Chapter 15
Hope’s thoughts wandered to the enjoyable day she had spent with Pierce as Esther flitted around readying her for dinner. It was still odd for her to be catered to and pampered instead of being the one doing the catering, but it was refreshing to sit back and just have time to think. She was actually looking forward to dinner tonight, oddly excited at the prospect of seeing Pierce again. Today he had felt like something more than a confusing opponent in this odd game she had been forced into, he had actually felt more like a friend.
When Esther had placed the last pin in her hair and declared her ready, Hope leaned forward and rummaged through her jewelry box until she found the ruby necklace her mother had given her on their last visit. She quickly clasped it into place on her neck, feeling the heavy stone fall just below her collarbone. She quickly surveyed herself in the looking glass and was pleased by the results—she had never noticed before how pretty she actually was. Of course, she had always thought Noelle was beautiful but had never imagined she could look just like her!
Gathering herself after one final glance in the mirror, she left her bedchamber and headed anxiously to the dining room. As she entered the large room she noticed not one but two figures stand as she entered. Briefly her eyes flicked to Pierce before looking back at the stranger standing next to him. The man was not quite as tall or as broad as Pierce but he definitely had an imposing presence. He had dark hair and wicked good looks, though once again she found even his looks lacking in comparison to Pierce’s. When he looked into her eyes as he reached for her hand, she was surprised to see their striking contrast of pale blue against his tanned skin.
He placed a soft kiss to her hand before saying, “Pleased to meet you Lady Noelle, I’m Lord Martineau, Pierce’s oldest and closest friend. Did I mention that I’m also his handsomest?” There was a twinkle in his eye as he spoke.
“Apparently his most conceited as well, but pleased to meet you nonetheless.”
She was surprised when Pierce threw back his head and laughed. “Seems to me that she has you pegged, dear friend.” Lord Martineau just scowled before taking his seat.
Pierce was at Hope’s side where he gently took her hand and placed it on his arm before walking her around to the other side of the long table to help her into her seat. “Well said, my little minx. Elliot’s ego can use some deflating once in awhile.”
Hope arched one perfectly shaped brow, “It’s no wonder you two are such good friends, it seems to me you have much in common.”
He leaned in close to her ear as he pushed in her chair, “And you, miss, have a sharp tongue.”
She looked up at him, an innocent expression on her face, “I prefer to think of it as an honest one.” He just rolled his eyes and went back to his seat across the table from hers, feeling invigorated by their verbal sparring.
Just as he had resumed sitting, his mother walked into the room and he was once more on his feet, but before he even had the chance to go escort her to her own seat, Elliot had whisked by him and had helped himself to the honors.
“Ah, can I just tell you how lovely you are looking tonight, duchess?”
Caroline laughed and swatted Elliot’s arm, “Oh do stop flirting with me, Lord Martineau, I’m much too old for the likes of you.”
Elliot reared back, feigning shock, “Too old? Never. Too beautiful? That’s much closer to the truth.”
Caroline reached up and patted his cheek as she chuckled, “You’re quite the flatterer, now why are you wasting those pretty words on an old lady like me when there are young ladies galore for you to charm in London?”
“That’s the crux of it—it’s much more fun and safe to flirt when you’re not concerned with said flirting being misconstrued as a marriage proposal.” He pulled out her chair and waited while she sat and made herself comfortable before going back to his own seat.
“And why, might I ask, are the gentleman of the ton so afraid of marriage? First Pierce, and now you too Elliot? Is there some sort of epidemic sweeping London’s ballrooms?”
Hope couldn’t resist piping in, “Cowardice, perhaps?” She had only said it in jest, but she didn’t miss the look of pain that flashed in Elliot’s eyes before it disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Once again he was back to his casual bantering, as if he was hiding some secret pain behind his lightheartedness.
He turned to her and said, “It appears that England’s two most beautiful women are out of my reach, so what’s a bachelor such as myself to do if I can’t have either of you?”
