Authors: Nichole Matthews
Declan snorted
.
“Those who are your real friends know the truth and your family loves you. They would never believe you were capable of anything this horrific. Anyone who b
e
lieves those lies is an imbecile.”
He swirled
the contents of his whiskey around in his crystal tumbler.
“
Besides,” Declan
said with a hint of a smile. “Poppy will have my protection soon
enough
, a definite perk to being a duke
. Y
ou can check her off your list of people that you will need to pr
o
tect.” With a slight growl in his voice, “If anyone attempts to harm her with these terrible lies, I will knock their teeth down their throat.”
He took
a swallow from his glass.
“As for Piper, she loves you and trusts you implicitly. I imagine she has much bigger concerns on her mind right now. Poppy told me that she was carrying a torch for Rockwell and is completely distraught by Seymour’s news during the pi
c
nic.”
Closing his eyes with consternation
,
Parker groaned. “Oh, swell.
Well, at least
you’re
taking Poppy off my hands.”
He looked
at Declan out of a half-opened eye w
ith a sardonic grin on his face.
“I thought this little skirmish with Napoleon was rough. This next season look
s like it’s going to be a doozy.
” Pouring
some more brandy Parker groaned.
“
Rockwell?
God help me, I need anot
h
er drink
.
”
Declan chuckled raising his glass in a salute. “To wars and women!”
He swallowed
the drink in one gulp. “May God have mercy on our souls.”
Love is like a child,
that longs for everything he
can come by.
Two Gentlemen of Verona
*William Shakespeare
“
I
hope she does not become too angry with us
,
”
Freya worried, chewing
on her bo
t
tom lip.
“Why would she be angry?” Piper questioned. “Every little thing down to the minutest of details she had picked out
herself
.”
She smiled
wistfully. “We used to sit up here
and dream about the day we would marry.”
Gazing around
the library loft
in thoughtful
reflection,
with
shimmering eyes she sighed.
“I cannot
believe Poppy is about to marry.
”
Chloe sniffled.
“It i
s going to be like a fairy tale.
”
Piper grinned
.
“Y
ou are exactly right.
I cannot believe most of this was
his
idea. How many men do you know would think of something like this?”
She blew
out a relieving breath
as she pulled on her right earlobe
. “It is truly the most romantic thing I could have ever ima
g
ined.
”
Freya glanced over the wrought iron railing.
“Poppy is
still in her garden, right?” she
asked nervously.
“Don’t worry, Freya
,
”
Piper said with a wry look. “She stays out there for hours som
e
times.”
Her glance encompassed all of the women.
“I have it on good authority that Hawk
s
ley is
doing his best
to di
s
tract her.”
She giggled
behind her hand.
“Wicked.
” Chloe giggled.
“
Indeed
, so
Holly
gav
e you the sample we needed
and you sent it to the seamstress with all the particulars
right?
”
Piper glanced at Chloe.
“Yes ma’am.
”
She saluted.
“
Along with the picture
s
from
La Belle
Assemblée,
” Chloe
giggled. “It will be delivered on Thursday. It is going to be magnificent! It will spark
le in the sun just like we want
.
”
She clasped
her hands in front of her chest in anticipation.
“I mean just like Poppy wants
.” She giggled.
“We chose the correct option right?” Piper worriedly chewed on her bottom lip
and pulled on her right earlobe again.
“Yes,”
t
hey
whispered
loudly
.
Georgie
started barking again
so F
reya
glanced over the railing. “You’re quite certain
Poppy’s
in her garden?”
“Yes,” Chloe replied. “I watched her walk in there myself.”
Piper scratched
her head in concentration
. “And the flowers Freya?” She
looked up as Georgie started barking again
r
ubbing her forehead in frustration, “Someone
please
keep Georgie qu
i
et before we are discovered.”
Chloe leaned over and
pick
ed Georgie up to
place him
in her lap.
“Who
carried
Georgie
up here
anyway?”
Piper asked.
Chloe
lightly rubbed
her nose to Georgie’s fur. “Who’s a good doggie? Who’s
a good doggie?” She murmured repeatedly,
scratch
ing
behind his ear.
“Georgie brought them toget
h
er the ver
y first time, so it is only fitting
that he is a part of the planning. Right
,
Geo
rgie?” She asked drolly,
rubb
ing
his little belly.
