Page 75 of Rakes & Reticules
Other couples were ahead of them and some lagged behind. The duke’s brother had partnered with Lady Dorothea and they were in the lead. Of course, that girl wanted her kiss from the duke and would not let anything or anyone stand in her way.
Amelia did not care one way or the other.
She would not mind being on the receiving end of a kiss fromDuke Handsome, but not in front of everybody.
She had never been kissed before.
Everyone would surely know it when she fumbled uncertainly and her face caught flame.
The moment would be too humiliating.
She shook out of the thought and concentrated on the game.
The village was named after the duke’s family. His country estate had been given the name of Marston Hall. There was no mistaking the influence he and his family held in the surrounding area, an influence that had lasted close to a thousand years.
No wonder he was so daunting.
It was not merely his handsome appearance.
The man oozed power.
It was in his stance and in his every movement.
It was in the command of his voice and his every expression.
The woman who claimed his heart would have to be quite special in more ways than simply good looks.
Indeed, she could not imagine him settling for someone like Dorothea. However, what did she know about men? Perhaps they all adored these frivolous ninnies and wanted exactly this sort of woman as a wife.
There was a boy seated in front of the clock tower as they reached it. “Good morning, Leo,” the duke said, bending on his haunches to speak to him at his eye level.
The lad’s face lit up with excitement. “Morning, Yer Grace. I suppose ye are looking for yer first trinket.” He looked so proud as he handed the duke a watch on a fob. “Ye may now move on to yer second clue.”
He ruffled the boy’s hair. “Thank you, Leo.”
“My pleasure, Yer Grace. Enjoy yer day.”
“You, too.” He tossed a shilling to the boy. “Are you permitted to leave your post yet?”
“No’m, not until all ten teams find me.”
“All right. Well, you stay at your post, but when your assignment is done, go have a slice of pie at the tea room and tell Mrs. Blake she is to put it on my account. Is your sister also working these clues?”
The boy nodded.
“Have Mrs. Blake put her pie on my account as well.”
“You treated the boy very kindly,” Amelia said as they walked out of young Leo’s hearing.
He grinned and took the basket from her hand to carry it himself. “By your smile, I gather this has met with your approval.”
“Of course, it has. You made that boy feel so proud of himself. I sense his family circumstances are difficult. Gaining your notice and being rewarded with a pie for him and his sister will have him smiling all day.”
“It is a small gesture.”
“No kindness is ever too small,” she insisted, no doubt thinking too much about her own neglected childhood.
“That family will need a good deal more than a tossed shilling and a day’s treat, but I will look after them.”
