Page 34 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“Fine, but I will send a letter to Lord Thornhill on how I feel about how he treats you,” he vowed.
“No,” Jasmine insisted, “I would not want you to be in trouble on my account. Moreover, if Father believed I was important to him, he would have done everything in his grasp to get me to the countryside safely.”
“I will do as you wish, My Lady,” Axel acquiesced.
They ate the remainder of their food in silence.
“Aside from the unfortunate mail you got, I think it is time for you to see the famed library I told you about,” Axel said to her.
At the thought of the library, Jasmine smiled.
“Lead me to your library, and I shall see if it lives up to your boast, Your Grace,” she agreed.
“I have to insist that you close your eyes first though,” he said once he led her to the library’s entrance.
Jasmine giggled, but she did as he had asked. She felt Axel’s strong hand as he held her hand in his and led her slowly into what she assumed was the library.
“You can open your eyes now,” Axel said. Jasmine did, and she was pleasantly surprised at the sight that greeted her.
The library in Axel’s house was bigger than her father’s library back at Thornhill’s residence. Moreover, every wall in the library had shelves where book after book was arranged in alphabetical order. Jasmine knew it would take her years to read all the books in the library.
“What do you think about the library?” Axel asked, smiling proudly at her.
Jasmine frowned and shrugged. “Well, it is not half as bad as I imagined it would be,” she teased. “It is not as big as our library back at home, and it definitely does not have as many books.”
The smile disappeared from Axel’s face at Jasmine’s words.
“That is too bad. I desperately wanted to impress you, My Lady,” he said.
“I am simply jesting, Your Grace,” Jasmine laughed before rushing to one of the shelves and ruffling through the books.
Axel laughed. “You gave me quite the fright.”
Jasmine walked around the library, smiling widely. She felt like she was in heaven. Suddenly, the thoughts of the unpleasant letter she had received no longer mattered to her.
ChapterEleven
After being buried in his work for hours, Axel finally went downstairs to do what had occupied his mind for hours: to see Jasmine.
He headed straight for the library where he already knew she would be. When he entered the library, he saw her back hunched over a book and reading with such rapt attention that she had no idea she had company.
Axel stood at the doorway for a while, just staring at Jasmine. Ever since he had brought her to the library, Jasmine had occupied herself with reading and reading only.
When Axel had met Jasmine at that bookstore, if someone had told him that she would eventually end up in his house, reading in his library where he had spent the better half of his childhood, he would have laughed in their face. Yet, there she was, not only the most beautiful woman he had ever seen but also the most opinionated and passionate one.
Axel’s heart beat faster as he watched her. As much as Jasmine’s presence brought Axel joy, he could not help but imagine what would become of him when her family finally returned from their trip. Then, he would be all alone again, miserable and withdrawn.
He decided there and then that he had to protect not only himself but also her. He needed to ensure that her absence would not affect him so much, and the only way to do this was to spend as little time as possible with her. This way, he would not get addicted to her presence. With this, Axel turned and began to head out of the library.
“Your Grace,” Jasmine said, and Axel groaned. Jasmine had caught sight of him before he could successfully leave. “Your Grace, were you planning on leaving?” she asked.
“Uhm...” He could not possibly tell her that he was trying to sneak out of the library to protect himself from getting heartbroken when she left. She would probably think he had gone mad. Moreover, he was sure she did not feel the same way about him.
“I…saw how engrossed you were in the book you were reading, and I did not want to disturb you. Forgive me, My Lady,” he lied.
“Please, you should have let me know you were here. You can never disturb me if I always look forward to seeing you,” she said.
Did she just say she always looked forward to seeing me?
