Page 39 of The Moonstone Governess
“What did you find, you naughty girl?” he teased.
She opened her journal and began to check off the colors of each bedchamber. “Peach. Yellow. Cream. Ivory. Pale mint green. Lilac, although I was not enamored of that color on the walls. It is much prettier on the drapes and bed curtains alone.”
“Too much if slathered on the walls?” He folded his arms across his chest. “Consider lilac banished.”
“The mint-green and floral curtains looked beautiful. I think your mother might like that for her bedchamber,” she said, still blushing over the fact she had trespassed on the privacy of their host and hostess. One would think she had just stolen the Crown Jewels.
She was so sweet and good hearted.
“Done,” he said, suppressing the urge to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her. “Where will we find those fabrics?”
She pursed her lips. “Not in Moonstone Landing. You’ll probably have to go to Exeter for those.”
“Me? You are the one who ought to choose them.”
“Oh.” Her eyes were big and bright again. “You would trust me with the task? But I cannot go alone.”
“We’ll go together.” He raised his hands when she took a deep breath and was about to excoriate him for suggesting such an improper thing. “Surely you must have a relative who can serve as chaperone. But we won’t go until your uncle starts on the repairs and painting first. Same for your cousin’s work on the garden. We’ll get them underway before we rush off, all right?”
She gave a wary nod.
“However, before we plan our wild tryst in Exeter,” he teased, unable to resist riling her, since she was quite irresistible when flustered, “I suggest you simply ask Duchess Henley if she happens to have discarded fabrics. I’m sure she ordered books full of samples.”
“Wild tryst, indeed,” she grumbled, tossing him a disapproving look, which was not convincing at all because she could not suppress the gleam of curiosity in her eyes. “But your idea about the samples is an excellent one. Will you ask her?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Why me?”
“Because you are a… Um, and…”
“What were you going to say, Brenna? That I am a duke and you are a nobody, so why would she ever accommodate you?”
She nodded, then shook her head, then simply sighed. “She isn’t haughty like that, but this house is the height of elegance. She might consider me a usurper and resent that I am attempting to make my home as fine as hers.”
“Do you hear yourself, little dove? A usurper? Because you like her taste in draperies?”
“Well, I would certainly not copy her exact designs. I have no intention of turning Stoningham Manor into a miniature of St. Austell Grange. I am only hoping to get ideas about what makes a home elegant.” She cast him a wincing smile. “Am I being ridiculous?”
“Yes.” He took her arm and placed it in his. “We’ll talk to her together, if you cannot summon the courage to talk to her on your own. But we cannot bother her now. She’s too busy entertaining her guests.”
He led her outdoors and guided her toward the gazebo, which overlooked a beach tucked away in the cove. The wind was blowing lightly off the water, causing Brenna’s gown to swirl in becoming waves around her body. “You look pretty, Brenna.”
“Thank you, Your Grace…Daire.”
By the scuffs on the wood floor of the gazebo, Daire knew a small table and chairs were usually placed here. But they had been taken away, no doubt set on the lawn as one of the tea tables. He was glad, for it kept others away. There was no place to sit in here, and it allowed him time alone with Brenna.
She looked lovely in a simple gown of ivory that had delicate pink roses with green stems and leaves embroidered on it. A silk band in the same leafy-green hue circled her body just under her breasts, drawing attention to those full mounds.
Not that he cared a whit for the gown itself, only that she looked elegant and beautiful in it. Perhaps it was the Oxford influence, because her clothes, despite being simple, were very well made and unmistakably stylish. “Brenna, tell me more about yourself.”
“What do you wish to know?” She turned away from him to peer out toward the sea, which shimmered in shades of green and blue under the force of the sun.
He came to her side, standing close enough so that their shoulders almost grazed. “Whatever you wish to tell me.”
“I don’t know. There isn’t much you would find worthy of your interest.”
“What about your experiences teaching at the Rainard Academy? Or your life growing up here in Moonstone Landing? Or the things you like to do? Hopes? Dreams? Victories? Disappointments?”
“Do you really want to hear all this about me?”
