Page 91 of Rakes & Reticules
Dorothea now had him for a third dance.
Three dances.
It was unheard of.
The girl could battle her way to twenty dances with him and she was still not going to receive a marriage proposal from him.
Amelia, on the other hand...gad, was he truly ready to make the leap?
CHAPTERSIX
Amelia could not understand why the duke would want to meet her in the music room this morning when he had spent most of last evening dancing with all the young ladies at his weekend party.
Not a one had been slighted.
But this was also the wonderful thing about him, this sense of duty he had toward his guests. Only now, he was taking his duties toward her much too far and she meant to tell him so. But she also had something else to tell him, something she found more disconcerting and perplexing than the prospect of dancing.
She hurried downstairs just as the clock in the hall chimed the eight o’clock hour. To her surprise, he was already standing by the piano in wait for her.
Her heart began to flutter.
He looked splendid standing in the morning’s golden light, his arms folded across his beautifully massive chest. He was dressed casually, wearing buff breeches and a shirt of finest lawn. His cravat and vest were a slate blue silk that matched the exquisite color of his eyes. His jacket was tossed atop the piano that now sat idle. “Good morning, Your Grace.”
He arched a dark eyebrow. “Callum.”
“Um...yes. Callum.” She approached him, almost afraid to get too close for he was far too handsome for this early hour of the morning. As sensible as she prided herself on being, she was going to behave like a peahen around him.
Little bonfires were erupting in her body...and she hadn’t even had her breakfast yet.
She had never seen a man so splendidly formed.
His broad shoulders and muscled arms were even more accentuated without his jacket on.
“Amelia, you look pained. Truly, dancing is not an ordeal.”
She shook her head. “It isn’t only that. Look.”
She handed him the parchment clasped in her hand. “I found another love note in my reticule this morning. This one had to be meant for me because my reticule has not been out of my bedchamber since that first day.”
He pursed his lips and frowned as he read it. “This puts a new light on the first one you received. We now know it must have been meant for you and not another lady.”
“I still cannot credit it. These notes have to be a joke. Perhaps Dorothea’s scheming? But that does not make sense because she had no reason to leave me that first note. She had no idea I would be competition for her. In truth, if she had made a list of the unmarried ladies invited here, she would have scratched me off as no threat to her at all. So, what is this about?”
He examined it once more. “Seems I will have to dig a little deeper. James and I questioned our friends and no one owned up to writing the first one. I’ll have my housekeeper question the maids. Perhaps they noticed someone slipping into your bedchamber or suspiciously wandering the hall.”
“Thank you. This really is confounding.”
He cast her a wry smile. “Why, Amelia? It just means someone has discerning taste. Has anyone attempted to approach you? Flirt with you?”
“Possibly, but you know how inept I am about these matters. The gentleman would have to club me over the head with his fawning gestures and insipid words. I wouldn’t ever catch on to his advances if he were subtle about it.”
“Well, nothing we can do about it at the moment. But answer me this, have any of your things other than the reticule been touched?”
“No, I don’t think so. I checked my belongings, especially concerned about my jewelry. Not that I have anything of significant value, but it is unsettling to have someone enter my bedchamber and rummage through my personal items. Nothing was out of place. Not even the reticule appeared to have been touched, but obviously it was since the culprit slipped his second note inside. I find the whole affair distasteful rather than romantic.”
“I’ll put a footman on guard upstairs to watch your room in particular. I cannot imagine the fool writing a third love letter. Tonight is our formal party and the guests will begin to leave after breakfast tomorrow morning.”
She nodded. “I did not think to ask Aunt Rosie what time she intends for us to leave. I’ll ask her later. In any event, it won’t take me long to pack.”
