Twice the Temptation by Suzanne Enoch

he want to form a deep attachment to her, when Daisy hadn’t tempted him to do so? Evangeline shook herself. Whatever attachment he might want to form, he’d been crossed off her list for a reason—he was not the sort of man she wanted in her life. “And then you turned around and saw me, and decided I must be the one.”
    â€œYes, I did.”
    â€œForgive my skepticism. And please don’t call on me again.”
    â€œNow who’s being absurd?” Connoll pulled out a bottle of Madeira and two glasses, which he handed over to her. “I didn’t lose my virginity to Daisy. She wasn’t my first mistress. And I didn’t love her. She…wounded my pride, a little. I recover quickly.”
    â€œBut you do love me, now.”
    However flippantly she made the statement, more than a little of her own pride rested on his answer. What was wrong with her today? To cover the sudden flutter of nerves, she held out the glasses for him to fill.
    â€œThat’s an odd question coming from a chit encouraging an old fool’s suit.”
    Hm. He was correct, and she was stupid to have asked. “My question was about you,” she improvised. “It has nothing to do with me.”
    â€œAh. Explain.”
    â€œCertainly. Before I waste any further time in your company, I would like to know whether or not you’re simply a magpie, pursuing whatever sparkles the most in your sight at any given moment.”
    To her surprise, he sent her a slight grin as he accepted one of the glasses back from her and took a sip. “You don’t converse like this with Redmond, do you?”
    â€œI have no need to be cross with him. His adoration has been unwavering since we met.”
    â€œSo has mine.”
    She smirked. “Oh, please, Connoll. You thought I was someone else. You don’t adore me.”
    â€œI admire you,” he countered.
    â€œWhy?” she blurted, before she could stop herself. Ninny .
    He gazed straight at her, his deep blue eyes serious and considering. “Because whatever web you’re spinning for Redmond, with me you’ve been honest and forthright to the point of painfulness. You are, I’m beginning to realize, exceptionally brilliant, with a wit most others would weep to possess.” He clinked his glass against hers. “And that is why I admire you, Gilly.”
    Evangeline took a drink of Madeira. Not a conventional compliment in the mix, and yet she’d never felt more genuinely flattered. This was one of the traps her mother had warned her about, obviously. Any man could be pleasant and compliant for a short time. She didn’t want her opinion listened to, her requests granted, for merely a moment; she required a lifetime of being integral to her spouse.
    â€œTell me, Connoll, if we attended the Howlett ball on Friday next, and I wore a dark blue gown, would you wear a light blue coat to complement my apparel?”
    â€œNo.”
    She frowned. “Well, why not?” He might at least have considered it for a blasted minute before he refused her.
    â€œFirstly, I don’t own a light blue anything, and secondly, I’m not a doll you dress to match your fancy. Now, if you said you were going to wear nothing, then I would dress in nothing as well. That is the only exception.”
    Hm . “Lord Redmond would wear light blue for me.”
    â€œSo would a pet monkey.”
    She thought she heard a snort. When she looked toward the tree beneath which the maid rested, though, Doretta appeared absorbed in her needlework, the kitten in her lap. The tiger was too far away to overhear their conversation, thank goodness.
    â€œInsulting me is an odd way to show your admiration,” she said stiffly, digging into the picnic basket when he showed no inclination to do anything but sip Madeira and gaze at her all afternoon.
    â€œI’m insulting your suitor, not you,” he returned smoothly. “And