“
Of course
,
”
Piper responded
edgily
. “Freya, the flowers?” s
he inquired again as she
pushed her glassed up and
rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Yes Piper
,
” Freya
answered. “All the flowers have been taken care of.”
Piper glanced
at the
gold watch pinned to her bodice.
“Mrs. Hastings will be here any moment to go over the menu with us.”
She
glanced back
down at her list of things to do.
“Oh, this is so exciting,”
Chloe gus
hed.
***
Holding Poppy’s hand tightly against him, he could feel the swell of her breast
against his arm as they
strolled
leisurely through her
garden.
Poppy was
unable to concentrate for long,
enthralled with the tiny lines that fanned out near his eyes when he smiled
.
Distracted by the f
eel of him pressed close to her, s
he inhaled his spicy intoxicating
scent, which
at this moment was making her feel
more than
a little
dizzy.
She gently
squeezed
the hard swell of muscle that bulged in his arm amazed at the di
f
ferences of their bodies
,
h
er softness against his hardness. It
was enough to make her swoon.
Growing warmer by the moment, she began to ply her fan swiftly in order to cool her heated cheeks.
Glancing furtively down at her, he could see that their closeness
affected her
equally as much.
Her breath
cam
e
in rapid bursts
,
caus
ing
her bosom to press precariously against the edge of her bodice
, h
er shawl doing little to h
ide her glorious figure from his gaze
.
Stifling a moan, he shifted slightly in order to ease the uncomfortable tightness of his i
n
creasingly snug breeches.
Poppy came up short, when he stopped
once again,
leaning
forward
to sniff
the flower in front of him. “This one looks familiar. What is it called?” Leaning down he sniffed again. “It smells sweet and musky at the same time.
” He glanced up at her,
“
Very nice i
n
deed.”
“That is the common musk
thistle,” she
said patiently as she once again gave him the name of the purple flower. “I find its simplicity somehow amazingly beautiful, don’t you?”
“Have we looked at this one
before?” Declan frowned spinning in a circle, l
ooking about until he spotted the same flower near the entrance to her garden
, pointing to t
he far right co
r
ner. “Ah, there it is.”
He shook
his head in astonishment.
S
he smirked.
“More than likely
,
you have been sneaking off with me here quite often over the past few days
, you should have memorized the layout of the garden by now.
”
S
he laughed
aloud.
“I’ve been too busy staring at you to memorize the locations of each of your beloved flowers.”
She tapped him playfully on the arm.
“
And, s
ince there is no rhyme or reason to the planting of my garden
w
e might actually pass by the same flower again. I just threw a jumble of seeds in the ground and waited. The masterpiece before you is what was created.” Poppy spun around with her arms ou
t
stretched.
“Pure genius
,
”
H
is eyes held a twinkle when he looked down at her. “Absolutely breat
h
taking
,
”
His mouth curved in an amused smile. “You do have a knack for making an astonishing garden.
I need to introduce you to my
g
ardener
. Maybe he can learn a few things from you.
”
His eyes narrowed
as he looked around the garden one last time. “Who would have thought that spreading seeds
haphazardly
in the ground could have such an overwhelmin
g
ly dramatic effect on the
senses?
” He mused aloud breathing in the overpoweringly heady fragrance. “Such a stark contrast to the parterre garden a few steps away. Disciplined and co
n
tained.”
“I could learn a few things from your gardener. I haven’t a clue how to cultivate roses and from what you’ve told me, your gardener is an expert.”
His hand reached up and cupped her chin. “Your skin feels like
a
rose petal, velvety soft.” She leaned into his caress, letting him stroke her jaw, then her throat.
A genuinely happy smile covered his lips. “I have come to a rather startling conclusion
this past week
.
”
He let his hand drop, backing away from her.
“What conclusion have you reached?”
“
I have never
spent a great deal of time examining my taste, but over the las
t few days I have realized
I actually enjoy the wildness of your intimate garden over the stringent plan
t
ing of the formal ones. I realized as well that I have never
thought on what my
favorite flower
might be
.”
He shook
his head in wonder. “
Shameful
on my part
, so
after
a time of in-depth study, deep reflection
and self-discovery over the last few days
,
I have final
ly chosen
my favo
r
ite flower.”