Shock coursed through Penny the instant his mouth met hers, robbing her of breath, his lips surprisingly soft and gentle as it moved over her own. The shock was quickly replaced by waves of the most pleasurable feelings she had ever experienced, and she shut her eyes to bask in the touch and taste of him, intoxicating and sending logic and reason flying out of her mind. His tongue probed her lips, and she opened up with a moan, her hands rising to circle his neck of their volition. He explored the moist recesses of her mouth almost lazily, igniting a liquid fire that caused her to moan in pleasure.
His hands encircled her waist, crushing her to him even as he intensified the kiss, turning her insides to a silly mush of desire. This was heaven and yet…so wrong. His mouth left hers to blaze a trail of molten desire down her neck, to her bare shoulders and even lower.
“No!” Penny heard herself say, her voice distant and yet so familiar. The words brought her to reality with a crash. What were they doing? This was wrong…so wrong. Her eyes flew open, and she pushed against him, struggling to free herself.
“Please stop!”
He released her abruptly. The suddenness of the motion caused her to stumble backwards; thankfully, the thick hedge of the maze walls stopped her from tumbling backwards in an unsightly heap. Her gaze flew to his, but in the darkness, she couldn’t read his expression. He simply stood in the shadows, a tall, silent figure staring at her and thinking heaven knew what.
“We should return to the main party, Miss Inglewood.” His voice was so cold and distant; it caused shivers up her arms.
She stared at him incredulously. Was that all he was going to say? They had just shared a moment of passion, albeit a very brief moment, but now he was acting so withdrawn and cold?
“Is that all you are going to say?” she whispered, hating how vulnerable she sounded at that moment.
He chuckled and took a step closer, the moonlight illuminating his features so she could clearly see the mocking smile playing across his lips. Those lips that had only moments before been locked with hers in a passionate embrace.
“What do you wish to hear, Miss Inglewood?” he said dryly, his tone mocking and harsh all at once. “A sonnet on how enjoyable it felt to kiss you? Or a proposal? Surely you are not that naive?”
She gasped as his words pierced her like a sword through her heart. Unbidden, she felt the sting of tears but pushed them back angrily. She would not let him see how much his hurtful words had affected her.
She straightened and glared daggers at him. “Enjoyable?” she asked, keeping her tone as cold and disinterested as he. “Hardly. One cannot call that enjoyable, merely something to be endured.”
“I beg your pardon?” he replied incredulously, “What are you trying to say?”
She shrugged and turned away from him to hunt for her discarded shoe. “I asked you to stop. That should be enough to tell you how little it meant to me.”
He uttered a curse and grabbed her arm, whirling her about to face him. She stared into his stormy eyes defiantly, angry at how easily he had insulted her. “Let me go, Your Grace!” she ground out frostily.
“No! Not until you explain yourself.” He shot back, his words dripping with fury. He gripped her shoulders and glowered at her. “You did not enjoy being kissed?”
“I thought there was nothing to discuss? Why do you suddenly seek my opinion about a simple kiss?”
He shook her so hard; the pins fell out of her hair, causing it to tumble around her shoulders. “You little minx,” he growled at her, “Are you throwing my words back in my face?”
“Unhand me this minute!” She hissed at him, “You are an obnoxious, arrogant bastard, and I do not blame your betrothed for seeking warmth and affection at the hands of another man! Tell me, how do you intend to confront her about her infidelity when you are guilty of the exact same thing? You are nothing but a…”
“I warn you, Miss Inglewood,” Phillip cut in, his voice tightly controlled despite the blazing fury Penny could see in his eyes, “I do not tolerate being addressed thus. I have harmed people for speaking less than you have just done.”
“I am not afraid of you,” Penny declared, jabbing her finger at his cravat defiantly. “If anything, I feel sorry for you.”
He let out a bark of laughter, “You feel sorry? Pray tell, what have I done to invoke your pity, Miss Inglewood?”
“You do not need me to tell you your faults. Now, let me go. Go find somebody who gives a whit about you. Perhaps they will take pity on you and enunciate your faults.”
They stood for a minute in silence, glaring daggers at each other. Despite her anger, she could feel herself weakening under his gaze, a part of her yearned for the feel of his lips, the fire of his kiss. Her breath hitched as she saw the anger melt away from his expression to be replaced by a smouldering heat. It would be utter folly to kiss him again, not after the way he had brutally dismissed the previous encounter.
He dropped his arms and took a step back, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “This is ridiculous,” he muttered, casting a black look. “You are quite an annoying woman.”
She arched a brow at him. “Why? Because I do not simper and fall into a dead faint at your threats?”
Phillip shot her a baleful glare. “You attach far too much importance to yourself, Miss Inglewood. I simply meant you kiss like an angel and argue like the very devil. I am still at a loss of what to make of you exactly.”
