Page 48 of The Duke's Spinster Bride
“And you decided to confront me by yourself?” Frederick shook his head, leaning against the table as he surveyed her. “You are either the bravest or the most foolish woman I have ever met. Perhaps both.”
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? Simply let some thief help himself to the pantry? By the time I found a guard, who knows where he might have gone?” Andrea folded her arms across her chest. “He could have gotten up to all kinds of mischief.”
“And you trying to stop him could have got yourself killed, or worse.” Frederick shook his head, and for a moment Andrea thought he was going to reach out towards her, but instead, he pulled another biscuit from the tin and popped it in his mouth. “While I admire your independence, you do have rather a tendency for biting off more than you can chew.”
Andrea snapped. “Well in future, I shall just let the thief pillage to his hearts content.”
Frederick’s eyes softened, and he bit his bottom lip, looking endearingly boyish in the flickering candlelight. “I would far rather that, than see any harm come to you. Things can be replaced after all.”
Her heart flipped in her chest. She ran a hand along her thigh, tapping her fingers against it, as she forced herself to keep meeting her husband’s gaze.
She tried to think of something to say, but words failed her.I should just be grateful that I have not turned into a babbling idiot again.Frederick’s eyes sparkled in the light, and he looked down at the biscuit tin in his lap.
“I suppose we should both be glad that I am not a thief.” Frederick jerked his head towards the candelabra, the familiar easy grin appearing on his face.
The tightness that had spread across her chest, eased somewhat and she let out a breath she had not realised she had been holding. “Says the man whose hand is currently buried in a tin full of biscuits.”
“It is not thievery if it is my own food, in my own pantry.” Frederick threw a biscuit in the air and caught it in his mouth, before saying thickly. “What are you doing up anyway?”
“I… had a….” Andrea trailed off, thinking of her dream.You took everything from me.Her father’s words echoed in her head and she shuddered. “I had a bad dream. Just some silly thing, but I could not get back to sleep.”
Frederick opened his mouth, and Andrea’s heart sped up.Please, do not ask me for details.Yet even as she thought it, a sense of disappointment filled her when Frederick closed his mouth again and remained silent.
In an effort to hide it, she shrugged. “I thought perhaps a snack would help. Maybe something to drink.”
“A little midnight tipple? How decadent.” Frederick grinned at her, helping himself to another biscuit.
“If I wanted such a thing, I would be in the wine cellar and not the kitchen.” Andrea tried to ignore Frederick as she walked into the larder and found a small glass bottle filled with milk.
She poured herself a glass, feeling his eyes upon her as though they were a physical touch. Andrea swallowed and added honey to the drink, before turning back to Frederick, grateful that the blush of her cheeks would be hard to see in the flickering candlelight that filled the kitchen.
She leaned against the counter, sipping her honey and milk. “Why are you awake?”
Frederick held up the biscuit tin and rattled it gently. “I was hungry. I often am at night. I have no idea why.”
Andrea canted her head towards him. “Perhaps you should eat more at dinner.”
“Tried it, but it does not work.” He patted his stomach. “I still wake up absolutely ravenous.”
“And you could not simply keep snacks by your bed?”
“That feels too much like admitting defeat. If I do not have something to eat close to hand, then I can convince myself that I will not have a little midnight feast.” He let out a theatrical sigh.
“And does that work?” Andrea asked.
“Yes. Well… Sometimes. Perhaps… Three out of every seven days? Still, it is better than nothing.” Frederick grinned at her. “And if I did not resort to such measures, I might never have met you in these clandestine circumstances in which we now find ourselves.”
Andrea scoffed, but tugged her dressing gown even more tightly around her. “Hardly clandestine, we are just eating. Well, you are eating.”
“Food at midnight, is never just food. There is always something… exciting about it. A kind of forbidden element.” He leaned towards her. “Even though it is my own home, there is something… enticing about the thrill of doing something you know you are not supposed to, and knowing you might be caught.”
“Not that any servant would tell you off, after all, you are the Duke.” Andrea pointed out.
“So long as they know it is me, yes. Though that is not always the case.” Frederick shrugged. “It makes me feel like I am a child again, sneaking to the kitchens with my cousins in the dead of night.”
“Only to end up poisoned by your grandmother?” Andrea could not help but tease him.
“Sometimes, not every time. It added to the fun.” He leaned back, his eyes distant. “It felt like it would always be the three of us against the world.”
