Page 44 of Beneath the Beastly Duke's Mask
“You will be the first person after me to read it,” she promised with a smile.
He returned her smile, the sincerity of it making her blush. Arabella quickly looked away, willing the butterflies in her belly to stop fluttering about. It was just a smile, for heaven's sake! She glanced out the carriage window, surprised to see they had returned to Euston Hall.
“We're home!” she said eagerly, turning to the duke. “May I pack the books away today, Your Grace? I know just the perfect spot for each book. I'd love to see them fitting into their new home.”
The duke chuckled, the sound warming her insides. “You make it sound like the books are alive.”
“But they are, Your Grace,” she insisted. “They're alive with stories. The moment you open one of the stories, you'll be transported into the tale and stay there until life pulls you away.”
“You make one want to open a book and read,” Truman remarked. “I'm not bookish, but I might read a story if you recommend one.”
Arabella widened her eyes. Truman was the last person she expected to be open to reading. He seemed too much like a man's man, someone who would prefer standing out in the pouring rain than read.
“Perhaps you can read one of the King Arthur versions,” Arabella suggested. “If the duke allows it, of course,” she added.
“I have no qualms with my servants using the library,” the duke said. “As long as the room and its books are respected, and you have completed your duties, you may read to your heart's content.”
Truman thanked the duke as the carriage came to a stop. Arabella's eagerness prompted her to jump out of the carriage first, ignoring the step and landing firmly on the ground. She had been sitting closest to the carriage door, but now that she was outside, she realized she might have committed a faux pas for servants. She stilled, turned around, and waited for the duke to alight from his carriage with her head down.
“You shot out of the carriage before I could offer you my help getting down,” the duke remarked, stopping before her.
“I apologize, Your Grace,” she said, keeping her head down.
"I think that is the third or fourth apology you have given me today," he said, chuckling. "I only meant I wanted to be a gentleman and help you down."
“Oh,” she said, raising her head. “There's no need to help me down, Your Grace. I'm not that delicate. I usually just jump out of the carriage, although my mother would have winced if she had seen me.”
“Not delicate?” the duke asked, raising an eyebrow. “Arabella, you're five-foot-nothing compared to me. In my eyes, you're delicate.”
Arabella drew in a sharp breath. He had said she was delicate as if she was in need of protecting. As thoughhewanted to do the protecting. That couldn't be right, but that didn't stop her heart from beating so hard that the blood thundered in her ears.
“The books,” she squeaked, pointing at the carriage that had just arrived. She didn't know what else to say or do. She was flustered.
He smiled. “Yes, I know you're excited about the books.” He turned around and called out to several servants to help them cart the books upstairs. “Why don't we go up and arrange the shelves?”
“You're going to help me?” she said.
She had had such a wonderful time with the duke that it seemed almost too good to be true that he might spend a little more time with her. He certainly didn't have to.
“Of course,” he said. “We chose the books together, so I thought we could put them away together.”
She smiled shyly. “I'd like that, Your Grace.”
“Shall we?” he said, gesturing for her to walk beside him.
They fell in step, with the duke deliberately walking slower to avoid overtaking her. His legs were much longer than hers, after all. He held the library door open for her when they arrived, finding several mountains of books on the other side of the doorway.
“I feel like it's Christmas,” she said, grinning.
“If this feels like Christmas, I would love to see how you react on Christmas mornings,” the duke said.
She turned to him, finding him smiling with amusement. "Christmas mornings are my favorite, Your Grace," she revealed.
"Especially when no one is awake yet. I would sneak down and make hot chocolate for my parents and me while staring out the window and watching the snowfall. I would then take the drinks up to them and wish them both a Merry Christmas before I enjoyed mine by the window in my room. It's not terribly exciting, but I loved it all the same."
“What then?” the duke pressed.
"We had a brief breakfast," she continued, "went to church and returned to have a large lunch with my extended family. Then it was time for presents."
