Page 24 of Never Dare a Duke
“Not all that many, for such a large house. You could easily not see each other for days.”
“We made sure that didn’t happen.”
“Three young men about the same age,” she mused. “You must have been a handful, if your cousin Mr. Throckmorten had any say in the matter.”
“I held my own,” Christopher said, remembering with bittersweet fondness the many governesses they’d driven away.
“When we need a topic to discuss, you’ll have to tell me of your adventures.”
They were almost to the end of the trellis, and he wanted to take her hand, to stop her from emerging back into the world, back before prying eyes. But he’d always been so careful with virginal misses, and he would not stop now.
The sun almost blinded them, and he saw that several more of the guests were wandering back toward Madingley Court.
Miss Shaw gave him a rueful smile. “I would politely ask you what your plans are for the afternoon, Your Grace, but I sense you do not like people who pry into your privacy. So I give you leave to return to your duties before the other ladies waylay you.”
“Then I wish you a good afternoon, Miss Shaw,” he said, nodding to her.
As he watched her walk away, he found himself wanting to pry intoherprivacy, to know things about this strange young woman. No one could be so altruistic—not without a purpose.
Chapter 7
It was too easy to follow the duke, Abigail thought, as she walked quietly through the garden, keeping shrubbery and trees between her and the guests, and peering between them to follow the duke’s path.
She’d passed the first step, where he’d accepted her offer of help. So while she slowly earned the next level of his trust, she could not waste the opportunity to learn more about him.
So she followed him up to the house, watched him enter through the double doors off the stone terrace. When she stepped into the coolness of the house, she saw him at the far end of the corridor, where he left the public rooms and headed toward the family wing. She turned a corner just in time to see the duke disappear behind double doors at the far end of the wing. The master’s bedroom, by chance?
And then she waited behind draperies for what seemed like hours. What was he doing in there during the day? Sleeping, or trying to escape the guests? If he was working, why was he not in his study? It was a mystery she had to unravel.
At last she made herself leave, knowing she would soon have to dress for dinner. She returned to her own room, silently congratulating herself on finding it. She hadn’t been inside for more than a few minutes when someone knocked at the door.
Miss Bury peered inside. “Might I come in, Miss Shaw?”
Abigail blinked at her in curiosity. “Of course. What can I help you with, Miss Bury?”
“Oh, my dear, it is I who’d like to help you,” the old woman said, closing the door behind her and leaning against it to consider Abigail. “I saw you in the castle ruins with His Grace.”
A feeling of unease tightened her stomach, but Abigail reminded herself that she had no reason to be afraid. “Yes. We were exploring together.”
“Good for you!” Miss Bury said with cheerful enthusiasm, walking spryly across the carpet.
Abigail smiled. “I am not certain what you mean.”
“I know my practical Gwendolin does not wish to be a duchess, so I would love to see you try for the position!”
“I—I am merely spending time with him, Miss Bury. I know it will not lead to anything other than friendship.” Abigail’s face felt overly hot.
“You do not strike me as the pessimistic kind, young lady. I will help you catch the duke’s notice in any way I can. Those other two girls are far too silly for a man such as he.”
Abigail could not help laughing quietly. “And what sort of man is that?”
“Why, a man who bears great burdens every day but does not show the strain. He has spent his adult life working hard to improve his family legacy, to care for his cousins as if they were his brothers and sisters.”
“You make him sound like a mother hen,” Abigail said lightly.
“Then I do him a great disservice.”
“Perhaps he is a man who is far too involved in other people’s concerns.” She almost shuddered, knowing how much she resented her father’s attempts to decide her future.
