A Dance to Tempt the Duke - Chapter 15

Felicity raced up the steps and clasped his arm with both hands. He could not leave. Not like this.

‘I deny nothing,’ she said, still clasping his arm. ‘You did see me kissing Edward Montgomery. I wanted to be seen, just not by you.’

He stopped pulling against her arm and turned to face her. ‘Is that supposed to make it all right?’

‘No…yes…I don’t know. I just want you to trust me when I say I meant no harm.’

‘Trust you?’ That look of scorn and disbelief returned to his face. ‘You want me to trust a woman who I found in the arms of another man? A woman who had pretended to care for me? A woman I had foolishly been intending to ask to marry me?’

‘You were going to ask me to marry you?’

He huffed out an exasperated sigh. ‘I have already exposed myself as the cuckold I am. I suppose you now want to have the pleasure of knowing just how much of a fool you made of me.’

She placed her hand back on his arm, this time gently. ‘No, never. You are not a fool. I did not cuckold you.’

He shook off her arm. ‘That is exactly what you did. On the night I found you kissing Montgomery I visited your house and the footman told me you were taking a walk in the local park. I rushed off to find you, my grandmother’s engagement ring in my pocket, and followed the sound of your voice into the grove of trees. Like the naive fool that I was, I was about to get down on bended knee and ask you for my hand. Then I saw you. Hiding behind an oak tree, with Montgomery.’

‘Oh, God.’ Felicity’s hand shot to her mouth. ‘And is that why you left without even saying goodbye? Is that why you went to the Continent? Was that because of me, because of what you’d seen?’

‘Don’t flatter yourself. Yes, you opened my eyes and stopped me from being such an innocent dupe. I suppose I should be thanking you from turning me from a naive, trusting fool to one who knows how treacherous a woman can be.’

‘I am so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you.’

‘And yet you did.’

‘Yes, and I am so, so sorry.’