His mocking leer irritated her and she had the sudden desire to reach forward and strangle him with his perfectly tied cravat, suddenly annoyed by his incessant joking and though she had only known the man for a matter of minutes, he seemed as if he was hard pressed to take anything seriously. No wonder he couldn’t find a girl to marry.
Luckily she was saved from answering by the footman who began serving dinner. She mostly ate in silence, observing the interactions of the people around her. It was apparent that they were all comfortable and familiar with one another and she enjoyed listening to them fill Caroline in on all the gossip that they had been privy to during the season. Every now and then she would look up and find Pierce staring at her, causing her heart to speed up its cadence. Several times when she made eye contact with him and caught him looking, instead of him glancing away and pretending like he hadn’t been ogling her with his eyes, he would boldly stare back, not daring to break eye contact. Inevitably, Hope was always the one to look away, embarrassed by his audaciousness.
When dinner was finally over, Hope rose, anticipating spending some time with Caroline while the men retired to the library for port. Pierce surprised her by putting one large hand on Elliot’s shoulder and saying, “If you don’t mind man, I’m going to forgo the port tonight. I had promised Noelle that I’d show her the pictures in the gallery and I know she must be getting tired after our long day so I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
Pictures in the gallery? It was the first Hope had heard anything of it, but the look he gave her silenced her and she waited, anxious to see what he was all about.
Elliot gave Pierce a mischievous look, “It’s no disappointment to me; I think it’s no secret that I’d much prefer your mother’s company to yours anyway. Now run along little ones, the duchess and I have much to discuss.”
Pierce escorted Hope out of the room, leading her up the wide staircase and up towards the gallery before either one of them spoke. Hope was surprised that Pierce allowed so much time to lapse in silence, knowing his previous dislike of it. This time she would have welcomed his conversation, for her curiosity was fully piqued and she was dying to know what he was up too.
Pierce was surprised that Noelle didn’t badger him with endless questions regarding his actions the minute they were alone. He himself still wasn’t one hundred percent sure what had compelled him to do what he had done. He knew that he would face endless teasing from Elliot, but he’d deal with the consequences later. All he knew was that from the moment Noelle had set foot in the dining room, he had been hard pressed to take his eyes off of her. Though she was dressed in a simple white muslin dress with a dark blue ribbon tied just under her breasts, her golden hair shone brilliantly in the candlelight and her amber eyes mesmerized him.
He knew that she could feel his hungry stare on her and the few times their eyes had met across the table, he couldn’t find it in him to look away even then. He still wanted to slug Elliot every time he thought of his audacity at ever labeling the girl as nondescript. Clearly Elliot was blind.
They came to a stop in front of a large stone fireplace, the walls lined on each side of the gallery with large, guilt framed paintings of generations of dukes and duchesses gone by. His own father and mother’s painting hung proudly above the fireplace, displayed in a notable place of honor. He watched as Noelle looked around at the paintings before looking back at him, “Well they didn’t break the mold with you, you look like eve
ry other Duke of Kerrington that has ever had the privilege to grace this earth.”
Pierce chuckled, “I suppose there is some family resemblance.”
Hope turned towards him and looked up into his smoldering eyes, “Is that why you were so eager to show me these paintings? So I could be assured that every generation of Chadwick’s is as handsome as the next?”
Pierce felt the space between them electrify as she inched closer, “Are you saying you find me handsome?”
“I suppose if you like tall, dark, snarling men than you would rank right up there.”
It was his turn to inch closer, “For your information, I haven’t snarled once today.”
She widened her eyes and gave him an impish look, “Oh, I’m very proud of you. I’d say such noble efforts deserve a reward.”
Pierce felt his pulse quicken and his blood warm, “Yes, I would agree. What do you have in mind?”
In that moment, looking up into his black eyes that danced with devils, Hope knew that more than anything she’d like to reward him with a kiss, but she wasn’t sure she’d have the nerve to deliver.
