Page 49 of Her Cursed Duke
A part of him felt glad that he had been wrong and took pleasure in the fact that he was the only man she had her eyes on. It was odd, given that what was between them had an expiration date, but he still relished the feeling for a bit before pushing it aside to ponder on it later.
“Apology accepted. Do not get any strange ideas in your head again. We had both commiserated over the fact that we have no interest in romance, so why you would think I planned to use you to capture the attention of other men is beyond me. And, in case you have forgotten, our arrangement was set to end at the time we agreed upon because I will be leaving for London then. It would be absolutely useless to try getting other men to woo me after we are over if I am just going to leave by then.”
Right. She was to depart after their ruse ended.
He was aware of that, of course, but for some reason, reiterating it now made him feel strangely disappointed.
“Right. Silly me.” He sighed, reaching for her parasol, holding it above her when she let him have it. “So, shall we visit a cake shop in town soon? As our first appearance among the common folk?”
She thought about it a little bit and then nodded. “That sounds fine. When do you propose we make this outing?”
“Tomorrow?” he suggested, suddenly feeling as though he could not go on too long without seeing her.
Luckily, she thought nothing of his suggestion, easily agreeing. “All right. We can have brunch there if you’d like.”
“What wouldyoulike?”
Prudence narrowed her eyes at him playfully and said, “For you to make a decision and know that I am fine with it.”
Aiden tsked, shaking his head. “That simply will not do. I do not want you to simply befinewith my decisions and choices. I want you to at least enjoy yourself during our time together. I’d like you to find both our public”—he moved closer to whisper softly—“and private interactions worthwhile. That is pretty much all I can offer.”
She blushed and avoided his gaze. “All right, fine. Brunch sounds delightful.”
He grinned handsomely. “See? That wasn’t so difficult.”
“Speak for yourself. Every interaction with you can easily be equated to trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle. Frustrating and exhausting.”
“Now, now, no need to sweet talk me, lovely. I am already quite smitten by your charms.”
“Oh, be quiet, you,” she scoffed.
“How I wish we were behind closed doors so I could invite you to shut me up. I’m sure we could think of more creative things to do with our lips,” he mumbled, loud enough to hear.
She stopped in her tracks immediately, and he continued walking ahead, noticing after a few steps that she was lingering behind.
“Lady Prudence? Are you coming?” he queried, smiling at her innocently.
This man will be the death of me.
Prudence hesitated briefly before she walked into the sunroom, unable to keep herself from smiling at her sister when Agnes’s attention immediately shifted from the book in her lap to her.
“Prudence, darling,” Agnes said in lieu of greeting. “How are you?”
“I am just fine, thank you. Am I interrupting?” Prudence questioned, gesturing to the book.
“Oh, of course not. I was just rereading it because there was something mentioned within it that I need to find so I can win an argument with my husband. A silly goose, that one.”
“But you love him, even if he is silly.”
Agnes sighed wistfully. “That I do. Well, what can I do for you, dear?”
Prudence had no idea why she felt the need to point out to her sister that she loved her husband. It was not as though Agnes did not know, but for some reason, Prudence needed clarity on the subject—that it was indeed possible to care deeply for someone despite their ridiculous ways.
“I would like to go into town to pick up some things… and I was wondering if you would like to come with me. I could useyour opinion on certain items,” Prudence said, pushing back the distracting notions until all that was at the forefront of her mind was the matter at hand.
“Oh, of course, dear. What items do you intend to purchase? So that we might discuss your options on the way.” Agnes closed her book and stood up.
Prudence inhaled. “Art supplies.”
