Page 15 of The Duke I Wished For
He stood there for an age, not wanting to break the perfection of this moment. Wishing with all his might that he could capture this scene and save it.
But then Daffodil read, “The end,” and shut the book.
“One more!” Clarissa called out.
Blake smiled. Clarissa always wanted one more book.
“You sound like my sister when she was little,” Daffodil said. “I used to read to her too, you know.”
“Will you stay for dinner?” Clarissa asked.
“I would if I could, but I’ll have to return home when my friend finishes her work in your library. And besides, your father will likely be back soon.”
Blake really should have interrupted then. If he had, he might have spared himself a world of discomfort.
“He won’t be back until late,” his daughter said. “He’s off wife hunting.”
“He’s…what?”
Blake made a strangled sound and Daffodil turned to see him there. Her brows were knit in confusion.
Clarissa seemed blithely unaware of the fact that she’d horrified her father and he profoundly regretted speaking so openly in front of her when he’d spoken to his brother during his last visit.
“Wife hunting?” Daffodil asked, but her gaze was on Blake.
“Papa has a list,” his daughter said.
“A list.”
“Er, what she means is…”
“Popper,” Clarissa said.
Both he and Daffodil turned to the girl in confusion.
He figured it out first. The girl’s Rs were often hard to distinguish, and what she’d meant was…
“Proper?” Daffodil guessed.
Clarissa grinned.
Blake tugged at his cravat as Daffodil turned to him, the laughter in her eyes as humiliating as it was bewitching.
“She overheard me discussing matrimonial prospects.” Blast, he sounded horribly stiff, even to his own ears. “With my brother,” he added.
“I see.” She rolled her lips inward, and her nostrils flared…
The girl was laughing at him. Again.
And heaven help him if his own lips weren’t starting to twitch in turn. His daughter had once more put him in a ridiculous situation.
“Well, if you’re done with your, er…your hunt,” she said as she gently set Clarissa aside and got to her feet.
“It was a meeting,” he said, perhaps too quickly. “With my solicitor.”
“I’m sure it’s none of my concern.” Her smile and her voice were so sweet, he had no doubt she was mocking him.
Or perhaps…teasing him. The thought made him oddly off-balance. No one ever teased him. Except for his brother, perhaps.
