Page 31 of Good Duke Gone Wild

Yet…two shivers chased up her spine as she relished the memory of his large arms around her. His hand rubbing slow circles on her lower back. His warm whispers in her hair.

At some point, the two of them had fallen asleep; she before him. She remembered that at least.

In the morning he had been gone when she awoke, and it was as if he had never been there. Except he had left his imprint in the wrong place. Instead of leaving his physical impression on his side of the bed, he had left a sinking depth in her heart.

But she couldn’t be thinking about any of that because they were about to cart a princess back to London. Surely a beautiful, well put together, dainty, princess who would obviously capture his attention more than she ever could in her frumpy and bewildered state.

And yes…there she was. The princess. Coal black hair framing high cheekbones and lush red lips. Sweeping the ship with sultry eyes,Agatha was vastly aware that the two of them were opposites in every way.

And in every way that mattered, this princess was who she could see Jude falling for. Royalty. A woman of the world. Her eyes brimmed with experience. Her hips sashayed with knowledge.

“Princess Amalie, this is Lady Agatha.” Jude introduced the two women.

Never before had her name sounded so atrocious. But next to an elegant name, like Amalie, and compared to an even classier human being, Agatha felt like…well, she felt like an egg. A boring white egg next to a dazzling peacock.

Comparison? What comparison? There was no comparison between the two. Amalie embodied everything Agatha only dreamed that she could be.

Agatha curtsied, thinking she may as well stay there and never get back up again.

“It’s a pleasure to see another woman onboard. I thought I would be the only one.” Aside from the entourage of lady’s maids and servants, who looked more like they were there to stand sentry than push a tea tray. “I’m sure you can fill me in on all I need to know about everyone.” She winked.

Damn it. She winked. Damn her to hell, of course she had to be nice, too. She couldn’t be one of those princesses wiggling her fingers at her servants every few minutes to bring her tea, move her footstool, tuck a pillow behind her back. Even a princess with only air between her ears would have been better than this.

A beautiful, kind, experienced woman. A beautiful, kind, experienced woman who now had Jude’s hand on her lower back guiding her to what would seemingly be her cabin. Why hadn’t Agatha been offered that room?

Agatha’s jaw locked a smile in place as she gritted out, “Of course. I’d be only too happy to share.”

“How long have you been on the ship?” Amalie asked, and Agatha wanted to lie. She wanted to lay claim to her space. She wanted to say that she had been on the ship forever and a day. Or perhaps something more believable like a few years. Or a few months. Anything longer than a day. Had it really only been a day? One day did not establish her at all. And if anything, she needed some foundation right now, in front of this princess.

“I boarded two nights ago.”

The princess’s eyes widened. “And has it been the adventure you were looking for?”

“How do you know I was looking for adventure?” Agatha couldn’t stop the question from blurting out.

“I should think anyone boarding a ship assumes that there will be some adventures on their journey.”

“I suppose so. Are you looking for an adventure?”

At that, the princess’s eyes turned a touch wistful. “I am. But I’m not sure I’ll find it.”

“If you want it, you’ll have to take it.”

“That is probably true.” Amalie looked out over the waters as if some answer to an unknown question rested on the waves.

Instead of replying with anything more on the subject of adventure, she turned back to Agatha and asked, “You can tell me all about the Captain, too, I assume?” She winked.

Ha! And just when she thought she was making a connection with the princess. It would be a snow crested day in hell before Agatha would share anything with Amalie about her man.

Yes. Her man. For now.

Chapter 17

THOSE TWO FOREBODING WORDSfor nowrang through Agatha’s head all the way back to the cabin. She needed a minute to collect her thoughts.

Jude and his ship had not only taken her for the ride of her life—despite it being only one day—and now she needed to focus on what she wanted. She needed experiences exactly like this if she was going to make her writing more realistic. And…possibly more to the point…she needed experiences like that if she was going to feel her heart and soul come alive. Everything back in England felt stuffy. She was desperate for fresh air, new things, wild things.

All of which Jude embodied.

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