‘My lord duke,’ she said with mock formality. ‘I should be most honoured to become your wife.’
He kissed her hand before standing up. ‘Well, it is about time, my knees were getting sore.’
Frederica got to her feet, as well. They stood eye to eye inches apart, for she was a very tall young woman. Samuel impulsively leaned towards her, placing a hand on her cheek. Frederica did not startle, nor move away. If anything, she leaned towards him. Considering that enough encouragement, he placed his mouth on hers. Her silken lips were cold at first, but warmed quickly. And to his great surprise, Frederica returned his kiss with ardour. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer. Samuel’s heart beat fast as his free hand found the dip of her waist and pressed her against him. She tasted of mint and honey, everything that was fresh and wonderful and bright. He was not sure which one of them deepened the kiss, but neither of them seemed to want the embrace to end. Perhaps they had been using their mouths wrongly with each other all these years.
Lips were not made for fighting, but for kissing.
At last, he lifted his mouth from hers. They looked at each other, both breathing heavily. His mind whirled. Frederica put her delicately gloved hands on the lapels of his green coat and pulled him to her for another open-mouthed kiss. He couldn’t believe thatshewas kissinghim! This time her lips were wet, warm, inviting, and deliciously familiar. Samuel put his hands over hers on his chest. Wanting to keep them there. To hold her close. His tongue slipped into her mouth and her tongue tangled with his. If this was another fight, for once he would let her win.
The footman coughed. Samuel and Frederica dropped their hands and quickly parted. He felt more flustered than a raw recruit on the first day. The footman opened the door for the Duchess of Hampford to walk into the room. He stood up taller and nearly saluted her like a general. Lady Hampford had not seen the embrace, and Samuel hoped that she presumed the heightened colour in both of their cheeks resulted from the embarrassment of the situation.
‘Have I returned too soon?’
‘No indeed, Duchess,’ Samuel said, bowing to her. ‘Your daughter has been kind enough to accept my proposal of marriage, and I was just begging her leave to write to her father and send an announcement to the newspapers. I do not have much time. The Duke of Wellington demands I return with all possible speed.’
Lady Hampford bit her lower lip, nodding. ‘To Vienna?’
Swallowing heavily, Samuel shook his head. ‘No, ma’am. I am to meet General Lord Wellington in Brussels, where he will take command of the coalition army.’
‘Ah,’ Lady Hampford said, tipping her chin. ‘I will not detain you any further, Duke. But if you have time to visit us again before you leave, we would be honoured to receive you at any time.’
The Duchess of Hampford held out her gloved hand, and Samuel bowed briefly over it. He then turned back to Frederica and surprised both ladies, and himself, by kissing her on the cheek. Frederica flushed a deeper shade of red and brought her hand to where his lips had brushed her skin. He left the room, escorted by the footman who had opened it.
Feeling lighter than he had all day, Samuel slipped the man a coin and touched his hat. ‘Thank you for the cough.’
Chapter Four
‘Samuel has certainly become quite broad-shouldered since he went to war,’ Mama said after the Duke of Pelford left. ‘I scarcely know if I would have recognised him on the street.’
Frederica walked to the window, watching Samuel below hail a hackney coach and get in. She was relieved to see him go. She’d tried to unsettle him with the kiss and it had backfired most dreadfully. Her pulse beat faster than if she’d run a mile. Samuel had changed. Or she had. Perhaps them both.
He was neither short nor tall, but a stocky fellow with thick dark brown hair that he wore shorter than was fashionable. His eyes were a pale shade of blue and his chin jutted out, giving him a determined look. He had left England a boy and returned a man with a powerful upper body. He was too muscular to be shown to advantage in skintight cream pantaloons, nor in the green coat made for him. She thought he would look best in uniform, where his brawn was intimidating.
She turned back to her mother. ‘His appearance has changed, but he is still as stubborn and stupid as ever. He informed me that his adventures on the Continent were not fit for a woman’s ears. As if a woman’s ears were any different than a man’s! Clearly, he has never dissected a cadaver. I can assure you that they are precisely the same.’
Mama raised one eyebrow. ‘You obviously did not mind too much, or you would not have let him kiss you.’
Frederica felt a blush suffuse her cheeks. Her mother was too sharp by half. ‘It was only on the cheek, Mama.’
Her mother shook her head, a smile on her lips. ‘You are not my eldest child. I know the look of someone who has been thoroughly kissed.’
His kisses had been knee-weakeningly wonderful, Frederica admitted to herself. Not that she would admit as such to her mother. ‘Samuel’s kisses were not as good as the Italian count’s.’
Mama snickered, a funny sound, coming from her. ‘It would be unfair of us to compare our Englishmen to their Latin counterparts. They will always be deemed inferior.’
Frederica laughed and took a seat next to her mother on the sofa, trying to calm the wild beating in her heart. She didn’t want to admit to liking anything about the match. She would lose negotiating ground. Leaning her head on her mother’s shoulder, she said, ‘Sacrifices must be made in all battles.’
Her mother put an arm around her and sighed. ‘That horrid Napoleon has quite overturned all of my plans with his wars.’
‘Perhaps he was not considering your convenience.’
Mama chuckled again. ‘He certainly was not, or he would have waited to escape for another month or two. The nuisance! Now we must be serious. I do not think we should purchase your wedding clothes until we are able to set a date, which I suppose again will be at the little emperor’s convenience. It is bad enough that he has kept most of Europe in war for twenty years, quite making it impossible to visit all my favourite cities. Or sell them my perfumes.’
Frederica sat forward, struck with an idea. ‘Mama, why do we not follow Samuel to Brussels? Lady Jersey was bemoaning the other day how so many of the best families are abroad and my dear friend Georgy Lennox is already there.’
Her mother took a deep breath, clearly thinking about Frederica’s suggestion. ‘I cannot deny that your idea does find favour with me. Like yourself, I wish we were in sunny Greece with your sisters and father, instead of rainy old England. And I do believe a trip to Brussels would alleviate some of the tedium. However, I must have your word that you will behave with the utmost propriety at all times. And that you will do everything in your power to further your match with Samuel. Nothing is final until the vows have been said and the marriage papers signed, and I do not wish for you to do anything that might jeopardise your future.’
Leaning back against the sofa, Frederica put her hands behind her head. ‘Sign over half the company to me first and I will behave with perfect propriety.’