheme.” She responded to his low chuckle by glaring at him. “You seem to think that I agreed to this because I imagined myself half in love with you. I know better. Only a fool would lose her head over you.”
    He studied her intently, hearing the truth of her words, which sparked a question within him. Why had she agreed to his scheme?
    If there was some truth in flirting, then there might very well be truth in denial as well.
    He grinned, at last beginning to understand why everything seemed so different this evening. Because it was different. “I don’t want you to lose your head over me. I quite like it right where it is, blazing chocolate eyes, jasmine-laced lips, and all.”
    What if . . . the voice whispered again. What if . . . she could be mine?
    The thought came unbidden to the forefront of his mind, causing him to draw in a startled breath. The scent of jasmine filled his nostrils, and suddenly he didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of this before.

 

C HAPTER S EVEN
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    P enelope pointed to a stone bench just off the park’s walking path. “That looks like a fine place out of the sun. Perhaps I should have brought a parasol after all. No doubt Mr. Weatherstone will love that he was right.”
    “Surely, there’s no need to tell him,” Emma said with a sly grin. She’d left her parasol behind as well, not expecting the gray morning clouds to disappear so suddenly. On such a fine day, the park was fairly bursting with people enjoying the sunshine.
    “If there’s one thing about marriage you will soon learn,” Penelope began with a secret smile of her own, “it’s that one chooses the moments to allow one’s spouse to be right. In such an instance, Mr. Weatherstone gains the pleasure of being right about my parasol, while I will gain the satisfaction of having him fuss over me later. He’s positively obsessed with my freckles.”
    Emma tilted her head to the side and studied the wistful look on her friend’s face. “You actually enjoy it when he fusses over you?” It sounded suffocating. She couldn’t help but think of how annoying it had been when Rathburn’s overbearing presence had chased away all of her suitors last year.
    No, she most definitely would not like her future spouse, whoever he may be, to hover and bother her. As if in direct response to her thoughts of potential suitors, Lord Mabry and Lord Hutchings passed by, both lifting their hats and smiling in greeting as they passed. She couldn’t recall having ever earned their attentions after being introduced during her debut, and so merely offered her own smile in return. How odd .
    “Not always, I assure you,” Penelope added with a small laugh that pulled Emma back to their conversation. “Let’s just say there are certain perks to being married that I did not appreciate when it seemed Mr. Weatherstone and I were destined to remain friends and only friends.”
    Only friends . As in, not lovers. She felt spots of heat climb to her cheeks as she took in Penelope’s meaning. “Marriage agrees with you. I’ve never seen you so happy.”
    “I never expected to be so happy. And to think, we’ll have a child before Guy Fawkes Day.” Briefly, she rested a hand over her still slender middle. “I can’t wait for you to find your