Touch of a Lady by Mia Marlowe

terrible.”
    “No, he won’t.” Even in the dim interior of the coach, Tristan’s smile was luminous. “His Grace will be far too upset with Sanders to worry about me abducting one of his house guests.”
    “Sanders? Why?”
    “Because he was the one who was discovered with Lady Florence in the second floor parlour by your friend Harmony and Lady Bettendorf this evening.” He took both her hands in his. “You see, our plans were found out somehow by Sir Rupert Digby.”
    “I might have known.”
    “Ah, yes, the bourrée that lasted a lifetime. That was my idea, I fear. We had to keep both you and Digby away from the parlour so Sanders convinced him that he was playing an important part in helping Lady Florence by dancing with you.”
    A frisson of anger sizzled through her. “So you let me believe everything was lost.”
    “I didn’t want to. There wasn’t time to tell you about the change in plans. Rupert didn’t approach Sanders with the information till the ball was well underway. I looked for you everywhere but I couldn’t find you.”
    The headache had made her absent herself from the ballroom at a crucial time.
    “Don’t be cross, Del,” he said. “Not when everything is turning out the way we hoped. Better than we hoped, actually.”
    “But I’m still a dowerless commoner. Won’t your family still resent your choice?”
    “After the duke has to deal with his daughter’s scandal, our running off to Gretna Green will seem perfectly correct by comparison.” He stroked her forearm and sent little thrills spilling over her skin. “Of course, we’ll be living on love, but I’m fully prepared to become skinny as a snake. A thoroughly happy skinny snake.”
    Delphinia smiled. She still had the good news about that vein of silver to share with him. Of course, he’d put her through torments this evening. It wouldn’t hurt him to stew about the family fortunes a bit longer. At least until after they said the words that would make them man and wife over an anvil in Scotland.
    “You never know. Life is full of surprises.” He’d certainly surprised her this evening. Since she ought to have had warning of it through her ‘gift of touch,’ that was an accomplishment. “Something may turn up where you least expect it.”
    He reached over and pulled her onto his lap. “You certainly turned up where I least expected you. I was all set to do my duty, but you and your ‘love-at-first-sight’ experiment changed all that.” Tristan nuzzled her neck. “Of course, Sanders says you’ve witched me.” He stopped kissing along her jawline long enough to give her earlobe a little nip. “Have you?”
    “Do you care if I have?”
    “Not a whit. I love you with my whole heart.” He raised his head and grinned down at her. “And now, if you’re not put off by a bouncing coach, I plan to love you with my whole body too.”
    “It’s a long way to Scotland.” Del kissed him deeply. “What else do we have to do?”
     
THE END
     
     

And now, a peek into the life of Delphinia and Tristan’s great-grandson, Griffin Titus Preston Nash, Lord Devonwood, the hero in
     
TOUCH OF A SCOUNDREL
    London, 1860

Chapter 2
     
    Lord Devonwood halted beside the hydrangea to take a longer look at the fetching young woman seated on the stone bench. It’s not every day a man finds a nymph in his garden before breakfast.
    His full given name was Griffin Titus Preston Nash, but no one had called him by anything but his title, or its diminutive “Devon” since his father had died. He’d even ceased to think of himself by any other name. However, the young woman in his garden was comely beyond the common. His blood quickened as if he were still young Griffin, as if he were not weighed down with the responsibilities of a vast estate and all the lives dependent upon him for every morsel in their mouths and each coin in their pockets.
    Women usually preened like peahens when presented to Devon since he was judged to