Page 54 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
He winced. ‘I would much rather have played pall mall with you, you know, but—’ Curse it, how did he put this without making things worse?
She lifted her little chin and looked him in the eye. ‘But we both know she is the sort of girl you are expected to marry.’
Thank God she understood. Even so, her understanding didn’t provide any sort of relief. It made him sad. ‘At the moment I have far too much to do learning how to manage the Duchy without adding a wife to my list of duties.’ At least that was what he kept telling himself, despite his grandmother’s urgings.
She stared down at the white linen. ‘Your grandmother wouldn’t agree.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I suppose her anxiety is natural after what happened.’
He froze as guilt rose in his gullet, making it hard to breathe. ‘Are you saying you agree with her?’ Damn it, did he have to sound quite so defensive?
‘I beg your pardon. I should not have said anything. I know you do not like to speak of it. I understand how dreadful you must feel.’
‘I doubt that you do, actually.’ And now he sounded harsh. How the devil had they ever got on to this topic?
She stiffened. ‘I, too, lost my family.’
He gazed at her, shocked for the moment. It simply hadn’t occurred to him she would see her orphaned state as that sort of loss. Not when she’d never known her parents. ‘Rose. I am sorry.’
She gave a brave little smile. ‘Of course, they may still be living. I sometimes wonder.’
He had the urge to find out for her. ‘Do you know their names? Does the Foundling Hospital have records?’
She shook her head. ‘Only my last name. There is no other information. It must have been a difficult thing to do, give up a child.’ She glanced up at him, doubt in her eyes.
‘Of course it must have been difficult.’ He honestly couldn’t imagine it. ‘There has to be some way to find them.’
She shook her head sadly. ‘It is not the way it works. If the mother wants you, she comes back. Otherwise...’
Surely not? Perhaps a man in his position could do what another could not. But he certainly didn’t want to make a promise he could not keep.
She gave him a smile. ‘So you see, I do understand a little of what you feel.’
He winced. They were back to him. And it wasn’t the same at all. Unlike him, she had no reason to blame herself for their loss. They had abandoned her. ‘I really prefer not to discuss my family, Rose. It is not the same case at all.’
Her wide eyes and startled gasp said he had hurt her.
‘I beg your pardon. I did not mean to pry.’ The coolness in her voice made him want to curse, as did the little sniff that made him think she might be trying to hold back her tears. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.
What he wanted was to hold her, pull her into his arms and kiss her silly. Yet while there was nothing risqué about sitting side by side on a bench in so public a place, anything more would land them both in trouble. And there was nothing he could do about the future.
The most comfort he could offer was a promise. ‘I swear I will not make an offer of marriage without letting you know first. Not that I intend marriage in the near future. I scarcely have time for the work of the Duchy as it is.’ He handed her his handkerchief. When she did not refuse it, or throw it back at him, he could only assume she was satisfied.
He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I am glad that is settled.’ He risked a brief kiss to her temple.
She shivered and leaned into his shoulder. The slightest movement unlikely anyone else would notice. ‘Lady Alicia is pretty.’
He hated hearing the sadness in her voice. ‘Rose, at this sort of event, a gentleman must do his duty unless he wishes to be thought the worst sort of cur. Her aunt made it impossible for me to refuse. Honestly? I was bored nigh unto tears.’ A thought occurred to him. ‘How old are you?’
‘Twenty.’
Barely a couple of years older than Lady Alicia. ‘You have more sense in your little finger than she has in the whole of her body.’
‘She’s never had to do for herself.’ For all that she defended the other girl, she sounded pleased.
Rose would never have to do for herself ever again. When it was time to let her go, he’d make sure she would want for nothing. Not that he would say anything of the sort. Instinct told him that Rose would see such an offer as a bribe. He would have to find a way to accomplish it without hurting her pride.
Since he wasn’t marrying any time soon, there would be lots of time to figure it out. ‘Shall we go back? We don’t want to start tongues wagging.’
She blew her nose and offered him his handkerchief.
