Page 49 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

She chuckled to herself, rising from the chair to pick out a book that might distract her until she could come up with another excuse to avoid Christian at lunch. A part of her hoped he would seek her out, but she knew it was folly to even think of it.

“It will be nothing more than a respectful agreement.”

“Respectful,” she scoffed as she sat back in her chair, frowning at the fire. “What is respectful about barging into my room in the middle of the night and then leaving without so much as a backward glance?”

She opened her book and began to read, but the words blurred together, and she could not get her mind to concentrate on the story. She tried again for ten minutes before sighing with exasperation.

Pulling one of the ribbons from her hair, she placed the kitten on the floor and had her chase the ribbon around the armchair for some time. Its tiny legs struggled to keep up, but it was a feisty creature and clearly had a strong will to survive.

A knock sounded at the door, and a maid entered, a happy laugh escaping her lips as she saw the kitten play.

“Good morning, Your Grace,” she greeted in a pleasantly lilting voice. “A great number of parcels have arrived for you today.”

Louise frowned, bending to retrieve the kitten before she followed the maid into the corridor. They made for the main entrance hall, where, sure enough, there were ten or so large parcels wrapped in soft cloth and tied with slim ribbons.

Louise gently handed the kitten to the maid and looked them over, confused as to where they had come from. They were all addressed to her.

With rising excitement, she pulled the cloth off one of the larger parcels and found a box inside. When she opened the lid, she was met with an exquisite gown of dark red, embroidered all over with gold thread. It was the finest dress she had ever seen—her father would only ever buy her new clothes when he needed her to look presentable for an event.

There were so many boxes that she was quite overwhelmed. The next one she opened contained a far plainer dress, with a simple design and loose stays for ease of movement.

“It is for gardening.”

She spun around, almost tripping over her feet upon hearing the deep voice behind her. Christian was standing there, watchingher with an expectant expression, his eyes just as dark as they had been the night before.

A shiver of awareness ran through her as he looked her up and down briefly, but the heat in his eyes was unmistakable.

Then, she remembered she was furious with him and put her hands on her hips.

“You have bought all of these for me?” she asked.

Christian straightened his coat. “There may be one or two items for myself.” His ears turned a little pink, and her eyes widened in surprise.

I have never seen him in anything but the latest fashions. Is he embarrassed that enjoys perfecting his appearance?

“Are you not going to thank me?” he asked archly, and she scowled at him. A slow smile spread across his lips, and she rolled her eyes at his audacity.

“I am very grateful. This gown is beautiful, but what is this all about?”

Christian stepped forward. His hair was styled casually this morning, his cravat slightly askew.

“I am a man of my word,” he said, inclining his head. “I told you I would purchase some dresses for you so that you did not have to wear anything too fine in the gardens. These are the said dresses.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded letter, which he handed to her. She looked it over—it was an invitation.

“You can wear one of them to the Barringtons’ ball tonight. Do not be late,” he instructed firmly.

Clearly, being late for one breakfast means I cannot be trusted to manage my time.

Christian’s frown deepened as the maid almost lost her hold on the kitten, who was squirming and straining to reach him.

Louise took the kitten in her arms, the note crumpling between her fingers as she tried to juggle them both.

“What is that thing still doing here?” Christian asked heatedly.

“Where did you expect me to put her? Out on the streets?” Louise shot back.

“Oh, it is a male, Your Grace,” the maid blurted out, then snapped her mouth shut, looking at Christian warily.

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