Every moment she was with the Duke and close in his arms Bettina felt as if they were on a magic vessel sailing to secret destinations of utter bliss where no one could disturb their happiness.
She knew because she loved him that now, as she had prayed they would, the barriers that he had erected within himself were crumbling and beginning to disappear.
There was no longer the dry note in his voice, the hard look in his eyes or the cynical twist to his lips.
Instead his eyes as well as his words spoke to her of love and she often surmised a tender expression on his face that made her heart turn over.
She did not know that to the Duke she personified the flower that he had identified her with.
He was experienced enough to know that in her youth and her innocence there were many things
