Read Online Waking Up With the Duke by Lorraine Heath - Free Book Online Page B

dance with her tonight.”
    “I assure you that I intend to dance only once. Whether or not you choose to believe it, I am not in the habit of giving a woman false hope regarding where my affections or interest may lie.”
    Shaking her head, she averted her gaze. “My apologies. It is not my place to remark on your behavior.”
    “Quite right. Your time would no doubt be better spent attempting to find the gentleman whose number matches yours.”
    “Unfortunately, I am already well aware of who the man is.”
    “Dear God, don’t tell me you got saddled with Sheffield. The bore.”
    “No. I am saddled with the man who has no number.” Her unflinching gaze met his, and for some unaccountable reason, his heart sped up. “You.”

Chapter 5
     
    J ayne was having a most difficult time remaining annoyed with Ainsley. He was slowly, irrevocably, wearing down her resistance to him, her determination to despise the man for as long as he drew breath. How the bond between he and her husband could remain so strong astounded her. But sitting across from him, with Walfort between them at the head of the table, their devoted relationship was more evident than ever.
    “I can’t believe Sheffield and his hounds managed to corner more foxes than any others,” Walfort had said sotto voce to Ainsley. “He shall surely bore us to death with that tale now.”
    With only a brief look, Ainsley managed to remind her of every moment she’d spent with him in the garden the evening before. She’d even, to her immense shame, enjoyed strolling back to the manor with him that afternoon. Oddly, they’d barely spoken, and yet she found immeasurable comfort in his presence. Then when she saw him descending the stairs with Lady Louisa, she’d experienced a sense of betrayal. Which was obviously ludicrous, as she wanted nothing to do with him.
    Although she’d chastised him for his encounter with Lady Louisa, it was obvious he held no real interest in the girl. As he claimed, he was being merely polite, but it was equally apparent that the poor girl had fallen for his charms nonetheless.
    She hardly blamed her. Ainsley could be quite charming when he wished to be. Although as she considered it, she recognized that she’d never seen him when he wasn’t charming. And that realization irritated her.
    “I know our guests are leaving on the morrow,” Walfort began quietly, “but surely you can stay another day or two.”
    Ainsley’s gaze clashed with hers. She’d so hoped that Walfort had given up this ridiculous notion of his, but obviously he hadn’t. She knew it. And so did Ainsley. Why else ask him to lengthen his stay—if not to provide more opportunities to prove the brilliance of his plan to them?
    “I’m certain your wife is more than ready to have her household return to normal,” Ainsley replied, reaching for his wineglass.
    “Our household has not been normal in three years,” Walfort said, a cutting edge to his voice that caused Ainsley to wince. While she’d never particularly cared for the man, she did not want old wounds reopened before her guests.
    “I thought you would be interested in knowing, Your Grace,” she said, “that I spoke with the groomsman before dinner and Cassiopeia will be back to leaping over hedges in no time.”
    He smiled at her, and she wished he hadn’t. It only served to make him more handsome, more appealing. “I appreciate knowing that. It’s always sad to have a horse put down.”
    “What happened with Cassie?” Walfort asked.
    “She took a tumble during the hunt,” Jayne told him.
    Walfort’s brows drew together. “Were you hurt?”
    “No, not at all.”
    “Why didn’t you say something?”
    “I didn’t want you to worry.”
    “You’re my wife. It’s my place to worry.”
    The chastisement in his voice embarrassed her. The choice of his words had been a disappointment as well. Not that he would worry, but that he would do so simply because she was his wife. It was her