Page 37 of The Duke's Second Bride
She let out a huff of frustration. “Do you always intend to answer my questions with more questions?” she asked. “I am not trying to pry. But I am your wife, now, and lady of the house.”
“We agreed that you are to care for Luke,” he said.
“Yes,” she agreed, “but he does not always need my care. Indeed, he is often occupied with his nurse, or his physician, or one of his tutors. In the many hours when my time is free, I see no reason why I should not help you.”
Christian’s mouth was suddenly dry. “Help me?” he repeated.
“With the estate,” she said. “I am adept at balancing ledgers and organizing staff. I imagine you have borne the brunt ofmanaging the estate on your own for a while now, but I can help. You shouldn’t have to worry about everything on your own.”
Christian was so shocked, he could have fallen over.
When was the last time someone told him he didn’t have to worry about managing the estate on his own?
From the time he was a child, his parents had raised him with expectations of the duties he owed, and that was before he had inherited his current title and position.
Since his cousin’s death and his sudden inheritance, there had been an extremely sharp learning curve that he had been forced to navigate more or less on his own, and that was after he had just barely figured out how to manage raising Luke without his mother there.
And now this woman, whom he had barely known a month, was offering to relieve him of some of the burden? And so casually, as though she didn’t know or understand how much it could possibly mean to him.
“I was checking up on the tenants,” he said slowly, once he trusted himself not to trip over his words.
God, at this rate, he would have more difficulty speaking than Luke. At least Luke’s speech seemed to improve in Ava’s presence, rather than deteriorate.
“It is one of the many responsibilities of the estate.”
She nodded. “I see. I should like to see them some day,” she said.
“So long as your small beast doesn’t insist on coming along,” he said, nodding at the cat.
Ava clearly was unsure of whether to take this as a joke or an insult—to his relief, though, she ended up chuckling.
“Pudding,” she corrected. “And he is hardly a beast. I imagine you have many animals on the estate.”
“Yes, but none so intent on stealing my chair,” he said. “Another week, and I suppose I shall be banned from my office entirely.”
That earned him another laugh from her. The rare moment of levity lit up her face as though she were glowing from within, evoking the memory of how the candlelight had danced across her features the night before.
The night of their kiss. The mere memory made Christian suddenly hyper aware of their proximity.
He could not help himself. He stepped forward.
At the movement, Pudding jumped from Ava’s arms to the floor, padding cheerfully out of the room.
Neither Ava nor Christian noticed. In this moment, they only had eyes for each other. Each step he took was matched by one of her own, until they were nearly close enough to kiss again. She tilted her face up.
He was about to reach up, when?—
“Luke is done with his morning lessons, Your Grace,” came a voice from the doorway.
It was Miss Grant. The two of them stumbled away from each other, as though they had been caught in the most compromising of positions, rather than just having a reasonable conversation.
Looking over at the housekeeper, he saw that she had gathered up Pudding in her arms. “And I believe your cat was looking for you.”
“Ah. Yes. Thank you, Miss Grant,” Ava said, taking the cat gratefully. It happily curled up back in her arms. “I shall go keep Luke company. He has not yet met Pudding, but I think they shall get along swimmingly.”
She walked towards the door. In the doorway, she stopped and turned. Her face was still flushed, looking as warm as Christian felt, and his heart skipped a beat as those shining hazel eyes locked with his.
“Assuming I have your permission to introduce the boy to my small beast, husband?” she said cooly.
