Page 34 of Good Duke Gone Wild

“Good luck, you two.” Then he tipped his head and was off.

“What was that about?” Jude asked.

“I told you that I can’t say.”

“You realize how conspicuously you’re acting right now, don’t you?”

With a long blink, she gave him what she hoped was a whimsical shrug. “It’s a surprise for later.”

“Not sure I like surprises.”

And you won’t like this one.“Well, we’ll just have to see how you feel about this one.”

With a grunt, he let the topic go. “Are there any foods in particular that you want to try?”

Hmm…this seemed like it was going to be easier than she thought. Except that she didn’t really know what French foods to try, having never been there. “I don’t know what there is to try. Only what I’ve had back home. It might be interesting to see if it tastes different here, but I’d really like to try some new things.”

“I’ll show you.”

And then, despite the fact that she was about to trick this man, she grinned like a delighted idiot at the prospect of their upcoming adventure.

Chapter 18

“I’VE HEARD THE CATHEDRALS in France are one of a kind,” Agatha was saying to Jude as he steered her toward the ship. They had eaten boeuf a la mode and sampled duck a l’orange. They had even tasted some new cheeses before breaking into the highlight of the day, creme brulee.

The moans Agatha had let loose while spooning that into her mouth had been enough to convince him it was time to return to the ship.

Why he was even out here with her, he wasn’t sure.

Sprat would have his opinion on that, but Jude was resolute. They might be good together—he and Agatha—but he could never be with someone who he couldn’t trust. That’s all it came down to. Whether or not he could leave everything under her control, and he knew he couldn’t, she was too…fake.

That description fell flat. But it didn’t matter. He was a privateer soon to be merchant. This was his last voyage under someone else’s direction. In the very near future, he would be out on his own. And if he wanted to find a new shipmaster, he would. And if he wanted to sail his own damn ship, he could do that, too. And if he wanted to onlytake a few voyages each year, that’s what he would do. His life would be his own once again, not under anyone’s control.

The last place he wanted to be was under anyone’s control again. So, it was certainly odd that he had let Agatha convince him to give her the experiences she requested. His only argument for it was that she had finally expounded upon the wordexperiencesand applied a more palatable definition to it. These were the kind of experiences he would gladly provide to her.

“I don’t think we’ll be stumbling upon anything so great as the Notre Dame over here, Aggie.”

“Of course not,” she chuckled, “but they must have some churches, abbeys, or something. Oh, look—” she grabbed his arm and pointed to a small parish. “Right over there. Let’s just sneak in. I’ve never been in a French church before.”

“You haven’t been in a French anything before—”

“Shh! Let’s go,” she said, practically ripping his arm out of his socket as she dragged him to the nondescript building. “Isn’t it lovely?” she cooed.

“I don’t think—”

“Bon soir,” a voice greeted them. Must be the vicar. He waved. A little too familiarly. Jude scratched his head. Had he met the man before?

Giving a slight nod, he nudged Agatha to turn around. But she was far too eager. She was already halfway to meet him when Sprat, of all people, appeared.

But it took a moment for Jude to recognize him, for he was wearing a suit. He greeted Agatha with a kiss on the cheek, looking between her and Jude. They were conversing in hushed tones while Agatha bore a wide grin. A conspiratorial grin if Jude ever saw one.

Then, louder than their murmurs had been thus far, Sprat asked, “C’est ton mari?”

Jude was already shaking his head at the question of him being Agatha’s husband, but she was nodding.

“C'est mon fiancé. Il a promis que nous nous marierions en France.”

Promised to be married in France? What the devil was the chit going on about? And since when did she know how to speak such fluent French? Most ladies learned it back in England, but not many spoke it so eloquently.

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