Page 41 of Drawn to the Duke
“Is that… everything…you have to say to me, Your Grace?” she whispered. Her voice shook, and she really did look as if her heart was broken.
But, like Catherine, Selina knew how to play upon his emotions.
Oh, she was good. A beautiful temptress, a consummate seductress. A skilled actress.
And everything that came out f her mouth, including what she claimed was in her heart, was a lie.
He nodded. “That is everything I have to say to you…madam.”
No, Chauncy didn’t need another Catherine in his life.
CHAPTER 25
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Chauncy tethered his horse to a tree a little way from the house rather than riding into the stable yard.
The short walk down the hill would enable him to observe his surroundings.
It would also give him the chance to change his mind, return to his mount, and ride back the way he’d come.
Even before he’d begun his journey, he told himself he was a fool to succumb to sentiment. Chauncy never did that.
But it was Beth who’d unwittingly instigated this madcap expedition. Three nights previously, she’d looked up from her tatting after dinner and said, “My dear Chauncy, I had not thought you were so attached to the idea of marrying Miss Blenkinthorpe. Ever since she decided not to go through with the arrangement, a dark cloud has been hanging over you.”
Still staring at the book he was reading, of which he’d digested not one word, Chauncy had said flatly, “It was I who decided not to go ahead with it.”
Beth’s expression had revealed her surprise, and she’d asked without thinking, “So, there’s someone else, then?” before blushing as if it were not her place to question her cousin.
He’d sent her a long, level stare, before muttering, “Am I such an ogre that you can’t say what you think, Beth?”
And then he’d thought briefly of dear, eccentric, misunderstood Gwyneth whose sad fate must surely have acted as a cautionary tale for Beth.
Now, three minutes’ walk from Boothe House, he was once again questioning his motivation in coming here.
Selina was the same woman she’d been when she’d deceived him.Shehadn’t changed.
No, it was he who had changed.
For Selina had changed something inhim.
With distance, he’d come to view what they’d had in a different light.
Or was he being a sentimental fool?
He was still deciding whether to turn back when a sweet, lilting voice hailed him.
“A visitor! Oh, my sir! Aren’t you handsome?” The long pause that followed was truncated by a soft exclamation; then, “My, don’t you have eyes I could drown in?” She giggled. “My dear sister by marriage told me about a man who had eyes she could drown in. Are you that man?”
Chauncy bowed. “Good afternoon, madam. You must be … therealMrs. Boothe.”
The young woman did a twirl before dropping into a deep curtsy. “How did you know? Why, of course! Because you must be Lord Chauncy! I do hope you’ve come to see my sister-in-law, who would so welcome you. My husband doesn’t want to see anyone, and certainly not you. But Selina has been waiting for you, don’t you know?”
Chauncy inclined his head. “Perhaps you would take me to her, then? And, while we walk, indulge me with some answers. How do you know she’s been waiting for me?”
Mrs. Boothe clapped her hands together, clearly delighted with his response, before indicating a path down a long, gentle incline. The landscape was calming, with just the house in the distance, and all around it, fields of green through which ran a bubbling stream. “This way, Your Grace,” said Anna. She seemed too much a wood sprite for him to think of her as Mrs. Boothe.
No, a fairy, he amended, as she raised her graceful, naked arms, and appeared to take flight, weaving about beside him as she chattered. “How do I know she’s been waiting for you?” Anna repeated, before she amended the statement. “She’s beenhopingfor you. I knew, though she didn’t say it. She didn’t have to. Indeed, Selina said your eyes were your best feature, Your Grace. Except for your smile. But then she said that—even nicer—was your whole expression when you looked at her. She said when you looked at her, she felt like you meant what you said—a most uncommon trait in a gentleman.” Anna, who’d now been skipping by his side, stopped by a gnarled apple tree and pointed into the distance. “See! There’s my sister-in-law over by the stream. She’s painting, though she’s not very good at painting. My husband is very good at painting but not at drawing. But Selina can draw a likeness so that it’s just like looking at a person. Though you know that. She drew your likeness when you wanted to get married to some other lady. But now that you’re here, I hope you’ve changed your mind aboutthat. Follow me and I’ll take you to her.”
