Page 28 of Her Cursed Duke
Aiden smirked. “I thought you said we should only do that in private.”
“No one else is going to hear us. My sister and her husband are too occupied with each other to be concerned with us, and they are far enough away to not be able to hear anything we say if we speak quietly.”
“All right… Prudence. I thought we should devise a plan on how to conduct ourselves for the remainder of our arrangement.While chance is a wonderful idea, leaving things completely up to it is not smart. We should perhaps set some rules or guidelines to ensure that our behaviors and actions correspond with our story.”
Prudence nodded. “I agree. We should be a tad more organized in order to lessen the odds of making mistakes. What do you propose?”
Aiden paused to think for a moment, then suggested, “Perhaps we meet at least four times a week? We could stroll, have picnics, and visit a cake shop in town. Just spend some time together to show people that everything is going fine. Then, if there are events that my godmother wishes to drag me to, you can accompany me as my date.”
“That should not be a problem—the events, I mean. My grandmother receives invitations all the time, and the odds are they are for the very same events that Lady Foresthill has been asked to attend. We do not even need to go together, but we can meet up there.”
“You receive invitations for social events? How come I had never seen you before the summer garden party?” Aiden asked.
“Oh. Well… I do not go out much. My grandmother requires a lot of care, and I prefer to stay by her side, regardless. So, that has not left me with a lot of opportunities to make social calls, given that she is not fond of such gatherings,” Prudence explained.
“Ah, like me.”
With a giggle, Prudence admitted, “Yes, much like you, Aiden.”
He hummed and shifted his gaze ahead. “It is a shame. You would have been excellent company had we met earlier at one of those insufferable soirées.”
“I would not say that,” Prudence said reluctantly. “I was rather… closed off then. I was lonely, but I could not bring myself to try to remedy that because I missed my sisters too much. So I remained by myself, scared that everything would pale in comparison. It is likely that, then, I would not have looked at you at all.”
Aiden was silent for a moment. “What happened with you and your sisters? Is it all right for me to ask that?”
“Oh, yes, it is all right. When my father was on his deathbed, he instructed that we be separated in order to increase our chances of survival. So, Agnes, our youngest sister Imogen, and I were taken to different places to live in, with our reunion dependent on Agnes getting married to the Duke of Forestwood. As you can see, she is now happily married, and now we are together—almost. We will be leaving at the end of summer to see Imogen, and then we will all be officially reunited.”
“That sounds very sad. I am glad things worked out in the end, but I am also sorry that you had to go through all of that. I cannot imagine how difficult that time must have been for you.”
“It is all right, Aiden. Things are better now—I am better. Let’s focus on the future.” She smiled at him sweetly.
That action caused something to tighten in Aiden’s chest, reminding him of how he had felt when he saw how much she liked the flowers he had brought her. At first, he had intended to test the waters with her, see how she might respond if he approached her as though he was really trying to court her.
But after that, he felt overwhelmed by the urge to protect her smile, a thirst to see it directed at him more often. Those feelings were strange to him, and he wondered if they might have anything to do with the stir within his bones whenever he saw her.
But then he decided to revert their topic of discussion back to where they had started. “Let us, then. Speaking of, do you have any rules you want to establish for our arrangement? Terms, perhaps?”
Prudence pondered on it for a few seconds, and then she shook her head. “I do not think so. I agree with all of your suggestions… except the one where we are to meet four times a week. While I do see the necessity of meeting up frequently in public, we should be careful not to push things too far. If we seem too much like a perfect couple, it will raise a lot of suspicion when we end things. Perhaps three times a week would suffice? Not including any high society events that we might attend.”
“That sounds reasonable. And I will also be sending you gifts frequently,” Aiden stated, plucking out a leaf from her hair.
“G-Gifts? I do not think there is any need to do that—”
“It is crucial that you are showered with tokens of my affection. Firstly, you are being courted by a duke. What would people say if they heard that I am not being as generous with my wealth as I am with my affections? I personally do not care what any of those cretins think of me, but you should not have to face judgment on my behalf.”
“What affections?” Prudence cried incredulously. “And who would even know that you do not send me gifts?”
“Your sister. Your brother-in-law. My godmother. It will look odd if I am not trying to woo you with things.”
“Aiden, really, that is not necessary. Please—”
“Nothing grandiose, then. Simple gifts. Flowers, books—whatever you like. Please, let me do this. You are helping me so much, and I have not repaid you as much. You might not be doing it for rewards, but I would feel much better if I were allowed to show my appreciation,” he said seriously.
Prudence hesitated, caught off guard by the sincerity in his eyes, horrified to realize that she could not—did not—want to refuse him.
“All… all right. Nothing grandiose, promise.”
He held his right hand up and stated, “I promise. You have my word. If there is anything you like, just let me know, and I will send it to you.”
