Page 30 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
‘You look...’ He stumbled over his choice of words. She looked divine in primrose yellow. The gown skimmed her lovely figure, emphasising her curves, without being immodest, and brought out the amazing light green of her eyes. They had a gold sunburst in the centre, he realised. Her blonde hair, professionally cut and coiffed, framed her face, enhancing her beauty. ‘You look perfectly acceptable to me,’ he temporised, not wishing her to take umbrage. He might as well have not bothered judging by her glower.
‘Fine feathers do not fine birds make and it will take every bit of my wages to pay for it.’ Her eyes glistened with moisture. She blinked it away.
His heart sank at the sight of her misery. ‘Rose.’ He wanted to hit something. ‘The gown is a gift from my grandmama. Would you hurt her feelings and throw it back in her face?’
She shook her head. ‘No,’ she whispered. ‘I just want to go back to the life I know.’
He leaned his forearm on the pillar, gazing into those worried green eyes, certain she was keeping something back. ‘Tell me what is really troubling you.’
She swallowed the lump in her throat. ‘Your grandma is talking about taking me with her to call on proper ladies. I am sure to put her to shame and then what?’
‘Nonsense. You are making a mountain of a molehill. Nothing could be simpler.’
‘To you, maybe. You were born into it.’ Panic threaded through her voice.
A feeling of triumph went through him. Finally he had discovered the source of her worry. For this he had the perfect answer. ‘Then I will go with you and make sure you do not make any fatal mistakes.’ Though it would be a risky business spending too much time in Rose’s company, for she offered far too much temptation. Hopefully his presence nearby would be enough to steady her, for it would not do to pay her too much attention with the old biddies looking on.
‘She accepted an invitation to a Venetian Breakfast at Greenwich.’
He flinched.
Her expression turned to one of satisfaction. As if she knew she’d played a trump and won the trick. Well, he would not allow it. ‘All the more reason for you to accompany her. If Eleanor were here, she would not go. It will be the first gathering Grandmama has attended since—’ He took a deep breath. ‘Since I came into the title. I must certainly go along and both she and I would be most grateful if you would agree to bear her company.’
She stared at him as if nonplussed. ‘Grateful?’
‘It will be hard on Grandmama, Rose. There will be condolences and sympathy. She will need your support as well as mine, for I cannot be at her side at all times.’
Her shoulders slumped. The urge to kiss away her fears was overwhelming. Especially since there was no one about to see.
‘It is nothing to worry about, I assure you,’ he said instead. ‘A few old dowds and their menfolk having a picnic beside the river. I’ll see you through it.’
‘You promise?’ she said grudgingly. She grimaced. ‘It would please your grandma to have your escort, for sure. She worries that you are becoming reclusive.’
He felt distinctly disappointed that she had not said it would pleaseherto have him along. ‘It is my duty to escort you both.’
Her gaze slid away. ‘Very well, I will stay, but only until she finds someone better. More suitable.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘And you must promise me you will look for such a person.’
She really didn’t trust him. Or was it men in general she didn’t trust? Trust was something a man had to earn. He certainly hadn’t earned his father’s. Yet he was not prepared to give in on this. Not yet. ‘Let me offer you a compromise. If you are still of the same mind in four weeks, I shall not put forth another objection to your departure. I will guarantee you your old job back and will pay you everything I promised. But please, for my grandmother’s sake, give this opportunity a fair chance.’
She swallowed.
The salary he had offered her as a companion was more than she could earn in five years at the V&V and had been out-and-out bribery, but he didn’t care. One of the few privileges of being a duke was getting what you wanted.
‘Well?’ he said.
Slowly she nodded. ‘Three weeks more then, since I have already almost completed the first week.’
He stopped himself from laughing at her audacity. Damn, but he liked her spirit. ‘It is not exactly a prison sentence, you know.’ He put up a hand to prevent her from saying another word. ‘All right. Three more weeks.’
He stuck out a hand. She clasped it, as if intending to shake on their agreement. Instead, he brought it to his lips and pressed a fleeting kiss to her knuckles. Her little shiver heated his blood. She was not as indifferent to him as she pretended. A heady blood-stirring thought he did not need.
Yet, unable to resist, he flashed her a charming grin. ‘I will see you at dinner, Miss Nightingale, where we shall discuss which invitations we shall answer in the affirmative.’
‘Affirmative?’
‘Those to which we shall say yes.’
Her eyes widened for a second, but nodded. ‘At dinner.’ With wary glances at the horses, and a less-than-happy expression, she left as quietly as she had arrived.
