Page 61 of Seduced By the Rakish Duke

She convinced herself it was just her pride that was holding onto what could have been.

She looked at Harry, who was still giving tidbits about his young daughter.

“She has been asking to meet you for some time now.”

Jenny nodded her head. “Then it is high time for me to meet her.”

Harry’s face lit up with excitement. “Fantastic. I can bring her with me for our walk tomorrow. If that is alright with you.”

Jenny nudged him. “Quite confident that I would accept to go on another walk with you, Your Grace.”

Harry pretended to be hurt. “Are there other suitors I will need to chase away?”

Jenny chuckled. “No. Just you, Your Grace, and I am alright with that.”

Harry stopped and faced her. The jovial mood quickly dissipated as he looked deeply into her eyes. “Are you really?”

“Yes.”No.

Harry smiled, his eyes twinkling with gratitude and hope. Jenny ignored the growing ball of lead in her stomach and reminded herself that all of her dreams were coming true with Harry.

Many people got married and then fell in love with their spouse. She could do that. He was a lovely man, with a generous heart that appealed to hers. Who cared if he didn’t make her heart flip when he looked at her, or if his words didn’t elicit waves of need and want? It didn’t mean she couldn’t train her body to react that way in time.

After all, thanks to David, she learned to do many things with her body. She could trick it into thinking Harry was giving it everything it needed.

Patience is a virtue, isn’t it?

She just needed to be patient. Those feelings would come—they had to.

The next day, Jenny found herself staring into the same eyes as Harry’s. Only instead of looking up into them, she was looking down into them.

Elizabeth was a beautiful cherub of a child. With round cheeks and bright blue eyes, the girl exuded energy in every movement. And she was driving Harry absolutely mad by refusing to sit still.

Jenny leaned down and picked up the shattered pieces of the vase. “It really is alright, Harry. It was a wedding gift that neither my brother nor Frannie were fond of. If anything, Elizabeth did them a favor.”

Harry did not find amusement in the situation. Ever since he and Elizabeth walked through the door, the child became interested in touching every single item in the parlor. The upholstery of the chairs, the picture frames, the poor unfortunate vase.

Jenny barely spoke to Harry in the twenty minutes they were there. He was too busy telling Elizabeth to “put that down,” or “stop touching that.”

“Why don’t we go out for a walk?” She looked down at Elizabeth, who was eyeing up a tiny glass horse figurine, a family heirloom she and Thomas brought from their old life. Jenny reached out and took the child’s hand to distract her from its shiny exterior.

“What do you say, Elizabeth? Would you like to go for a walk with us? It’s a lovely day outside.”

The little girl finally tore her gaze away from the glass horse and nodded her head vigorously. “Yes, please,” she intoned in her tiny sweet voice, making Jenny smile.

Jenny looked over at Harry, who looked exhausted. “There. All she needs is some fresh air and exercise.”

Harry eyed her skeptically but moved to the door. “Since I’m not doing a good job of controlling her in here, I say we give it a try.”

Jenny scrunched up her nose. “Control? She’s a bit rambunctious, but you make it sound as if you’re expecting her to be a tiny soldier and not a little girl.”

“If she were a boy, I’d understand. But a girl?” He looked positively shocked. “No, girls should know how to behave. I’m sure you understand what I mean.”

Jenny cocked her head as they walked out of the house and towards the park. “Your Grace, you must remember that I have a vastly different background from my peers. Thomas and I grew up as the children of a shopkeeper. My childhood was not one of strict discipline and conformity.”

Harry waved her off. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t lying when I said she was precocious. I need someone to help me rein her in.”

Jenny stopped walking. Elizabeth tugged on her arm, urging her to keep moving. “I think we have a misunderstanding, Your Grace. I’m not much of a disciplinarian. I think children should have some freedom to explore things. Some of my favorite memories are of a young Thomas and I exploring our town and causing mischief.”

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