Page 14 of The Duke's Price
He wondered how she’d feel if she woke to find her arms enfolding him, and his head on her breast. There was one way to find out, though it wouldn’t do anything for the rest of his sleep. To his surprise, though, he did drop off to sleep again, cradled against her, her heart beating firmly just under his ear.
He woke when she gasped and pushed at him.
“Richport! De-Ath, I mean. You said you wouldn’t… De-Ath!”
He lifted away from her and smiled as he noted her position in the bed. “I am still on my side of the bed, Ruth,” he pointed out. “You came to me, and I must say, I slept very comfortably. I would like that kiss now, if you would be so kind.”
Was that a growl? His prim governess woke up growling in the morning! Who would have guessed? Was she always grumpy before she was fully awake? Or was it his presence? He couldn’t wait to find out. And if he had never had such a thought about a lover before, what of it? New experiences were what he lived for.
“You are a horrible man,” the delightful lady growled. “A kiss, indeed, when I need tooth powder and… and other things.”
Perry rolled out of bed, springing far more lightly to his feet than he felt inclined to do. But he would suffer the tortures of the damned rather than admit that his bones ached. He was, after all, only three and forty—a healthy man in his prime.
“I shall order coffee, shall I? Or do you prefer tea or chocolate at this time of the morning? That should give you enough time to use the chamber pot and clean your mouth.”
He decided that the dark look she cast him was answer enough. He’d order all three and hope to coax her into a better temper.
His own temper took a turn for the worse when he found Bella and Walter already awake, and when Bella announced that she would take Ruth her cup of tea. That had not been how the morning was meant to go.
The coffee was excellent, though, and he was about to spend a considerable amount of money on the two ladies. Surely shopping would put her in a more amenable mood?
The first stop was to break their fast in a cafe, with another coffee and a selection of delicious pastries. The innkeeper had recommended the place as being near abijoutier—a jeweller’s shop.
Perry left the ladies with Walter as their escort while he crossed the square to the plain-fronted shop, where he soon managed to translate several unset emeralds and two large pearls into enough money to outfit two ladies and purchase outright a carriage to see them to the coast.
He always travelled with a pouch of saleable objects. Today’s transaction left the pouch severely depleted, and he’d probably empty it before the journey was through. However, he had more aboard his yacht, so if he was in a place where his bank had no connections, he could still afford whatever he wished.
They would be travelling to Sète, the seaport for Montpellier, for one of his messages yesterday had instructed his people to move his yacht to Sète. Collioure was too close to the Spanish border for his comfort, and besides, Carlos knew he’d left his yacht there.
“I have a list of modistes who have readymade clothing,” Walter offered, when he rejoined the others at the cafe. “Also, other places that will have items the ladies might need.”
“Then let us begin,” said Perry. “Which is closest?”
Left to herself, Ruth would have bought next to nothing, and then only the most basic items—dull in colour, cut, and fabric. “Please remember, my dear Madame De-Ath,” Perry told her in the hearing of the first modiste, “what you wear reflects on me and our daughter. I trust, of course, in your quiet good sense not to go too far, but do not, I beg you, give our customers the notion that my business is failing.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “This is quite unnecessary, De-Ath,” she said. “I shall be reunited with the rest of my wardrobe when we reach the coast.”
“Meanwhile, how many people will look at me and think, there is a poor man who cannot dress both his wife and his daughter?” said Perry, enjoying himself enormously in the part of a burger from Belgium.
“You,” said Ruth, “are a very annoying man. But I suppose, if you wish to waste your money, you will, and I cannot stop you.”
“Remember that, darling,” Perry murmured. “I am determined to get my way.”
Shopping with Richport—De-Ath,rather—was confusing, infuriating, and glorious. He insisted that his wife must have the best of everything, and for every kind of occasion. His daughter, too. Bella was thoroughly enjoying herself—Las Estrellas had spent its entire treasury during the war and all of Bella’s gowns were makeovers of old garments from the attics.
In the end, Ruth stopped arguing, and if she was not going to argue, she might as well take pleasure in having new things. New things suitable to the wife of a wealthy merchant, furthermore—a far cry from the sober and demure wardrobe of a governess.
“Perhaps you can recoup some of your costs by selling them when we part,” she whispered to De-Ath, just to annoy him.
It didn’t work. He chuckled. “Something I shall keep in mind if I hear the Richport coffers have inexplicably emptied overnight. Take heart, Ruth. Just imagine all the seamstresses and cobblers and stocking knitters who will eat well for a month, thanks to your purchases.”
“You need not think I can be bought with a pretty bonnet,” she warned him a while later, as he coaxed her into buying a frivolous item of fabric, ribbon and lace that made her look at least five years younger.
“How quickly you forget, darling,” he retorted. “It was you who purchased me! And my handy yacht, of course.”
The man was impossible!
They lunched at arestaurante, on onion soup and baguettes, followed by lamb shanks cooked with vegetables in red wine, and finished with cheese. After a stroll through the Place du Capitol admiring the old buildings, they returned to shopping.