“You should not have kissed me, Your Grace.” Penny sighed and reached up to gather her hair; there was no way she could replicate the complicated hairdo Fiona had crafted. With any luck, no one would notice the altered style.
Edward! Her heart sank as she recalled the reason they were in the maze. Had he returned to the main gardens, or was he still romping about with Jane? How on earth could she face him and tell him to stay away from Jane now that she had compromised herself with the very man she had warned him against? This was a pickle indeed.
“You should not have let me,” he retorted, sounding highly amused. He raised an eyebrow haughtily when she shot him a nasty look. “Do you deny it? If you did not desire it, you could simply have given me a resounding slap and stalked away with your nose in the air. Yet you returned my kiss.”
“I should slap that grin off your face,” she muttered crossly. “It is not too late. Now, don’t just stand there like an insufferable duke. Help me find my pins.”
Phillip guffawed merrily, earning him another glare from Penny. “You are so lovely when you threaten me with bodily harm.” He stooped down and began to retrieve the pins by the dull light, whilst Penny slipped on her shoe, grimacing as the shoe resumed its torture on her poor feet. He straightened and ordered her to turn around.
“Why?” she demanded, hands on hips, looking at him curiously.
He sighed and raised his eyes to heaven in exasperation. “Are you always this hard-headed, woman? I have no wish to maul your person. I simply want to help you with your hair. Now, turn about before I change my mind.”
Chastened, she meekly did as ordered. He gathered the mass of dark curls, his fingertips brushing her bare shoulders, sending fresh tingles of delight along her spine. He rather expertly twisted the hair and deftly refastened the ends with the pins, leaving Penny to wonder how he had come to such knowledge. No doubt from the numerous women he had debauched and had found a need to dress hastily. A dreadful thought seized her. Did she now count as one of those very women? Dear heavens! What had she become?
He moved to stand before her, admiring his handiwork before nodding in approval. “That will have to do I’m afraid. I am no lady’s maid.”
She huffed, still oddly put out by the thought of him redressing some loose woman’s hair in a like manner. “Well, you certainly seem quite versed in the art. You did well enough I suppose.”
He looked at her for a moment and grinned devilishly. “Why, Miss Inglewood! I believe you are jealous of my accomplishments.”
She snorted and turned away from him so he would not see the hot colour that suffused her cheeks. She retraced her steps to the very last turn they had taken before ending up here, gritting her teeth as he chuckled in amusement and followed her.
After a few tries, they finally found the entrance once more. Penny cried out in relief and made to hurry out of the dreadful maze, but Phillip detained her.
“One moment,” he said, touching her arm lightly. She looked at him askance, and he nodded towards the tiny gathering at the entrance. Penny looked and stifled a groan. Stuff and bother! This night was just getting worse every passing moment.
“You go first. Tell them you got lost at first, but finally found your way. I will remain behind until the excitement dies down so as not to raise questions. Be sure to mention you were alone the entire time.”
He turned and disappeared back into the maze before she could respond. She sighed and prayed no one would notice anything amiss, then went stepped out to join the small group clustered at the entrance.
Edward noticed her first. He frowned and hurried over to her. “Where the devil have you been? We were about to go in search of you.” “Don’t use such foul language, Eddie,” Penny replied sharply. “I went in search of you, of course. Then I, unfortunately, lost my way and
had quite the time finding my way back.”
Lucy and Miss Rosebury hurried over, the latter scanning the dim entrance. “Did you by any chance come across His Grace?” Jane asked, “Miss Lucy says he went in a few moments after you.”
“No, I must have gone quite deep. I did not see him.” Penny hoped her face did not give her away. As it was, she could not bring herself to look the lady in the eye, as guilt weighed heavily on her. She looked to Lucy instead and found her sister looking at her thoughtfully. She flushed guilty and almost groaned aloud as Lucy’s face took on an expression of complete astonishment. Wisely, Lucy said nothing.
Jane turned to Lord Westbrooke and grasped his arm. “We simply must go in search of him. He could be lost, and it is so dreadfully dark in there.”
Penny bit her lip and looked down, wondering how she could distract them enough to wander away from the wretched maze. Quite unexpectedly, Henry unwittingly provided a solution.
“Newbridge can look after himself,” he said, giving Jane’s arm a reassuring pat. His eyes fell on Penny briefly, and he flashed a knowing grin, provoking yet another guilty blush from her. He returned his attention to Jane and murmured, “Besides, I do not think he will be too pleased if we go in search of him. Come, my dear Miss Rosebury, it is almost time for the refreshments. We will await him at the table. Miss Inglewood, you will join us?”
Penny simply nodded, too embarrassed to speak. She simply allowed herself to be led away, Lucy and Edward trailing along. As they took their seats, she glanced back towards the maze. He had emerged but simply stood there at the entrance, his gaze fixed on her.