Page 33 of A Fake Courtship with the Duke
Martha shook her head, giving her mistress a doting smile.
“I already mended it,” she said, gesturing the seemingly immaculate apron. “I would never bother you with it. And he is a darling little boy. Even if he does get into trouble sometimes.”
Miss Huxley laughed again, and Richard shivered with delight. Had he ever heard a sound so addictive in his life? It was practically magical.
“Oh, goodness,” Susan gasped when the two women had finished talking. “I nearly forgot to mention this. I will be having my birthday celebration at Vauxhall Gardens this weekend. I do hope you will be able to come.”
Miss Huxley brightened like the morning sky as she smiled and nodded eagerly.
“Oh, of course,” she said. “I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world. And I just adore the merry-go-round there.”
Susan grinned, nodding along with her friend.
“And isn’t the food they have there just delightful?” she asked.
Miss Huxley nodded, clasping her hands together.
“There are no finer sweets in all of London, I’m sure,” she said.
Richard didn’t chime in on the discussion. He was content to listen to the women talk with such animation. It gave him achance to keep stealing glances at Miss Huxley. The more she spoke, the more he wanted to hear her speak. And the more he wanted to hear her speak, the more he marveled at the effect she was having on him.
Internally, he constantly reminded himself of the true nature of their relationship. This was all an elaborate ruse, a facade to keep them both out of horrible marriages. Wasn’t it?
Chapter Seventeen
“Anne, you look positively ravishing,” Susan gushed as the carriage rolled along.
Anne blushed, noticing that the duke had nodded along with his sister’s proclamation with a tiny smile on his face. She had noticed he kept stealing glances at her, but she was sure it was because of the color of her dress. Anne knew it had been a bold choice, one in which she had been confident at the time. But now that she was sitting in front of Richard, she began to question herself.
“It reminds me a little of Mischief,” Richard said with a little chuckle.
Anne looked at him with wide eyes. That was the very reason why it was her favorite color. Had the duke come to that conclusion on his own? She glanced at Susan, who was looking at her with genuine innocence and delight. She looked back at the duke, blushing as she smiled.
“That’s why it is one of my favourite colours,” she said softly. She saw no reason to keep up any pretense with him. He was her best friend’s brother, so there was likely a great deal he already knew about her. Besides, she wasn’t truly courting him. Thus, there was no need to truly work to impress him. Not that she would, even if there was.
The Duke’s eyes were soft and warm as his smile widened.
“It is very flattering on you, Miss Huxley,” he said.
Anne looked him over, noting the similar color of his suit.
“Is it your favourite colour, too?” she asked. Her mother would have been mortified at her directness. But the duke merely laughed heartily, shaking his head.
“No,” he said. “Although I do find it to be an attractive colour, I was fully aware that this attire would irk my mother to no end. And as it happens, I’m glad I made this choice all around now.”
Anne couldn’t help but laugh at the joke about irritating his mother. She understood how he felt. She often irritated her mother without meaning to. The times when she could do it intentionally brought her tiny slivers of happiness in an otherwise unbearable familial situation.
“Well, it looks dashing on you, as well,” she said.
The duke grinned.
“We will make quite the pair, won’t we?” he asked.
Anne blushed, but her smile grew bigger.
“I should think we will,” she said. It was only after she spoke that she thought about the rest of what he’d said. Why was he now glad all around that he had chosen that suit? Was it because he knew they would stir up more whispers? Or was there something more behind his smile and compliments?
As the carriage rolled to a stop outside Hyde Park, Richard disembarked from the carriage first. He helped Susan down, then Martha, and lastly, Anne. He smiled at her as her feet touched the ground. He offered her his arm, which she took with timid excitement. The butterflies fluttered with exhilaration in her abdomen, and she couldn’t help a little shiver of nervous delight.
