Page 26 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“Since you did not believe that there was an intruder, I believe I will be perfectly safe all alone,” she said.
“Do not be ridiculous, please. I cannot possibly let you go out there alone. You can stay in my guest room for the night after we have dinner,” he offered.
“I insist,” she said stubbornly.
She was upset that he had not believed her.
“What happens if you go back to that house all alone? You starve and freeze to death. You can simply stay here where you will have hot food and a warm bed,” he said.
As angry as Jasmine was, she knew she could not pass over such an offer. As if to convince her further, the aroma of chicken soup wafted in her nose, and she could tell that the maids were beginning to set the table. The aroma of the food made her mouth water, and her stomach chose that moment to grumble.
“Your grumbling stomach tells me that you are, in fact, hungry,” he observed.
“I will stay,” Jasmine replied. Moments later, Jasmine was at the Nordic Beast’s table, wolfing down dinner with a voraciousness that surprised even her.
Having only lived off fruit for an entire day, however, Jasmine was beyond caring.
“Tomorrow, I will send a letter to your parents to inform them that you are safe with me,” the Nordic Beast suddenly suggested.
“That would be great. I would want them to know that I am safe,” she replied.
“I believe your parents are Lord and Lady Thornhill?” he asked.
“Indeed,” she replied, “how did you know who my parents are?”
He shrugged. “You are my neighbor, and since your family has made it a point of duty to make a racket all of the time, my butler told me who they were.”
Jasmine smiled.
“I apologize on behalf of my family. I bet my parents did not realize that noise would disturb their neighbors when they decided to have a lot of children,” she said.
He laughed, and it brightened up his face. Jasmine watched his regal form as his beautiful mouth parted for his cutlery food, and he slowly munched with a delicateness that pleased her.
“You are lucky to have such a large family. It must be a pleasure for you to have so many siblings,” he commented.
Jasmine scoffed. “Quite the contrary, in fact. Between the pompous William, my sister Rose who only cares about her experiments, and the twins who pull pranks on me all day, I simply have no breathing space,” she lamented.
“That seems like a good thing,” he said. “You will never grow bored having so many siblings.”
“If I could choose, I would simply have no siblings,” she replied.
“You are being ridiculous,” he said, laughing.
There was a moment of silence when Jasmine stuffed herself with more food. When she was finally satisfied, Jasmine decided to address her host earnestly.
“I promise you, I am not crazy,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” He appeared to be confused.
“There was an intruder, and I did not imagine things,” she continued.
“Oh!” he nodded as though he was deliberating. “I believe you.”
“Good,” Jasmine replied happily. “Now, we can celebrate our newfound friendship by telling each other our names,” she said.
“Friendship?” he asked, looking amused.
Jasmine watched as he picked up a piece of chicken, ripped it in two, and ate a piece of it. The gesture, as simple and mundane as it seemed, did things to Jasmine that she had only read about in romance novels. It was such an uncultivated gesture she had rarely seen at dinner tables.
