Page 14 of My Blind Duke
Something strange flashed across the girl’s face as she sized Prudence up.
Hope? Or even longing?
Feeling her heart melt for the child, Prudence waited with bated breath. Did she long to have a maternal figure in her life or even someone she could talk to without getting into trouble?
Prudence had never once imagined she would be trying so hard to take on such roles, but she could not abandon a child who was clearly in need. Whatever Melanie needed, she wished to provide.
A friend, a sister, a mother–
The thought startled Prudence before she could convince herself that she abstractly meant the term. By no means did she ever want to marry again, and even if she did, a man as authoritative and commanding as the duke would be the furthest from what she would want.
Her heart fluttered in her chest as she attempted to focus her thoughts back on the little girl in her chambers.
Pulling her mouth to the side in an uncertain gesture, Melanie kicked at the carpet beneath her white buckled shoes. “Why did you put the ink in the milk? Was it so that people would have a cup of blue tea?” her eyes regained their mischievous sparkle that Prudence had recognized as a kindred spirit.
Laughing heartily, Prudence shook her head. “I do not think your father would look very kindly on me if I gave you ideas for your pranks, young lady.”
Melanie’s shoulders slumped slightly, but she seemed more enthusiastic than before. “If I promise never to use any of the ideas, will you tell me about them anyway?”
Her words did not entirely convince Prudence of her sincerity, yet the light in her eyes tugged at her heart. “I will promise that if you can keep the pranks to a minimum, especially around your father, then I will tell you about the time I put fish eggs in my sister’s husband’s tea.”
Melanie’s face practically beamed with delight as she once again rocked back and forth on her heels.
The toad in her hands seemed to take offense to the movement and once again began to frantically enact its plan of escape.
“But before we get there, I think you had better release that poor thing.” Prudence pursed her lips into a smile and raised her eyebrows when the slimy green animal almost got loose.
Her face seemed sheepish for a moment before Melanie nodded. “Yes, Your Grace.” Her lips curved into a genuine smile that highlighted the natural beauty of her innocent face.
“That is more like it, and when we are alone, you may call me Prudence. But make sure that you only address me that waywhen we are alone though, as I do not think your father would like it if we ventured too far from propriety… And I think you are mistaken. Your father does care for you a great deal. I may not know him, but I can see that he does.”
The girl hesitated for a moment, then vigorously nodded again before heading toward the door with the squirming frog.
“And Lady Melanie, I think it would be better if you placed the toad safely next to the pond and not in anyone’s bed or cup of tea. Promise?” She narrowed her eyes knowingly at the little girl whose cheeks filled with color before she left the room.
Watching the door with a smile, Prudence felt confident that at least, she would make a friend in Lady Melanie. Her father, on the other hand, was an entirely different matter altogether.
Chapter 5
“Everything here is such a damn mess.”
William sat back in the leather-bound chair, sick of the sound of rustling papers. His steward halted his reading, clearly noting that the duke was no longer in the mood to hear him state the absolute horrors that consisted of the estate’s affairs.
They had been at it for days now and were still no closer to solving many underlying issues – with Robert reading the documents and sorting them out into different organized heaps according to William’s direction. Each heap was meant to signify the type of problem they were dealing with and the order in which they would be dealt with. It was irritating that they had made nearly no progress, as it seemed that everything had been left to run itself since the late duke’s passing.
William still could not figure out why the solicitor had not taken charge – or at least encouraged the duchess to be more involved in the state of the estate.
He could not blame her for being unable to do so, considering that her servants had not thought much of her to begin with.
Shaking his head, he ran his hands over his tired face before raising his gaze to the ceiling. All he could see were misshapen blurs that gave his mind the allowance it needed to wander. Lately, there was a problem that had plagued him night and day.
Lady Prudence…
The feeling of her soft, smooth skin beneath his hands lingered at the forefront of his mind far too regularly for his taste. And it seemed that he had also committed to memory each shudder and shiver that had wrought through her body during that unusual exchange. He could still hear her gasps of surprise in his dreams, and they filled him with a need he had not known in far too long.
This is not what I came here for, he told himself time and time again. He had no time to be distracted by some cheeky woman who did not seem to know what was good for her. William had so much to do – much more than he expected if he was to turn this place into a proper home for Melanie.
Although they did not get along most of the time and she was rather intent on destroying his peace – and sometimes his will to live – his daughter was still the most important person in his life. She was all he had left that mattered to him and he had long since promised to provide her with the best life he possibly could.
