Page 38 of If the Duke Dares
“In London. On the streets—certainstreets. But always from a distance. I was not sharing my sleeping space with them. Or my footwear.”
Her brows arched and her eyes widened slightly. “Is there one in your boot?”
“I’m afraid I don’t know. It seems possible. They were both standing upright when I retired.”
“Would you like me to look?” she asked.
He appreciated her lack of teasing. This was mortifying on every level—his fear, his revelation of that to her, his dependence on her bravery. “Would you?” He shook his head sharply. “No, what if it jumps out at you?”
“I am confident it will be more afraid of me than I am of it.” She moved toward his boots. “It’s unlikely there is anything in there, not after the noise we’ve been making.”
“Be careful,” he warned as she bent to pick up the boot. “Perhaps you should just kick it first.”
He couldn’t see what she did next as she blocked the boot from his view with her body. Suddenly, she jumped and shrieked.
Acton did the same. He also moved backward until he met the side of the bed.
Persey turned. She held both his boots. Then she laughed. And laughed. Great guffaws of hilarity.
He stared at her. “Was there a rat?”
She struggled to speak between trying to breathe amidst her laughter. “No.”
Frowning, he crossed his arms over his chest. “That wasn’t funny.” But the sound of her laughter—loud and joy filled—was making him feel better. He wished he was less rattled so he could appreciate it more.
She sobered—or at least tried to—immediately. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t well done of me. I’m afraid I couldn’t resist. A man of your reputation, afraid of rats…it’s completely unexpected. And, if I’m honest, rather endearing.”
She found him endearing? Perhaps that was worth her teasing him and him sleeping with rats. No, not the latter.
Clutching his boots, she added, “Also, it’s something you may not be used to since you grew up without siblings. My sister is afraid of spiders, and I may have pulled a similar jest on her a time or two.” She grimaced.
Acton sometimes thought about what he’d missed not living with his mother and sisters, more now that his mother was living in the dowager house. Mostly, he tried not to think about it, for those provoked his “softer” emotions, the ones his father had worked so hard to show him were unnecessary for men of their station.
“I suppose I can see the humor if I put myself in your…rat-free boots.”
She laughed and snorted at the same time. Eyes widening, she pressed her lips together and looked away from him.
“Don’t do that,” Acton said. “You just laughed with joyous abandon, and it was divine. I like when you laughandwhen you snort.”
“It’s not very ladylike.” She glanced toward him, and he saw the self-reproach in her gaze. It seemed she’d been advised not to snort, just as he’d been counseled not to indulge any soft emotions. Except those weren’t the same things. There could be no harm in snorting.
Did that mean there was no harm in allowing himself to feel sad about not having his mother or sisters around as he’d grown up?
Acton banished that thought. “I don’t care if it’s ladylike or not. You are my knight in shining armor for ensuring my boots are safe.”
She handed him the boots. “You are the knight after saving me from that man last night.”
“We aren’t discussing that, remember?” But he would be happy to be her knight. “Let us collect our things, and I’ll notify the innkeeper we’re leaving. And that he has a rat problem.”
Acton also intended to tell him about the ruffian who’d attacked Persey last night and strongly suggest the man ought to be barred from the inn. It was too bad Acton hadn’t told the innkeeper he was a duke, for that would have carried a great deal of weight.
Persey went to collect her things. “What about the letter you’re expecting from your mother?”
Right, that. “I’ll instruct the innkeeper to have it sent to wherever we find lodgings.” Acton began to pack his things from the dresser into his valise.
“Do you know where else we could go instead of the New Inn?”
“There are several fine inns on the High Street. The Traveler’s Rest is a large coaching inn. I could likely book passage for us leaving from there.”
