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And naturally, Lady Litchfield and the rest of the
ton
believed the worst of her and assumed she had pursued Gavin relentlessly
,
like a gold-digging whore. It was neither a flattering picture, nor an accurate one.

“I most humbly apologize,” he said into her silence. “I came to beg your forgiveness.”

“Mr. Howland, you could not have known everyone would twist your words about. There
is nothing to forgive.”

“Well, perhaps I ought not have mentioned that I discovered the two of you kissing.”
He grimaced.

This entire evening simply kept getting worse. Kira sighed. What else could happen
now?

“It was simply a mistake,” James said.

Poor boy. He really had no clue how cruel people could be. He had honestly answered
a lady’s question, with little notion his words would be maliciously misconstrued.
And likely on purpose. She hardly blamed James. Besides, the
ton’s
opinion of her had never been sterling. What did it matter if they thought her a
whore? There was really nothing new in that.

“I’m certain I shall survive,” she assured him. “Let us speak of something more amiable.
Tell me of your plans now.”

He sent her a grateful smile. “I will go to Tunbridge Wells in two days to begin work
at my new parish. I’m quite excited, as I recently received letters from several members
of the community expressing their joy at my arrival. I think I shall truly be needed
there.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“What will you do now?” he asked.

“Well—
”

“Say nothing, Miss Melbourne, until you and I have had a chance to speak,” whispered
a woman in her ear.

Kira turned to find Lady Litchfield hovering close behind, looking both regal and
collected—even slightly haughty. Kira faced the woman who had spread lies about her
tonight, but found she could scarcely look upon Gavin’s bride-to-be without her heart
constricting in pain. While Kira no longer aspired to be the perfect English rose,
Cordelia Darrow had everything else she wanted, the only thing she wanted—Gavin.

“I doubt we have anything to say, my lady.”

The cool blonde smiled. “Well, just as I can stir up a bit of gossip to incite hesitant
suitors, I can also change or stop it for the benefit of their brides with a simply
placed word or two.”

Frowning, Kira stared at her rival. What did the woman mean? “It is admirable that
you would want to stop such gossip for your—
”
she swallowed, forcing herself to say the word— “your fiancé’s sake, I doubt any
particular concern for me would motivate you to—
”

“You are correct. I hope to change the gossip for Gavin’s benefit
and to
compel him to act.” Then she whispered, “But he is no longer my fiancé.”

No longer…
Shock blasted Kira. Lady Litchfield’s words washed over her again and again until
she wondered if she’d heard them correctly at all. Another glance at the stately blonde
told Kira nothing. The woman’s face conveyed only amusement. Still, Kira felt certain
she had misheard Lady Litchfield. Gavin had, by his own admission, planned to marry
her for some years.

“But… He said—
”

“Whatever he said was foolish. Gavin came to me a week past and, by mutual agreement,
we ended our engagement.”

Still stunned, Kira could do nothing but stare and blink. Thoughts whirled in her
head faster than a cyclone. Gavin was no longer engaged? Why had he not wed Lady Litchfield?
And if he was no longer honor bound to wed the lady, why hadn’t he come to her?

He had. More than once, in fact. Kira had turned him away every time.

Excitement and hope fluttered in her stomach. Was it possible? Perhaps, but she had
no facts. Still hope rushed in, suddenly impossible to suppress. Had Gavin merely
come to apologize or chat about the weather or… something more? Who knew? Kira mustn’t
assume that because Gavin no longer planned to marry Lady Litchfield that he intended
to take her as his bride instead. She mustn’t assume that he loved her.

“In fact,” Lady Litchfield drawled. “I decided that I did not wish to marry a man
whose affections were engaged elsewhere.”

At the woman’s words, Kira’s heart leap
t
into her throat. Gavin felt an attachment to her; Kira was nearly certain of it.
But
he
would not allow himself to wed her, not while he believed in the Daggett curse. “I
think you misunderstand.”

She shrugged. “I doubt it. Gavin thought of me as a friend, not a romantic interest.
In fact, he could not even bring himself to kiss me. I daresay, the same is not true
for you. In fact,” she smiled, “the manner in which he is looking at you even now
tells me he is very intent on you.”

Looking at her now? Kira whisked her gaze over her shoulder to follow the path of
Lady Litchfield’s
stare
across the room.

Gavin stood not ten feet away, his dark eyes singularly focused on her. Intent described
his stare well. It contained heat and purpose. She could not decipher the cause of
his expression. Anger? Desire? Kira’s heart beat wildly.

He began to walk toward her in slow, measured steps. As if he were Moses, the crowd
parted like the Red Sea. Around them, the party had become eerily quiet. Everyone
stopped to watch the unfolding spectacle, and Kira drew in a ragged breath. Would
Gavin disregard her in public, God forbid? Or had he merely paused to greet her? What
was the purpose apparent on his face?

Kira felt faint. She did not care for everyone else’s opinion anymore. But Gavin…
As foolish as it was, she still wanted his good opinion—and his love—more than anything
else in the world.

And at this moment, she had little hope that she would ever have it.

* * * *

Gavin walked toward Kira. He forced himself to do it slowly, despite the fact he wanted
to charge at her like a bull. But her expression was that of a skittish horse ready
to bolt.

One foot in front of the other,
he told himself. Slow. Cautious. She stood still and watched his approach with wide
blue eyes, gloved hands clasped tightly in front of her.

Behind Kira, Cordelia stood smiling
,
as if she had a secret. Later—much later—he’d have to discern what it might be.

