A Diamond for a Duke : Book 4: Camellia: Clean Regency Romance (A Duke's Daughters - The Elbury Bouquet)
Page 19
“That she cares for Mr Morton…”
“Yes, exactly.”
<<<
Lady Primrose Gardenbrook felt like she was floating on air, as the heat of his muscular arm came to her through the perfect superfine fabric of his coat, where her hand rested upon that arm, and spread through her entire body. His timing had been absolutely perfect. That he had appeared, talking to her father, just when she had finally escaped from the most boring dance of the evening, with Lord James Dillingham, was wonderful.
And that he had asked her to dance made it impossibly more wonderful. For she had, without compunction, ‘forgotten’ that Lord Helmcot was written against this next dance on her card, and accepted his request instantly. After all, it was a waltz, and she would be a fool to forgo such an opportunity.
An opportunity she had been hoping for, for a large part of the last year and more.
As they began to move to the music, his arms around her, and his scent surrounding her, she allowed herself to believe that it was real, that she was not dreaming it, as she had, so often, but was actually doing it. She had wondered if he would ever ask her to dance – would ever attend enough social events to have that chance, for that matter.
She had first met him at his sister’s wedding, and had been instantly smitten. A fact which she had managed to hide from her siblings for the entire year and a half since. That, in and of itself, was a remarkable achievement. Now, finally, here she was. The occasion of Camellia’s wedding had been one that it seemed he could not avoid attending – and she was so very glad of that.
She looked up, and met his eyes – so deep, so dark, with just a hint of blue or green about them, just enough to stop them from being completely black, and felt as if she was falling into them, endlessly drowning in his gaze. Somehow, her feet kept moving, performing the dance as required, more from habit and instinct than anything else.
After a moment, he spoke, his voice low, rich, and smooth, a vibration about it which quivered into her bones. It was a voice which made her think of things like velvet, and chocolate, and silk.
“Lady Primrose, do I take it from your earlier remarks about Dillingham that you have an interest in, someday, travelling beyond these shores?”
He had noticed! Happiness bloomed inside her.
“I do. I would love to see the world, to see the exotic plants which my father loves in their natural habitat.”
“I see – are you intending to devote your time to horticulture, as he does?”
Primrose smiled, pleased again, that he had not immediately told her that such things were inappropriate for a woman.
“Not entirely, although I am somewhat obsessed by flowers, and all of their variety. But what intrigues me most is painting – not the sort of paintings we so often see, which interpret the world, and attempt to make it somehow better than it is – at least the artist’s idea of better, but the kind of painting which attempts to faithfully reproduce the real world, in exquisite detail. I see paintings of exotic flowers, and I want to know if they are truly like that – to see them myself, in their natural state, to sketch them myself, and attempt to capture their beauty. I fear that my skills are inadequate, yet I still want to try.”
She waited for this confession to produce disbelief in the possibility of her doing any such thing, or a lecture on how exotic places were not safe for a Lady, but neither response occurred. Instead, his eyes defocussed for a moment, as if he thought of places far from the ballroom which they danced in, then he brought that gaze back to her, and smiled – a smile which took her breath from her body, instantly, so handsome did it make him look.
“That is admirable of you, and courageous. I fear that I have no talent for art – beyond appreciating others’ skill – Raphael and Sera’s gallery has allowed me to become rather a connoisseur of paintings. Which makes me positively in awe of those who can paint, and capture anything like reality.”
They twirled around, and Primrose felt dizzy with joy.
He did not think her a fool for her dreams. And, apart from her father and her brother, he was probably the only man to hold that opinion.
“Thank you. Have you, Mr Morton, travelled far? With the number of ships which Morton Empire Imports owns, you must have so many opportunities.”
He laughed softly, and half shook his head.
“I have not, sadly. I have been too busy with the running of the business, especially since Raphael was made Earl of Porthaven, with all of the extra responsibilities it carries. I look at the ships planned routes, and at the manifests of all of the items they return with, and I harbour the same sort of desires that it seems you do. One day, I would like to board one of those ships of ours, and sail off, to spend months or years exploring the world. But I doubt that I will have that opportunity at any time in the near future.”
“Then we are both trapped here in England, travelling in our imaginations. At least we may commiserate with each other, on occasion.”
“Indeed, if we are in such circumstances as to see each other.”
Primrose looked up at him, feeling terrified, and brave at the same time, unwilling to lose the chance this evening had provided. She licked her suddenly dry lips, and watched his eyes follow the movement. A shiver ran through her.
“I am quite certain that such circumstances can be arranged, Mr Morton. After all, you need only call upon me to provide us the opportunity to talk.”
There, it was said. It was completely outrageous of her, and completely outside the bounds of propriety, but she didn’t care. She had dreamed of this man for more than a year, and to have him, tonight, prove that he was so much better than she could ever have imagined, was enough to make her determined that, no matter what, she would not lose him.
This was the man she wanted to marry and, whatever it took to convince him that he wanted that too, she would do.
He looked at her, as the music ended, and they spun to a stop, his expression shocked… and something more – something she did not quite know how to interpret.
“That is true, Lady Primrose. And deliciously, shockingly practical of you. I would be delighted to accept your invitation to call.”
Continued….
Read ‘A Minx for a Merchant’ as soon as its released – sign up for Arietta’s newsletter at
https://www.ariettarichmond.com/newsletter-signup/
to be the first to know!
Books in the A Duke’s Daughters – the Elbury Bouquet Series
An Enchantress for an Earl (Violet) (coming soon)
A Maiden for a Marquess (Iris) (coming soon)
A Heart for an Heir (Thorne) (coming soon)
Books in the
His Majesty’s Hounds Series
Claiming the Heart of a Duke
Intriguing the Viscount
Giving a Heart of Lace
Being Lady Harriet’s Hero
Enchanting the Duke
Redeeming the Marquess
Finding the Duke’s Heir
Winning the Merchant Earl
Healing Lord Barton
Kissing the Duke of Hearts
Loving the Bitter Baron
Falling for the Earl
Rescuing the Countess
Betting on a Lady’s Heart
Attracting the Spymaster
Courting a Spinster for Christmas
Restoring the Earl’s Honour
From Soldier Spy to Lord (Books 1 to 3 as a set)
To Love a Determined Lady (Books 4 to 6 as a set)
Love Heals a Lord (Books 7 to 9 as a set)
Books in The Derbyshire Set
The Earl’s Unexpected Bride
The Captain’s Compromised Heiress
The Viscount’s Unsuitable Affair
The Count’s Impetuous Seduction
The Rake’s Unlikely Redemption
The Marquess’ Scandalous Mistress
The Marchioness’ Second Chance
A Viscount’s Reluctant Passion
Lady Theodora’s Christmas Wish
The Derbyshire Set Omnibus Edition Vol. 1 (the first three books all in one)
The Derbyshire Set Omnibus Edition Vol. 2 (the second three books all in one)
Regency Collections with Other Authors
Books in the Regency Scandals Series
Book 3 – Christmas with THAT Duke (Coming Soon)
Books in the Nettlefold Chronicles
Other Books from Arietta
Other Books from Dreamstone Publishing
Dreamstone publishes books in a wide variety of categories ranging from Clean Romance to Erotica, to Kids Books, Books on Writing, Business Books, Photography, Cook Books, Diaries, Coloring books and much more. New books are released each month.
Be the first to know when our next books are coming out
Be first to get all the news – sign up for our newsletter at
http://www.dreamstonepublishing.com