She was still pondering the transition as the Prince helped her up to the bench of his curricle. Her mother, a stickler for propriety where her daughter was concerned, had proved not the least bit resistant to her driving in the park with a foreign prince the Duchess of Redruth barely knew. What had happened to rule number two: being polite to all but never falsely encouraging those who are beneath her? There was only one explanation for it. ‘You manipulated my mother,’ Dove said, partly in accusation, and partly in admiration. The Duchess was not easily swayed.
He winked, all easy confidence. ‘Most women like my persuasion. Besides, it’s not every day one’s daughter goes driving with a prince.’ He laughed, settling beside her, his long legs stretched out. He flashed her a smile. ‘What good is it to be a prince if one can’t throw one’s title around?’ But Dove thought it wasn’t entirely the title that had done the trick. She knew what her parents thought of him—that he was not worthy of the Redruth attentions. It made his feat all that more impressive. She was coming to believe that Illarion Kutejnikov usually got what he wanted, prince or not.
‘I did not think I would find you alone, today,’ he began, pulling out into the traffic. ‘I had elaborate plans for stealing you away from your crowd of adoring suitors. A drive is so much better.’
‘They were here earlier. You just missed them.’ She kept her answers cool and short. It was all the defence she had. Perhaps if she did not encourage him a second time, he would leave her alone. What a pity that would be. Her thoughts had grown a mind of their own. She was supposed to be resisting him, dissuading him. And yet, there was no denying he was the most intriguing person she’d met in London.
‘Then I am the lull before the second wave. I’ve saved you. Perhaps you should be thanking me.’ He chuckled conspiratorially, his laugh warm and congenial as he nudged her with his elbow. ‘You are disappointed? I wonder, Lady Dove, if it’s me that disappoints you or that you’ll miss the other suitors? Was there someone you were hoping to see?’ That was the problem. The only one she’d been hoping to see was him. Now that he was here, she had no idea what to do with him. She couldn’t encourage him and she didn’t want to turn him away even though she should.
‘I am disappointed by neither,’ Dove protested.
He fixed her with a sideways slide of his blue stare. ‘Don’t lie to me. That’s the second time in two days, Lady Dove. It’s why I am here. I want the truth about last night. Why were you dismayed to dance with me? Was it me or the occasion? I was lying in bed... Well actually, I was lying on a sofa—very narrow by the way—thinking of you and our dance and it occurred to me that perhaps your reaction was not to me specifically.’
Dove felt herself blush at the image of him lying in any sort of bed. ‘That is a most improper reference, your Highness. In England, unmarried men and women don’t discuss their nightly, um, rituals with one another.’
‘From what I’ve seen, I don’t think married men and women do either,’ he answered boldly. ‘Perhaps they should.’ Dear heavens, his conversation was positively rash! This was not how gentlemen talked.
‘Perhaps it is your use of innuendo I object to,’ Dove replied. ‘This is the second time in two days you’ve couched our conversation in rather intimate terms.’
‘Couched. I like that,’ Illarion said wryly, his blue eyes merry. ‘Now who’s being audacious, Lady Dove?’
Her cheeks heated. The schoolroom had not prepared her for matching wits with a man like this. She was out of her depth, but not outdone. If she couldn’t match wits, she would do her best to end the interaction. ‘If I were truly bold, your Highness, I wouldn’t be here at all, toeing society’s line like a good daughter.’
He ignored the finality in her tone and pursued the conversation. ‘Where would you be?’ The breeze changed. She caught the scent of him: lemon and bergamot mixed with basil and the exoticism of patchouli. He smelled better than any man had smelled today with their heavy colognes. If she closed her eyes, Dove could imagine herself in Tuscany, or perhaps even further east in Aladdin’s Arabia or far-off India, pencils and charcoal in hand, drawing everything she saw. ‘Not London. Not now that I’ve seen it.’ She prevaricated, unwilling to let him into her thoughts. He’d divined enough as it was. Did he also see that she was not nearly as opposed to him as she let on?
‘Ah ha! It is the occasion you are opposed to, not the man.’ He grinned, teasing her. ‘I am relieved. I thought I was losing my charm.’
‘You are arrogant in the extreme. I think it’s important you know I don’t care for conceited men,’ Dove cautioned. She was glad his arrogance was back. It gave her something to be annoyed at. For a moment, he’d been far too likeable.
‘And I don’t like liars,’ he cautioned, his eyes on her again. ‘Be honest, Lady Dove—the truth is you wanted to escape this afternoon. So badly, in fact, you made quite the deal with the devil, didn’t you? You had to choose to go with the arrogant prince and claim an afternoon of freedom, or stay behind in the drawing room to entertain whatever boring gentlemen walk through that door until six o’clock.’
Dove did not reply. What would her response be? That he was right? It occurred to her, however, that she was not the only one who’d made a bargain. The Prince had, too. After all, what could he possibly want badly enough to take a girl driving who had made no secret of her dislike for him?
In the end, they went to Kensington Gardens instead, a less-populated alternative to crowded Hyde Park. ‘I think it’s quieter here. I come when I want to think or talk. There’s less chance of being interrupted,’ the Prince explained, coming around to help her alight. Dove was suddenly self-conscious of her hands on his broad shoulders, of his strong hands at her waist, blue eyes laughing up at her. Were those eyes always laughing? Her reaction was silly. She’d touched him before. She had danced with him last night and they were in public with his tiger and her maid just a few feet away, to say nothing of the other carriages and couples nearby. This was hardly an intimate moment or an intimate setting, yet she was acutely aware of him.
He reached past her for something under the seat, a canvas bag he slung across his chest, then offered her his arm, taking them down to the Long Water, where the lake joined Hyde Park’s Serpentine on the park’s western edge. Her maid trailed discreetly behind them.
The light breeze off the water was refreshing and the lake was quiet. Not many were out today. An empty bench beneath a tree at the shoreline beckoned invitingly. ‘This would be the perfect place to draw.’ Dove sighed wistfully, the words slipping out. She had not drawn or painted nearly as much as she’d hoped since she’d come to London and she missed it sorely.
‘What would you draw?’ He dusted off the bench with his hand, ridding it of random tree debris.
‘The ducks and the trees with their low-hanging branches skimming the water’s surface. If I had my pencils, I could practise with the light, like Constable does.’
‘Then we should come again some time and bring your things. Today we can sit and enjoy the lake,’ he offered, ‘and you can tell me why you found your coming-out ball so distasteful last night.’ Another trade. He was constantly bartering with her, giving her what she wanted in exchange for her secrets.
‘Is everything a negotiation with you?’ Dove said amiably, settling her skirts as she sat. He’d traded her a chance at escape in exchange for his company in the drawing room and now this; the peace of the lake.
‘Is everything always defence with you? You are a suspicious soul, Lady Dove.’ Prince Kutejnikov laughed, undaunted by her boldness. He was probably used to bold women. ‘Now, tell me what had you so prickly last night. Your secrets are safe with me.’ In that moment, she wanted to believe him. Maybe it was the eyes, the smile, the pleasantness of the