Page 84 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
The moment the words came out of his mouth he knew he had fallen into a fatal error. Knew it with every fibre of his being. He didn’t have to see the scorn on her face. The repudiation. ‘You have been a wonderful companion to my grandmother.’ He spoke before she could get out a word.
‘I received wages for that,’ she spat. ‘No, you said only a moment ago that this was a parting gift from you.’
‘If you do not find it acceptable on those terms, then look on it as a bonus for your work with my grandmother.’
She shook her head. ‘No, thank you.’
No, thank you? Just like that she was turning down a lucrative business in the heart of Mayfair? The terms were so generous, she wouldn’t even need to set foot in the shop to make a profit. A manager could handle it all. He wanted to howl. He took a deep calming breath. ‘You cannot have read it properly. Perhaps I should explain.’
‘Do not patronise me, Jake. I do not want your parting gift.’
‘Then what do you want?’ Damn. He hadn’t meant to ask that. Hadn’t intended to give her an opportunity to set her own terms of departure. It was the sort of mistake old Prinny had made with Mrs Robinson. That of a green boy. But the words were out and he waited for what sort of punishment she had devised for him, for she was clearly furious.
It was no more than he deserved.
The wry thought pulled at his lips.
Suspicion filled her eyes. ‘Are you laughing at me?’
‘No. I am laughing at my own foolishness.’ Bitterly.
‘Wishing you’d never met me, more like.’
Never that. He had memories of her that he never wanted to forget. He had the feeling they would comfort him into his old age. As long as he knew she was happy. And safe.
‘I want you to tell me why you are sending me away with this...this gift. I want to know what I did wrong. It was the picture, wasn’t it? I apologised for that and you didn’t even cover it up again.’
‘You did nothing wrong.’
She shook her head. ‘I must have.’ She rose to her feet and paced in a small circle. ‘But if not, then why?’
She stopped pacing, staring at the back of the door. Spun around to face him. ‘That’s my bonnet. The one I wore the day I met you in the garden. When I was on the swing. Why is it here?’
He stared at the bonnet. God knew he had been staring at it for days, remembering how she had laughed when he had pushed her on the swing. It was only later that he realised she must never have experienced such a thing before. And she’d let him kiss her. It had been the loveliest kiss of his life. Innocent and fresh and utterly entrancing.
‘I meant to return it to you. You can take it if you like.’
Then he would have nothing of hers. Something wrenched at his chest. He pushed the thought back where it belonged. Buried it beneath the cold he used to keep pain at bay.
‘You kept my bonnet.’ Something glimmered in the back of her eyes. Something suspiciously bright. And come to think of it, her voice seemed a little husky.
God help him, tears would leave him undone and defenceless.
‘What of it?’
She returned to her chair and sat down with her hands folded in her lap. ‘You haven’t yet answered my question.’
‘Which was?’
‘You know what I am asking. Why would you toss me out on my ear and yet give me everything I said I ever wanted?’
To make you happy.
But it hadn’t made her happy, had it? For some unfathomable reason he’d made her angry. And sad.
The only way to make sure she left was to tell her the truth. Make it so she wanted to leavehim.
‘You really want the answer? You want to understand the sort of man I am?’
