Page 14 of Drawn to the Duke
At least he, like Selina, must be feeling similarly light-hearted with relief, she thought.
Until Edward entered the room.
Focusing a troubled gaze upon her, her brother asked, “Where is the drawing of Lord Chauncy, Selina? I asked you to leave it for me beneath the stone we agreed upon in the shrubbery so I could set my mind at rest that you had indeed done what was asked of you.”
Edward always used that accusatory tone when he was anxious.
“I put it exactly where I said I would, so you could collect it when you finished your sketching session.”
“It was not there.”
Selina frowned, not yet worried. Edward had obviously not conducted a proper search.
“No, Selina, it was not there. I scoured the area. Were you careless? Could the wind have carried it away?”
Selina stared at her brother. Her breath came faster and then she had to support herself with a hand on the back of the chair by the little writing desk as she whispered, “We agreed on the spot, Edward. I put it just beyond the partly open conservatory window. I put a rock on it to hold it, but it was exactly where webothagreed I would leave it.”
“Well, I do not have my drawing of Lord Chauncy.” His nostrils flared, and he closed his eyes a moment as he said, “A foraging animal or the wind has carried it away. Without this commission we are done for, Selina.”
Selina hurried back to the conservatory. It was madness to be outdoors in her evening gown, but nothing mattered except finding her sketch.
Edward couldn’t have looked properly. He must have mistaken her instructions.
She was confident of finding it where she’d left it.
Except it wasn’t there.
A thorough search of the shrubbery and the near location yielded nothing, and now she would have to return to her brother empty-handed.
“Lady Boothe, you look distressed.”
Selina jerked her head up at the mellifluous tones of her host.
“Your Grace,” she said, inclining her head. “I…I needed a little air before spending the evening indoors. It’s a lovely evening.”
It was not, in fact, a lovely evening, as a spatter of fine rain drops gave the lie to her incautious statement.
Lord Chauncy took her elbow and shepherded her to shelter beneath a large oak tree.
“A lovely evening, indeed,” he remarked, a smile playing about his lips. “And you chafe at being indoors, I take it. Even when dressed for dinner.”
“It is a chore to remain seated for very long.”
“I noticed you had a restless disposition. So this is what you call a lack of restraint? Roaming the outdoors in your evening gown even when you might ruin your dancing slippers?”
Selina blinked. For a moment she thought she saw something like sympathy cross his features, then supposed she must have imagined it. He’d shown he liked to flirt with her. But what was she—really—to a man like this?
A man who believed she was nothing more than his servant’s mad wife.
But he had not made his excuses to move on. He seemed to wait for an answer.
“Restless?” Her mind shifted from the sketch to her need for activity. Always. She smiled suddenly. “It is true. For as long as I can remember, I was the one who wanted to be out of doors, running across the lawn and climbing trees and exploring the woods. My brother was the quiet one. We used to wish we could swap places.”
He considered this. “No doubt you were forever being punished for your exuberance.”
“Oh yes, I was considered wild—” She paused. She was speaking of herself, but the same could have been applied to her sister-in-law. Poor Anna, while perfectly charming and delightful, was completely unable to filter her thoughts or desires.
Naturally, though, the duke thought hewasspeaking to Anna. And he assumed, of course, that Edward had offered her some reprieve. Selina wondered fleetingly if Anna would ever be reprieved. She might be unpredictable, but sweetly so; and never dangerous.