Pierce watched for one long moment, holding his breath in anticipation. The minute she stood up on her toes and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips he felt a jolt in his midsection. As far as kisses go, it was perhaps the briefest and most chaste he had ever received but the fact that it had come from her and was given of her own free will did something incredible and completely foreign to every nerve in his entire body.
Hope pulled back shyly, embarrassed by her actions and desperately hoped he didn’t think less of her for her forwardness. She couldn’t tell by the look on his face if he was pleased or not.
After a few seconds he led her quietly to a chair and said, “Wait right here, I’ll be back in a minute.”
Hope didn’t know what to think as she sat and fretted about what had just occurred between the two of them. She conjured up an image of him rushing into the nearest room to wipe the kiss she had bestowed on him from his lips in revulsion, the thought sending another wave of embarrassment washing over her. What if he had truly been repulsed by her kiss? She thought back to the other times they had kissed and he had never seemed disgusted, but this was the first time she had initiated it and he wasn’t the one leading off in their passionate interludes.
Before she had any longer to fret about it, Pierce had returned carrying a rectangular velvet box in one hand. He reached down and lifted her to her feet with his free hand then held the box between them, “I wanted you to have this, it reminded me of your eyes. Or rather, your eyes reminded me of it and I knew it must be yours.”
He opened the latch and lifted the lid of the box to reveal an exquisite necklace composed of large faceted amber teardrop stones encased in gold, alternating with smaller sparkling round diamonds. Hope gasped and automatically reached one hand to her throat, clutching tightly the ruby necklace her mother had given her.
Watching her actions, Pierce said, “This necklace is beautiful, but it doesn’t even begin to do your eyes justice.”
He reached to dispense of the ruby pendant when Hope squeaked, “It was my mother’s.” At least that part was true.
Pierce’s eyes showed understanding, “It’s sentimental I gather?”
Hope thought a moment before speaking, “It’s not that—I’ve just never worn anything so fancy, I’m not sure I could.”
“Nonsense, as Duchess of Kerrington you will have access to all the family jewels and will wear many pieces much finer than this. I thought every lady looked forward to the prospect of wearing such things.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not like most ladies.” She looked into his eyes then, and for the first time since meeting him she was filled with an overwhelming desire, almost need to tell him the truth, to tell him who and what she really was, but she knew she couldn’t and even more importantly, that she wouldn’t.
He smiled, “Oh, I’ve definitely taken note and must admit that I’m relieved to find out you’re not quite like all the rest of them.” Hope dropped her hands then and allowed him to reach back and remove the ruby pendant which she let fall into her hand while he put the much larger, more opulent necklace into place around her delicate throat. When the necklace was clasped, he bent down and placed a tender kiss on the back of her neck right above where the necklace closed before turning her around to face him.
Pierce let his breath rush out of him, “Exquisite.”
Hope reached up and gingerly touched the heavy stones hanging around her neck. Pierce grabbed her hand and placed her palm against his lips where he pressed a scorching kiss that she felt pierce her straight in the heart.
“I wasn’t talking about the necklace, I was talking about you.”
“Thank you,” she almost whispered.
It took all of his remaining willpower to pull back when all he wanted to do was to sweep her into his arms and kiss her madly, never letting her leave his side. The strength of his emotions scared him, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling or what it meant and he suddenly felt a desire to be alone to sort out all of the unfamiliar sensations. His shoulders stiffened and his voice turned formal as he placed the hand he had just kissed in the crook of his arm and began leading her back to the wing where their bedchambers were located.
“It’s getting late and you’ve had a long day, I think you should get some sleep.”
Hope was surprised that he was suddenly acting formal and distant but tried not to read too much into it lest it cause her cheerful mood to fade. She allowed him to walk her to her door where he nodded slightly before murmuring a hasty goodbye and departing quickly as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of her.