Royal's Bride. Kat Martin

my lady, I would be honored to make you a hat.”

      Mother looked as if she had swallowed an apple core and it was stuck in her throat.

      “I realize you are busy with your work,” the dowager continued, “but perhaps you might join us for a bit. We shan’t be much longer, but a cup of tea would surely do you good.”

      Lily cast Mother a glance but there was no real way to decline. “Thank you, my lady. That would be lovely.”

      The old woman leaned on her cane and began a slow shuffle out of the Daffodil Room, returning to the drawing room down the hall. Jocelyn was hoping she could go upstairs for a nap. She was used to late nights attending parties and balls, and all of this country air seemed somehow tiring. She sighed as she walked back into the Blue Drawing Room and resumed her seat on the sofa.

      A single thought kept her from yawning. Tonight might very well be the night the duke proposed.

      Once he did, she could go back to London.

      Royal stood at the window of the sitting room in his bedroom suite. Below him, the infamous Bransford hedge maze formed intricate patterns that culminated in a large marble fountain with cherubs spouting water out of their mouths.

      The fountain wasn’t easy to find. First, one had to meander along deceptive pathways that seemed to have no end, making dozens of false starts and stops, each avenue enclosed by hedges that took up nearly two acres, and over the years had grown more than ten feet tall.

      He grinned as he watched the lady who had made the mistake of entering the maze. His great-grandfather had taken great pride in making it one of the most difficult in the country.

      She made a turn, reached a dead end and backtracked, turned the wrong way and started along a path that led nowhere and would propose three alternate routes that also led nowhere. She could be in there for hours.

      Royal grinned again. Unless he showed her the way out.

      Taking his woolen cloak off the hook by the door, he headed downstairs.

      The day was sunny, but there was a crisp, late-January chill in the air, and the grass, brown from the winter frost, was spongy and damp. He stopped at the entrance to the maze, mentally went over where he had last seen Lily and started inside. A couple of turns and he could hear her, mumbling something that sounded oddly like a curse. She started forward, her slender feet padding along on the spongy grass.

      “Miss Moran!” he called out. “Lily, where are you?”

      “I’m over here!” she called back, relief in her voice, which was coming from a long passage two turns to the left.

      “Stay where you are,” he instructed. “I’ll come and get you.”

      He knew the maze by heart. He and his brothers had played there since they were boys. He made a couple of turns, took a little-used shortcut and walked quietly up behind her. She jumped when he settled his hands on her shoulders.

      Her hand came up to her heart as she whirled to face him. “Good grief, I didn’t hear you a’tall.”

      “The element of surprise. It comes in handy at times.”

      She smiled. “So you came here to rescue me?”

      “Just like a knight in shining armor.”

      “How did you know I was in here?”

      “I saw you from my bedroom window.”

      She gazed down the path in front of her. “I wanted to see the fountain.” Her bottom lip turned down in a pout that was rare for her and quite charming. “I thought I could find it.”

      “Actually, I usually warn our guests not to enter the maze unless they have plenty of time. It’s very large and extremely complex. My great-grandfather got an almost demonic thrill out of getting someone lost inside.”

      She looked up at him with those lovely sea-green eyes and his chest tightened.

      “Since you found me, I guess you know how to get out.”

      “My brothers and I played in here all of the time.”

      She flicked a glance toward the center of the maze and he read her disappointment. “I guess we should go back.”

      He knew he should take her back straightaway. Instead, he said, “I thought you wanted to see the fountain.”

      Her pretty eyes brightened. “Oh, I do!”

      Royal held out his hand. “Come on, then, and I’ll show you.”

      Lily hesitated only a moment then clasped the hand he offered. A lightning bolt seemed to arc between them and for an instant he couldn’t make himself move. Lily must have felt it, too, for her gaze jerked to his face and warm color washed into her cheeks.

      She tried to pull her hand away, but his great-grandfather’s blood ran through his veins and some demon inside him wouldn’t let go.

      “Come on,” he urged, his voice a little gruff. Tugging her forward, he led her deeper into the maze. Lily had no choice but to fall in beside him, and for a time they strolled quietly along the narrow paths.

      As the minutes ticked past, she began to relax and they strolled along as if they were a couple, instead of two people fighting a forbidden attraction. It would be unseemly if they were discovered, but at the moment, Royal couldn’t make himself care.