It had been the fact that Georgianna had been the unlikely one to ‘catch’ him which had come as such an unpleasant shock to her ten months ago.
Gazing at such a handsome and unobtainable duke from afar was one thing—being informed he was to become her future husband was something else completely. Even the thoughts of becoming the wife of such a cynical and experienced gentleman had thrown Georgianna into a turmoil of doubt and fears. Mainly fears, she now realised.
What could a young girl of nineteen know of being married to a jaded gentleman of one and thirty? How would she even know what to talk to him about, let alone perform any of her other wifely duties? Georgianna had shied away from even thinking of the two of them in bed together, she plump and inexperienced, he as sleek and beautiful as a Greek god, with a legendary number of women known to have shared his bed.
Nor did she understand why he had chosen her at all, when he had never so much as even spoken or danced with her. The reason had become obvious, of course, and Hawksmere had confirmed it earlier today when he admitted he had believed her to be young enough, malleable enough, to make him an undemanding duchess.
She clasped her hands tightly together as she forced her gaze to meet his. ‘So there you have the answer to your earlier question. Working in Helene Rousseau’s tavern was inadvertently the way in which I gathered the information I gave you earlier.’
Impossible as it seemed, Zachary had already guessed that might be the case. Although he still had to question whether the delivery of that information had been deliberate or accidental. ‘And why did you find it so difficult to confide that to me earlier?’
She drew in a deep breath. ‘Because I feared you would not believe me.’
He raised dark brows. ‘But you no longer fear that might be the case?’
She grimaced. ‘Whether I do or I do not is no longer relevant—having now lost my liberty, I consider I have nothing else left to lose, and everything to gain, by confiding all to you.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘And you expect me to believe that Helene Rousseau confided in you, a young woman she had employed to work in her kitchen?’
‘Of course I do not.’ Georgianna gave him an impatient glance for the derision in his tone. ‘The truth is that I eavesdropped on the conversation in which Napoleon’s liberation from Elba was discussed.’
‘Eavesdropped how?’
‘I quickly realised that a group of men, including André, met upstairs in a room of the tavern several times a week. And I discovered, quite by accident, that a convenient knothole in the floor of that room allowed their conversation to be overheard in the storeroom directly below.’
‘You will have to forgive my scepticism, Georgianna.’
‘Will I?’ she retorted sharply.
Zachary grimaced. ‘The Rousseaus, both brother and sister, have been watched constantly since it was discovered that André Duval was actually André Rousseau, a known spy for Bonaparte.’
‘I am gratified to hear it,’ she responded tartly. ‘Indeed, it is a pity his duplicity was not discovered earlier, as it might then have saved me from considerable heartache.’
And Zachary was not in the least gratified to hear that Rousseau’s treatment of her had succeeded in breaking Georgianna’s heart. ‘You speak now of having a fear of meeting Rousseau again; how is it that you did not fear meeting him again at his sister’s tavern?’
She shook her head. ‘He was present at all of those meetings, but ordinarily he had no reason to ever enter the kitchen.’
‘Even so, you were taking a huge risk, Georgianna.’
‘Have you never heard that it is easier to hide in full view than it is to run away and attempt to hide?’ She sighed heavily.
It was a ploy Zachary had used several times himself these past four troubled years. ‘I have, yes.’
‘Besides, you only have to look at me now...’ Georgianna glanced down ruefully at her slenderness ‘...to see I am nothing like the girl I once was.’
Because she was no longer a girl but a woman, Zachary conceded grimly. Beautiful, intelligent, confident, capable, but most of all, in spite of everything, utterly desirable.
And nothing Georgianna had told him this evening had lessened the pounding of the relentless desire Zachary had felt for her since meeting her again. Was it only a matter of hours ago? It seemed as if he had been in this state of constant arousal for days rather than just hours.
He gave a shake of his head in an attempt to clear his head, at least, of that desire; his body was another matter entirely. ‘You understand I shall need time to confirm this new information?’
She held herself up proudly as she nodded. ‘I expected nothing less.’
Zachary gave an inward groan at the way the straightening of Georgianna’s spine had now pushed her breasts up against the soft material of the lilac gown. They were full and pert breasts, the nipples resembling ripe berries. As her waist would be slender, her hips gently curving, with a tempting triangle of dark curls hiding the succulent fruit between her...
‘Zachary?’
‘Say my name again,’ he encouraged gruffly.
Georgianna blinked, taken aback by this sudden change of subject.
More than taken aback when she realised Hawksmere was now standing so close to her she could once again feel the heat of his body through the material of her gown.
Her heart began to pound rapidly in her chest as she found herself unable to look away from the fierce intensity of those mesmerising silver eyes.
‘Zachary, I do not...’
‘Yes,’ he murmured with satisfaction, his eyes glittering down at her intently as he stepped even closer to her, his thighs almost touching hers as he raised a hand to cup one of her cheeks. ‘Say it again, Georgianna,’ he encouraged huskily as his thumb moved caressingly across her lower lip.
She flicked her tongue out with the intention of moistening her suddenly dry lips, quickly withdrawing it again as she inadvertently caught the edge of Zachary’s thumb, instantly able to taste the tangy salty sweetness of his skin. ‘Zachary,’ she protested weakly.
His thumb was a rousing caress in the tiny indentation in the centre of the fullness of her bottom lip. ‘Are you wearing the white silk drawers tonight, Georgianna? The ones with the little lilac bows?’
Georgianna was so lost in the burning heat of that silver gaze that it took several seconds for her to realise exactly what Zachary had said. Her cheeks blushed a fiery red as she acknowledged the intimacy of his question. ‘How did you know about...? You were responsible for packing my things earlier,’ she said, remembering in embarrassed consternation.
He gave a feral grin. ‘And I have been imagining you wearing those drawers ever since.’
