Page 65 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
‘Rose,’ he whispered against her ear.
She smiled. ‘Jake.’
‘Do you ever think about your parents? Wonder what became of them?’
She tensed. ‘I used to wonder about them all the time as a child.’
‘And now?’
‘Who wouldn’t be curious?’
‘That is what I thought.’
He sounded oddly pleased. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘I wondered, that was all.’ He rose up on one elbow and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘It is time I left.’ He slid out of the bed and slipped on his robe.
The chill left by his departure stayed with her for some considerable time. It was the way it had to be, without question, but that didn’t mean she liked it. Still, she had him for small snatches of time and those times were all that mattered.
Chapter Ten
Jake entered the bright breakfast room at the back of the house for the first time in six months. As had been the case under his father’s rule, chafing dishes were laid out on the sideboard. The occupants, his sister and his grandmother, had already helped themselves.
Where was Rose? He kept the question behind his teeth, discretion being the watchword.
‘I’m sorry, Grandmama,’ Eleanor was saying as he browsed the offerings on the sideboard, ‘but there is nothing I can do. I have no power to cure the ague.’
Jacob’s heart clenched. ‘Is Lucy ill?’ He turned from the scrambled eggs to eye his sister.
‘No it is Nanny who is ill. Grandmama and I planned to go shopping, but I refuse to leave Lucy in the care of the upstairs maid as Grandmama suggests. Lucy doesn’t know her and, besides, the girl is much too young.’
He spooned scrambled egg on to his plate and added another dollop for good measure. Clearly his appetite had returned. He moved on to the bacon, then frowned. ‘We were left with the maids often enough after Mother died.’
‘Do not tell me you don’t recall the mischief we got up to,’ Eleanor said, ‘because I won’t believe you. If it hadn’t been for Ralph that one time, we would have set the house afire.’
His heart clenched painfully at the sound of his brother’s name. ‘You lit the blasted thing.’ He hoped she didn’t notice the rough edge to his voice.
‘I understand your fears, dearest,’ Grandmama said. ‘But we won’t be gone above a couple of hours, surely?’
‘Two hours will run into three.’
‘And three to four,’ Jake finished. ‘Why don’t I take care of Lucy?’
Eleanor’s doubtful expression cut at him. He’d seen how little trust she placed in men these days. Did she put him in the same category as the man who had abandoned her and her child? Instinctively his fists clenched, not for himself, but in his need to protect his sister.
‘It is not that I don’t trust you, Jake,’ she said quietly, obviously understanding his reaction. ‘There are some things a young lady requires where an uncle cannot be of assistance.’
Of course there were.Idiot. ‘I will enlist the help of Miss Nightingale, then.’
‘A lady’s companion, Jake?’ Eleanor scoffed. ‘I doubt she’d consent to play nursemaid.’
He took his plate to his seat, only to stand up again as Rose entered. She handed his grandmother an amethyst ring.
‘You found it.’ His grandmother beamed. ‘Clever girl.’
‘It was under the dressing table caught in the rug’s fringe.’
‘Oh, thank you so much, I had Parrot on her knees for half an hour with no success.’
