‘Mrs Kilkenny has already left the neighbourhood, as well you know,’ he returned.
‘And will you miss her?’ asked Marianne, able to tease him about Mrs Kilkenny now that she was secure in his love.
‘Hussy,’ he said affectionately, giving her a playful squeeze.
‘Why did you pay so much attention to her?’ asked Marianne.
‘To try and take my thoughts off you, of course. I was not meant to be falling in love with you, you see. I was meant to be looking after you because you were Kit's sister. But it did no good. Nothing could take my thoughts off you. Because every time I saw you I wanted to take you in my arms and do this . . . ’
He suited his actions to his words and turning towards her he kissed her ravishingly, so that shivers ran through every part of her.
‘And every time I saw you, I wanted you to,’ she confessed as he let her go.
‘Did you?’ he asked wickedly.
She smiled provocatively. ‘Yes.’
And he kissed her again.
As his hands stroked her face he said to her, ‘Why had you never married, Marianne? You had had a number of Seasons, and a number of offers – you see, even before I met you I had heard all about you from Kit.’
‘Because I never fell in love,’ she said simply. ‘I met a lot of unexceptionable gentlemen. They were witty, charming, handsome – but they were also horrified by my unconventional nature. And even if they hadn't been, I could never have married any of them because none of them moved me in any way. I liked being with them but forgot them as soon as they were no longer there. Whereas with you – from the moment I met you I knew I could never forget you, not for as long as I lived. You touched parts of me I had never known I possessed. When you kissed me I felt I was melting.’
‘But then you had never been kissed before.’
‘Not so. Lord – but I had better not mention his name. Suffice it to say that a young gentleman, carried away by the romance of a full moon, stole a kiss from me on the terrace of his London home. It was the last ball of the Season and I think he had decided that he must do something to try and show me that I would like to be married to him. But it didn’t have that effect at all. In fact, it didn’t have any effect. It seemed to me that if that was what kisses were like, I could very well manage without them.’
He raised one eyebrow. ‘And do you feel that way still?’
‘Not if the kisses are yours.’
He kissed her again. And then, unclasping her hands from behind his neck and holding them in his own he said, ‘Marianne, will you marry me?’
She smiled. ‘Yes.’
‘Even though I am anything but a gentleman?’ he asked her teasingly.
‘I think, perhaps, because you are anything but a gentleman,’ she said honestly.
He nodded. ‘A gentleman would stifle you, Marianne. We are both of us unconventional; we belong together, you and I. We will fit together, in every sense.’
She felt a shiver of anticipation as he drew her close, longing to be in his arms once more. As if he could read her thoughts he gave a slow smile, then tilting up her face to his he kissed her with a languorous sensuality that made her buckle at the knees.
‘I suggest we marry as soon as possible,’ he said, as at last he released her.
And Marianne agreed.
Copyright © 2001 by Amanda Grange
Originally published by Robert Hale Ltd. [UK] (ISBN
0709069065)
Electronically published in 2010 by Belgrave House/Regency
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No portion of this book may be reprinted in whole or in part, by printing, faxing, E-mail, copying electronically or by any other means without permission of the publisher. For more information, contact Belgrave House, 190 Belgrave Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94117-4228
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This is a work of fiction. All names in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.
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