Page 47 of The Duke's Second Bride
The innkeeper smiled. “Excellent,” he said, just as a pretty, plump older woman showed up at his side. “Ah! Bertha, dear, this is Lady Ava—the new duchess.”
Bertha curtsied. “Pleasure to meet you,” she said.
“Likewise,” Ava replied. “And this is Luke.”
“The duke’s son,” Mister Withers added.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Luke said, smiling afterwards when he realized he hadn’t stuttered once.
As Bertha showed them through the town, Ava was quickly taken in by the village’s charms. “This is so beautiful,” she said, pointing at one of the local gardens. Her other hand was held firmly by Luke.
Bertha smiled indulgently. “It isn’t as grand as London, I’m sure,” she said. “But we make do.”
Which was true. While the village was much smaller than a big city, it was quite self-sufficient. In addition to the Southingtons and the inn, there was a dressmaker’s shop and a physician’s house.
“I would prefer this to London a thousand times over,” Ava said, giving Luke’s hand a squeeze. He squeezed her hand back, as though to indicate his agreement. “You seem to have everything one could need. Fresh food, animals …”
“It’s true, it is a lovely place to work. And the new duke has been most kind with the financials,” Bertha confirmed. “We did what we could with Lord Jasper, may God rest his soul, but he did count every penny that went in and out, and that made for some hard years. Since Lord Christian has come into the title, he has been quite generous with the purse strings. We haven’t had better crops in years. And he takes great care to inspect them himself, and to find out what we need.”
“He is … a careful man,” Ava said, thinking of the kindest thing she could say, which was true. Whatever else she might say about Christian, one could not deny that he was a serious and meticulous person about things he cared for.
And it did not surprise her to hear he was financially generous. After all, a stingy man would hardly offer to marry a woman he barely knew—and strongly disliked—just to protect her honor and livelihood; and, not to mention, then rebuff any and all advances that woman made towards him after their marriage.
Yes, Christian Adler was a curious man indeed.
“Very careful,” Bertha agreed. “And quite smart. He had word of a new crop that might be profitable coming over from the New World, and made certain that we were sent seeds. I would say hewas watching out only for his own interests, had I not seen how much of that money he puts back into the village.”
“I am glad to hear it,” Ava said. “It seems the money has been put to good use, as well, for you to have such a beautiful village.”
Bertha nodded intently. “Aye, it has. Just this year, we fixed up the schoolhouse for the children and brought over a new teacher. And now we even have the bookstore.”
As she mentioned it, they stopped in front of a small building with a sign over the door that saidBOOKS.
Ava was delighted to step inside—but not as delighted as Luke. His eyes became enormous as he looked up. The store was just one room, and not too big, but every wall was packed top to bottom and right to left with books of all types and subjects.
Christian was already there, speaking to a bespectacled man behind a counter. When he turned to look at them, his eyes met Ava’s, and a rush of heat flooded her abdomen. She swallowed.
“Ah! Welcome in. I hear we have the new duchess and heir come for a visit,” said the man behind the counter, completely oblivious to the way the air froze between the new duchess and the duke.
The counter had a small plaque on it that identified him asThomas Bindle, Book Seller.
He rose from his spot at the counter and came over to give Ava and Luke a bow. “A pleasure to meet you both. And what, pray tell, have you come here in search of?”
“Adventure b-books,” Luke said rapidly.
The bookseller smiled. “Ah, yes, we do have several of those! You are a lad of taste. We recently got in a new account of a silk trader’s travels to India.”
Luke’s eyes went wide. “India!” he exclaimed. “I h-h-heard that elephants c-come fr-fr-fr—” Ava could see him getting frustrated. His excitement was causing him to stammer, and once it started, he was clearly having a difficult time stopping.
She placed a hand on his shoulder and bent down slightly. “We’re in no rush,” she murmured.
“That’s right,” Mister Bindle agreed, nodding encouragingly. “You know, I always say it’s the brightest minds that get the most tongue-tied. When you have so many quick-moving thoughts, it can be difficult for the tongue to catch up! I knew it certainly was that way for me, in my youth.”
At this, Luke brightened slightly. “I-it was?” he asked.
Mr. Bindle nodded. “And you are quite correct—they do have elephants in India. I saw one myself, years ago—so big you wouldn’t believe! We have some books with illustrations. Would you like to see?”
Luke nodded and consented to let the bookseller lead him over to where the adventure books were kept.
