Page 67 of The Duke of Distraction
“No, I spoke to Seales about it.He’s quite knowledgeable about local people and events.”
She’d been speaking to his staff?“What else has my staff told you?Do I need to be concerned?”He couldn’t imagine why he would, but he was an intensely private person.Not that any of his staff saw who he truly was.No one did.
Was that true?He shook the notion away.
“What a paranoid question,” she said with a laugh.“Yes, they’ve told me how I may steal all of Stag’s Court’s valuables.”
He laughed too, marveling at how he never failed to enjoy her company.How had he never noticed that before?They went into the main entrance chamber and found the guest book.Felix signed his name and handed the pen to Sarah.
She hesitated to sign and looked up at him.“Do we really want to make a record of our being here?Alone.Together.”She gave him an audacious stare followed by a cheeky smile.
Damn, she had a point.But it was too late, for she signed her name.
Moving into the center of the chamber, she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes wide.“This is spectacular.”
The walls were completely inset with shells and colored glass and all manner of rocks, including fossils.Felix realized Lavinia might find it of interest.
“Lavinia must see this,” Sarah said, echoing what he’d just thought.They did that often, he realized—finishing each other’s sentences or seeming to read each other’s minds.
He joined her in the center of the large chamber.“I was just thinking that.When she and Beck arrive, we’ll arrange another excursion.”
Sarah looked at him, her lips curved into a winsome smile.“She could help you when you build one.”
“You like to plan things for me to do, I’ve noticed.Apparently, I’m hosting races next year as well as building a grotto.What else should I do?”
“Let me think.”She put her arm in his again as they made their way to the right into the passageway.“If you turn out to be adept at matchmaking, you should definitely broaden your services.”
“Good God,no.I only agreed to help you because I like you.I couldn’t tolerate any other unmarried chits.”
“We’re ‘chits,’ are we?”
“Not you.”No, she was unlike any other woman he knew and certainly not a chit.
The passage led to a large, round chamber.The walls were as studded with shells, glass, and stunning rock as the entrance hall and passageway, and there were also seats inset into the walls.
Sarah’s indrawn breath filled the empty space.“I can’t imagine how long this took to make.”
Though Felix had seen the grotto before, it had been a few years.And it was as if he’d never seen it at all.He felt as though he were viewing it for the first time with her.He found himself staring at her upturned face instead of the grotto.
“It’s so beautiful,” she breathed.
“Astonishing,” he said.
A group of four people entered from the other doorway.Felix was glad for their arrival because he’d begun to consider how he might best use their time alone in a dark tunnel.
They continued on, moving from the chamber to the passageway the other party had just left.This one was long and narrow and very poorly lit.In fact, it was so narrow that he had to walk in front of Sarah.
“It’s rather dark, isn’t it?”Sarah clasped his hand.
Though they wore gloves, her touch lit through him like a spark catching flame.“There are light wells, but none along this passageway.We have to rely on the light from behind and in front of us.”
“It reminds me a bit of Darent Hall and the dark closet.”
Why had she mentioned that?His body was already in a state of half arousal and needed no encouragement.The passage turned to the left where there was more illumination due to a light well above them.Carved through the hillside, these wells provided sunlight to the grotto.Felix could imagine how much darker it would be if the day were overcast or raining.
The passage opened into another round chamber, this one maybe half the size of the one they’d left a few moments ago.There were no seats in this one and, so far, no other people.
Felix went to the wall to study a particularly bright rock.It was a gemstone.“I’m surprised no one has pried this off.”
