Page 46 of The Secret Life of the Elusive Governess
I wonder what she looks like in satin.
* * *
Turning away from the image in front of her was especially hard as her fingers were itching to grab her sketchbook and scribble away. The picture the Duke had just given her was burned into her mind and it took her breath away.
Clad in only the bare essentials, the mastery, and power that he used to control that fierce horse nearly undid her composure. Just as the memory of last night had.
“No!” the word felt tortured “No, for the sake of God, no. Please stay, if for the children’s sake than for me. I can settle with loving you from afar.”
A mirroring pain tightened her stomach, “How far can we be if we live in the same house? We will get tired of the distance soon or later.”
“I know,” the Duke spoke with a grimace.
“We will start to yearn for each other,” Caroline had added.
“I know,” he said while replacing his forehead on hers.
The closeness to him almost unraveled her composure. The one thing she wanted the most in the world was a handbreadth away from her, but with their circumstance, he felt miles away. How could she hold on to this fraction of the love and attention she wanted from him?
“We might destroy each other,” finished she in a tortured whisper.
“I know that too…” the Duke’ eyes clenched tight, “God knows I know it, but it is a chance I am willing to take. A part of my sanity rests with you, Caroline, and I cannot bear to have you far from me. Living in unfilled hope is marginally better than living in torment.”
“Marginally,” Caroline sighed as her eyelashes fluttered, “Only marginally.”
“I apologize for my over-formal behavior,” Moses murmured in her hair, “I was lost, Caroline, I did not know what to do with this feeling. It tore me apart so I drew away.”
Her laugh was muffled under his chest, “I remember doing the same thing not too long ago. A chess match with a deserving opponent drew me back in.”
“And I wonder who that deserving opponent is?” Moses’ tone had taken on a hint of a tease.
Caroline pulled away, “I suppose we will see when this game comes to a close.”
Not being able to suppress a smile, Caroline allowed her mind to fantasize for a moment before she went to prepare for her next session.
* * *
It had taken the Earl of Crampton all night and half of the next day to fully digest what Mr. Barton, his sleuth, had told him. At first, he could not imagine that something almost cataclysmic had occurred in a shire that was so close by but had successfully been swept under the rug for so long.
That morning, still suffering from disbelief, he had to call the man back to make sure he had heard what he thought he had. He had paid him the night before but if what he had heard was true, Mr. Barton might be deserving of a bonus.
This time, when Mr. Barton came, Peregrine made sure to make the man comfortable and even poured him some of his personal wine. “Tell me again, what did you learn from the Barony of Rowe?”
A satisfied smirk tugged at the man’s lips as he took the cup. Peregrine tried to ignore that the man—his inferior—currently had the upper hand even though it galled him.
“Like I said last night, an old woman said that there was an urchin in the household there fifteen years ago. A horrible death had happened there and the child was suspected to have had a hand in it. They were after her but she ran away before they could get to her.” Mr. Barton smirked as he leaned in, “And… her name is Caroline.”
Peregrine wanted to add up the points but knew that such an assumption was a stretch. However, he was not afraid to take the chance. “Do you think the Baron of Rowe would have more information on the matter?”
“Yes, Milord, I do,” Mr. Barton replied.
Reaching into his drawer, Peregrine took out a packet of money and handed it over to the man. “You have done well. I think it would do me well to contact him.”
The sleuth marshalled his reaction to the wily, foxlike slur the conniving man had spoken in. “If he is as interested in finding this woman as you are, then by all means.”
“Wonderful.” Peregrine smiled while taking out a sheet of paper, “Thank you for your services Mr. Barton, we will keep in touch.”
* * *
