Page 29 of A Spinster to Reform the Duke
“It was a shock. You could say that.”
“Is the idea of a connection with me so abhorrent?” he asked, waiting for her to look up at him. “I am not so wholly bad,” he murmured, offering her a wink.
“Do not wink so,” she warned, bringing a laugh to his lips. The laugh was covering up his true thoughts. He didn’t want to reveal the fact that her hatred for what was written in the scandal sheets actually hurt him.
“I should apologize to you,” he mustered up the apology. “In my eagerness to help you the other day, my familiarity was what caused the gossip. I am sorry if it has caused you any offence.”
“I do not wish for an apology from you.” She shook her head. The words startled him so much that he stopped their walk, needing to face her properly. He was happy to let the others trail a little further ahead, just to have a minute more of privacy with her.
“You do not?”
“Your Grace, you pulled me out of the water,” she said plainly. “In case you hadn’t noticed, my gown was trapped. Goodness knows what could have happened if it was not for your kindness.” Hearing the words made a smile grow on his cheeks. “Had I known my gratitude would make you smile so, perhaps I should have uttered the extent of it sooner.”
“You have a habit of making me smile.”
“You are trying to charm me again,” she said with arched eyebrows as she continued the walk forward, urging him to do the same from the way they were connected.
“I am being honest, that is all,” he remarked slowly. “All the same, I see my help has caused you trouble.”
“My mother believes the gossip will be gone in a couple of days. My father thinks it will last longer. He fears it will have affected your friend’s affection for my sister. Especially if he believes what the paper hinted at, of me being the latest in your line of lovers.”
Timothy shook his head. He found himself against the idea.
“I would never treat you so. I hope you believe me in that.”
“They are not words I expected to cross your lips.”
“All I mean is that…” He looked down at her, rather distracted by the curious gaze in those blue eyes. He could not deny now he had pictured those eyes looking up at him in other ways, perhaps from his bed, gazing at him in pleasure, but it was not to be.
He stiffened and looked away from her again.She is a woman of honor. She could only ever be married to her lover. That is not something I can give her. She is not the bride I have set out to find.
“I respect you, my Lady. I do not want you to be harmed by gossip.”
“Thank you.” Her words were soft. As she spoke, she adjusted her hold on his arm, so that her fingers gripped him a little tighter. He pulled at the collar of his cravat around his throat, trying to loosen the sudden heat that touch had caused. “Are what the papers say true in some regard? Do you intend to marry?”
“I am considering the prospect,” he said honestly. “My mother wishes for me to provide an heir.”
“Who will you marry then?” she asked, her voice rather too nonchalant for his liking. “Have you fallen in love?”
“Love, eh?” he scoffed at the idea, shaking his head. “You must know me a little by now, Lady Rebecca. Can you not tell from what you know of me and what you have read? I am not capable of love.”
“Are you not?” Lady Rebecca pulled on his arm a little. As they circled a fountain in the middle of the park, catching up with the others, he looked at her, seeing the wideness of her eyes. “So, you intend to marry for convenience?”
“Yes,” Timothy was surprised by his own honesty. “I am startled I can speak such truths with you, my Lady.”
“As am I. In return, may I be honest with you?” They paused beside the fountain, and Lady Rebecca lifted her hand to her eyes, shielding them from the glare of the sun bouncing off the water.
“Please, do,” he encouraged with a wave of his free hand.
“In my experience, love is not something you choose,” she mused thoughtfully, chewing her lip as she looked down at the fountain. “Just when you think you cannot feel something, your heart surprises you.”
“In what way?” he asked, finding his voice deepening.
“By caring for another.”
Wait… she cares for someone? Someone besides Lord Armstrong?
“I may have been unlucky in love, Your Grace, but not everyone has to be. Perhaps you are not as unlucky as you think.” She smiled up at him. They were the words of a true friend. Timothy parted his lips, ready to thank her for her kindness when there was a sound nearby.
