Page 6 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“Indeed,” he said, but he looked like he did not believe her.
“I promise. I do not know a lot about men, and—”
“I would love it if you would move out of my way,” he cut in.
This angered Jasmine. “I shall not. Not until you give me my book. The book is mine; I saw it first.”
The mysterious man sighed and ran a hand through his thick mane of hair. For a moment, Jasmine was enamored by his long, flowing hair.
“You are a stubborn one, aren’t you?”
“Not any more stubborn than the man that stole my book,” she replied.
“You know, for such a puny lady, you have such a huge mouth,” he said. “Very few people in London would accost me as you have.”
Jasmine’s eyes narrowed with anger.
“And for such a giant man with…with long hair, you have such…such an unlikely hobby of reading lady’s books,” she responded.
The blue-eyed man continued as though he had not heard her.
“It is such a pity that such a pretty mouth of yours is used to spout insults and not for something better,” he lamented.
Jasmine gasped and clasped a hand on her mouth. Her face heated up, and she could tell that her face was red.
“How…how dare you?” she scolded, flustered and embarrassed. “You are far from being a gentleman.”
“I am certain a lot of people in the Ton would agree with you,” he observed, a small frown taking over his face for a brief moment.
“You may keep the book,” she conceded before walking away angrily.
“I must thank you for giving me your permission,” he replied as he gave another hearty laugh.
Jasmine nearly turned back to give the insufferable man a piece of her mind, but she instead walked away. She knew he surely was a troublemaker who only sought to vex her.
It was when Jasmine left the bookshop that she realized that she had stayed in the bookshop for far too long. The modiste’s was no longer crowded, and her family was not in sight. Jasmine walked around the street, hoping to find her family, but she did not.
Dread and fear began to slowly creep into her mind.
She headed to the modiste’s, where her mother had been.
“Excuse me, have you seen Lady Thornhill?” she asked.
“My Lady, Lady Thornhill has just left. Should you make haste, I suppose you may catch up with her before she gets to the carriage,” the modiste suggested.
Jasmine hurried toward the direction of the carriage, and when she rounded a corner, she saw her mother stuffing Cassian and Daphne into the carriage. Relieved that she would not be left behind, Jasmine quickened her steps. However, she was shocked when the carriage began to move.
Jasmine did not want to be left behind, so she ran to the carriage, hoping that she could catch up.
“Mother! William!” she shouted at the top of her lungs, but the buyers and sellers on the street easily overshadowed her small voice.
It was only when the carriage pulled out of sight that she finally stopped running.
“Mama!” she groaned as she looked around frantically to see anyone who could help her.
She saw no one that bore a resemblance to anyone she knew.
“How am I to get home now?” she cried, bemoaning her fate.
