What the Duke Wants(17)

“You should dry off.” He stepped back and nodded, turning to the fire, effectively dismissing her.

“Oh, y-yes, your grace,” Carlotta stammered, her confusion and the sting of rejection painful in her breast. Before the tears that were welling in her eyes slipped out, she turned and left with as much dignity as she could muster.

A kiss that had tilted her world and branded her heart seemed to have had no effect whatsoever on the duke.

And nothing could have hurt more.





Chapter Five




Charles stared at the fire until he heard the soft click of her heels in the hall, then he closed his eyes in shame. What a miserable emotion! What a miserable situation he found himself in, over a governess no less.

But if he were being honest, and he found that he was, indeed, being honest, she wasn’t just a governess any longer. Not after that kiss.

Charles considered himself experienced in the more romantic arts, to say the least. He was familiar with all types of kisses; seductive kisses meant to lure a man to bed, as well as flirtatious kisses, meant to entice but innocent enough to simply tease. But one kiss he was not familiar with was an inexperienced kiss. Contrary to what he would have assumed, it was by far the most tempting, alluring siren call of all.

Or perhaps it was just her kiss.

She had tasted of sweet strawberries and cream, all smooth and velvety. Her lips were far softer than he expected, captivating him from the first whisper of contact. Her tentative response was nearly his undoing if it hadn’t reminded him of her purity, of her innocent nature regarding seduction.

If her innocence was as captivating as that, then heaven help the man with whom she discovered her passions.

Charles swallowed hard. He wanted to be that man. The thought of any other man teaching her the joys of passion made his blood boil with a fever of rage.

Normally he wasn’t one given to extreme emotions, yet she seemed to provoke a great many within him. Just another aspect of the decadence that was his governess.

His governess.

As if he needed a reminder of the difference in their stations, he glanced down to his ring; the family ring that had carried though generations and generations of Clairmonts. Not once had there been a marriage that didn’t include the purest of pedigrees.

A governess. His father must be spinning in his grave. Charles shook his head, trying to dispel the conflicting and confusing emotions and thoughts.

This was why he chose to live in denial. Too bad that ship had apparently sailed away, along with his sanity.

What had he been thinking to kiss her like that? Dripping wet no less, he had practically accosted her. Only, she hadn’t run away. She’d kissed him back.

She had kissed him back.

Startled by the obvious realization, he felt a self-satisfied grin overtake his features. It was short lived as he remembered just how he ended the lovely exchange of a kiss.

Yes, shame overcame him again.

Would the carousel of emotions ever end? It was bloody exhausting, all this caring and wondering. Yet at the same time, it was blissful and exhilarating. Women chased him, where now he would be the one to pursue, if he did, indeed, choose to pursue.

But he couldn’t.

She was, after all, a governess. Probably from a merchant family, blue stocking to the core.

But that kiss made him almost willing to take the chance.

Almost.

****

“Miss Lottie?” Berty asked as they sat down to dinner in the smaller dining room decorated in deep sapphire blues.

“Yes, Berty?” Carlotta smiled at the girl, though her heart still ached. What had she been thinking? Kissing a duke? Therein lay the problem, she hadn’t been thinking. She was consoled with the idea that apparently, he hadn’t been thinking either.

Unless.

Carlotta’s skin erupted in goose bumps, not the pleasant kind either. Surely the duke didn’t think she was a light skirt! One that would dally with her employer? Humiliation at her na?veté washed through her, soaking her soul like the rain had soaked her dress earlier. Was that all it was? Was she simply… available? Yet, if the rumors were true, then he need not search out feminine companionship. It sought him out…


“Miss Lottie?” Bethanny asked.

“Yes?”

“Are you well?” All three girls were watching her with various degrees of concern etching their beautiful faces.

“Forgive me, I was woolgathering.” Carlotta flushed at being so absorbed in her own misery that she frightened the girls. “What were you saying, Berty?”

“I was asking… that is, you’re still our governess, aren’t you? The duke, he wasn’t too mad at you for the picnic?” Berty asked, her question uncharacteristically observant.

“I’m still your governess. The duke spoke with me—” She swallowed, remembering far more than his words. “But have no fear, I’m not dismissed.”

“Good.” Beatrix nodded. “It wasn’t your fault anyway.”

“In a way, it is my dears. I’m to train you but also keep a sharp eye on you. I failed that charge.”

“But we all but ran away, maybe we should explain—” Bethanny began.

“No, it’s all over and done with. Let us all start fresh, shall we?” Carlotta put on her bravest smile as she reached for her napkin and placed it in her lap.