Page 38 of The English Duke
Her eagerness was unseemly, no doubt. If anyone had asked, she would’ve told them she wanted to help the duke. She might even say her assistance was something her father would’ve wanted.
The fact that the Duke of Roth was an extraordinarily handsome man did not enter into her thoughts.
Yesterday, he’d asked her questions and seemed to value her opinion. She had the feeling, if someone annoyed him, he would make his thoughts known, regardless of whether the individual was male or female.
Look at how he had behaved around Josephine.
When she was almost at the boathouse, her footsteps slowed. Would he be there? Or would his leg be paining him? Did he ever stop working because of his discomfort? Would he welcome her? Or would he ask her to leave?
She had too many questions and no answers.
Still, she was cautious when she opened the door and peered inside.
He was already there, sitting at the workbench, the morning sun making the window beside him glow with golden light.
She stood there for a moment.
The lingering scent of water and fish perfumed the air. Another odor reached her, something reminding her of the flux her father used when closing a seam. There was no fireplace here, only a small unlit brazier in the corner.
He glanced toward the doorway.
“Are you coming in?” he asked. “Or are you going to stand there gaping at me?”
“I don’t gape,” she said, entering the boathouse. “I might stare,” she added. “Or peruse. But gaping implies awe and I’m rarely awed.”
He half turned to watch her walk toward him.
“Have you nothing else to wear? Your sister seems to have planned for this extemporaneous visit. She was in another dress at breakfast.”
“You had breakfast with her?” she asked, surprised. “Josephine normally doesn’t rise early.”
“It’s because I’m a duke,” he said.
The comment startled her.
“You breakfasted with my sister because you’re a duke?”
“She went out of her way to breakfast with me,” he said. “It’s the title. It has a life of its own. I often think of it as a ghost, a filmy specter folding around me like a cloak.”
He glanced at her, his smile slightly crooked. “I haven’t the slightest idea why I told you that. I’ve occasionally thought it, but I had no intention of confessing the notion. The fact is, people sometimes go out of their way to accommodate me, simply because of my title. I suspect your sister is one of those people. You aren’t.”
“How do you know I’m not? Perhaps I wasn’t hungry this morning.” She wasn’t going to tell him that she woke late, that her night had been filled with dreams of him.
“By the fact that you’re arguing and not trying to charm me,” he said.
He really shouldn’t smile at her. It did something to her insides.
And she has her sights set on you, Your Grace.Perhaps she should have warned him about Josephine, but what good would it do?
“Is that the only dress you have?” he asked. “Or perhaps you just like lavender.”
“I have my dark blue traveling dress,” she said, finding it odd to be discussing her wardrobe with the Duke of Roth. “It has an overskirt and a small bustle. It’s fancier than this one, but if this dress offends you, I can always change.”
“Oh, but that would be accommodating me. Perhaps even making an effort to charm me.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “True.”
“Did you simply not plan for this extended visit?”