At the moment, he hovered between fury and anticipation. He’d arrived at the party,
anxious as hell to find Kira, apologize, talk to her.
Minutes before Kira’s
arrival
,
Brock and Maddie told him all about the ugly gossip swirling through the room. Everyone
assumed that she’d used James to ingrain herself into a duke’s life, that she had
plied her womanly wiles on him in a scheme to become the next duchess. They gave her
no credit for having a heart, for possessing honor or loyalty, for understanding the
treasure of the love between them.

Indeed, the
ton
assumed she was a
n
ambitious money-hungry tramp—and a foreign one at that. Gavin knew well that Kira
had been listening to these slurs in some form or fashion all her life.

Tonight that would stop. He no longer gave a damn how badly he had to scandalize his
name to do it.

Gavin reached Kira finally, stopping a handful of feet from her. He could see the
pulse pound in her throat. The next breath he drew was tinged with the scents of moonlight
and vanilla. Damn it, that quickly he ached to hold her again.

“Miss Melbourne,” he greeted, reaching for her.

Kira extended her gloved hand to him. He noticed then that she shook.

“Your grace.” She bowed.

He performed a similar gesture. When she tried to extract her hand from his, he held
it tightly and drew her closer. All around him, people began to murmur.

“I have come to apologize,” he said loudly.

Gavin wanted the entire room to hear this—every last word.

Kira flushed furiously. “Th—that is not necessary.”

“Oh, I disagree.” He smiled. “I’ve heard any number of misleading rumors about you
tonight, and I feel it is my duty to apologize to you and set them straight.”

She looked furiously at their audience. “But…but I—
”

“Contrary to popular opinion, you were most eager to wed my fine cousin when we first
met. In fact, shortly after James introduced us, you did your very best to avoid me.
Is that not so?”

Kira looked around the room, her anxious gaze traveling from whispering matrons to
curious bucks. “You disliked me.”

“That is where you are wrong.”

Gavin squeezed her hand, then released it. He came closer, circling behind her. She
cast him an apprehensive glance over her shoulder. When the
ir
gazes met, Kira quickly looked away. But he knew he had her attention.

“I did not dislike you,” he corrected her. “I wanted you.”

Around them, women gasped. Fans fluttered faster. Men peered at the tableau with interest.
Gavin pressed on, striding in front of her once more.

“In fact, I did not merely want you; I wanted you all to myself.”

A ruckus to his left dragged Gavin’s gaze from Kira. Darius burst through the crowd
a moment later, wearing a snarl.

“I warned you to leave my sister alone. Damn you! I doubt you have any honor at all,
but if you do, follow me outside so I can beat you again.”

Another chorus of gasps echoed through the room. Gavin repressed a smile.

“I have been chasing your sister for quite some time.”

Darius leaned aggressively close, fists clenched. “And using every underhanded method
possible to take her. I’ll not have you drag her name—
”

“Shut up for ten minutes. Then I will happily oblige you, if you wish. And this time,
I’ll fight back.”

More gasps met his words. The crowd inched closer, collective breath held as they
awaited Darius’s response.

To their shock, the hero of the evening backed away with a cautious nod.

“What is going on?” Kira questioned, her gaze zinging back and forth between the two
men, her face a mask of confusion.

Darius did not turn to face his sister. Instead, he murmured, “Proceed.”

Gavin acknowledged him with a bow of his head.

Then he zipped his gaze to Kira again, who had turned nearly pale as a ghost.

“I pursued you, Miss Melbourne, with the single-minded intent to separate you from
my cousin.”

She looked around at the crowd, her indigo eyes distressed
, c
learly wonder
ing
why he sought to tell everyone about their relationship. Soon, he hoped his intent
would be clear.

“I know,” she whispered.

He smiled. “And I pursued you relentlessly until I wooed you away from my own cousin,
did I not?”

At that
,
more gasps ensued, followed by a quiet rush of chatter.

Nodding, Kira peered at him in confusion. Could the girl not guess what he was about?
Or, after the hell he had put her through, was she simply too afraid to have hope?

The thought humbled Gavin, filled him with shame. “I pursued you until I outran you.
I tried every devious trick in creation to win you. I made the foolish assumption
that a woman of Persian descent would be an easy mark for a practiced seduction.”

Kira clapped a hand over her trembling mouth. She looked near tears. “You’re a cad!”

“I am,” he agreed. “For a long time, I didn’t know if it was your English blood that
cleverly discovered me a wolf in sheep’s clothing and your Persian nature that allowed
you to give your heart so wholly. I wondered if, perhaps, it was the reverse.”

“What does it matter? You’ve made your contempt perfectly clear in the past.”

With her shaky words, Kira turned and darted toward the crowd. Gavin lunged forward
and took her by the arm. He pulled her closer, thrilled by her scent, her very nearness.

“I disagree, for I recently discovered I had been wrong. It was not your English side
that was clever or your Persian side that was passionate. It was simply you.”

“Oh, Gavin…” She bit her lip, uncertainty finally mingling with hope. “Do you mean…?”

He merely smiled. Love; he saw it in the sparkle of her eyes. And it gave him the
courage to go on, even when he knew she had every right to refuse him.

“The day we met, James said he hoped very much I would come to love you. And I do,
Kira Melbourne, I swear. With every single beat of my heart.”

She gasped along with the crowd. Shock tumbled across her face. She blinked once,
twice. Then her eyes filled with tears.

“But—but you…” She swallowed. “You said—
”

He lay a finger across her lips, aching to put his mouth there instead. “I have something
very particular to ask you now.”