Page 22 of Her Wolf of a Duke

“Well, I am not so certain of that. It could suddenly change, and then what will I do?”

“I can have a maid arranged for you. The Duke of Pridefield shan’t mind.”

“But I would much rather you accompanied me. It would be nice to have a friend with me.”

“Am I a friend to you?”

She giggled at that as if he had asked her something absurd.

“Your Grace, you and I both know what is between us, but if I must call it friendship then I shall.”

Before he could refute it, however, Miss Kendall appeared.

She was furious, and he could not believe that she had caught them at the worst possible time once more. He saw betrayal in her eyes, and he hated it. She chastised them both, but as she did so he realized that she had been waiting for it to happen. She had expected him to do something to prove her assumptions correct; to play the role that he had assigned himself so long ago.

And so, as Miss Winston stalked away, he decided that he would do exactly that. If it was a rake she expected, that shewanted,then he would give her a rake. He was excellent in the role when necessary, and for the sake of proving a point he would play it well.

Too well, he realized, as he had left her flustered and then she seemed to leave altogether. He wondered if he had taken their argument too far, but he reasoned that she was not listening to him and had therefore left him with no other choice.

And so, he finished the game, which he ended up coming in second with, and they played a second with Miss Sarah joining them. She was good, very good, especially for a beginner. As thegame continued, however, he found that she was standing beside him as Rosendale took his turns. She looked at him expectantly, as though willing him to say something.

“You… play very well,” he managed.

“I wish to know what you think of my sister,” Sarah replied bluntly.

“She is certainly proper. I will say that she is pleasant company, when she wishes to be at least.”

“I want you to take care of her. I know it is not right for me to instruct a duke, but you must know that she has done everything she can for me, and I have never been able to offer her anything in return. She deserves the best, and I expect you to give her that if you are suggesting such intentions.”

He paused, looking at the young lady’s face. She seemed serious about her words, though she was quite timid in his presence.

“Is that what your sister believes?”

“It is what her friends and I have seen. You have been by her side for a while during this party, and if we are correct in our suspicions I want to know that your intentions are honorable.”

“They always are.”

She seemed to laugh gently at that, and then it was her turn. She no longer waited beside him during the game, and he took that to mean that she had said what she had been building the courage to say, and now there was nothing more that she needed from him.

She won the game, and he took that as his sign that he would not be victorious in any other attempts. He left for the carriages for a second time, this time returning to the household. He had been thinking about Miss Sarah’s words, and how they had noticed him by her side. He had told her that Miss Kendall was pleasant when she wanted to be, and that was true, but even when she was being decidedly unpleasant he had to admit that he liked being near her. It confused him, for he should have taken offence at her treatment of him and wanted nothing more to do with her, but he couldn’t bring himself to.

Upon his return, he needed some time to think, and so he decided to go to the library. Leonard wouldn’t mind, as he had often opened his home to Levi when he needed a moment to himself, without his mother’s presence lingering around him.

He chose a book and took a seat without much thought, when suddenly he heard a gentle huffing sound. He looked up to see none other than Miss Kendall, who had been sitting there, standing to leave.

“Wait,” he said quickly. “Stay. I did not mean to intrude.”

“You never do, Your Grace. I am doing what you instructed me to do and leaving situations that could lead to scandal. Even I, a glorified maid, could fall victim to scandal. Or so I am told.”

“It was unfair of Miss Winston to call you that. You mustn’t listen to her.”

“I have far greater issues than what some young lady thinks of me,” she snapped. “I am rather preoccupied, for example, with avoiding ruin, as it would appearsomepeople are determined to see it happen.”

“You wound me. I would never want to see you ruined.”

She laughed emptily, closing the book that she had been reading and putting it back on the shelf. She looked at him almost with pity, or perhaps despair. He did not know how to read her, and it intrigued him more than it confused him.

“Then why did you do that at the park?” she asked. “Why have you followed me back after it? Please, if you wish to upset me, do not. Leave me be. I need only see my sister married and then I can leave this dreadful society. Do not make it harder than necessary.”

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