Page 41 of The Duke's Impossible Deal
“I could not agree more, dear. They are wonderful,” the woman agreed enthusiastically.
Tobias cast a glance at Rowen, who was watching the pair. Her eyes were wide, and he suspected that she was hiding a laugh behind her hand.
She has such a pretty laugh.
He found himself moving closer to her. “Do you think she really agrees with him, or is she simply humoring him?”
“I suspect it is the latter. Did you see the way her jaw tensed when he pointed to the chair?” Rowen replied so quietly he had to strain to hear her. “She hates them.”
“It is not hard to see why. Even if you turned them into kindling, I suspect the fireplace would weep at their hideousness.” Tobias shuddered.
Rowen giggled, the sound sending a wave of heat across his skin.
He glanced at her and found that she was looking at him. Their eyes met, just as the red-faced man exclaimed, “And that armchair! That will be my crowning glory.”
They looked in the direction the man was pointing and saw the hideous chair Rowen had teased Tobias with earlier.
Tobias’s gaze flicked to Rowen, and both of them burst into laughter that they hastily disguised as coughs. He felt a lightness settle over his chest, and watched as Rowen wiped tears of mirth from her face.
“Oh, their house must be such a sight!”
“I am sure it is.” He grinned at her. “What kind of message do you think it sends?”
“I have no idea, but I do not think it is one we wish to emulate.” Rowen shook her head. “I think comfort, elegance, and grace are what we want to project.”
“I agree.” Tobias nodded. “We should make sure that there are some chairs in the hallway too, so people have somewhere to wait for us.”
“As long as they are not any of those.” Rowen jerked her head towards the dining chairs the man had chosen.
“It would at least be a conversation starter.” Tobias laughed. “But I think not the sort of conversation we want.”
“No, probably not,” Rowen agreed. “We should probably look at some art after this. The walls will look even more bare once we have all the furniture moved in.”
“There is a lovely gallery in Kensington. I know the artist; we could go there once we are finished here.” Tobias gestured towards the door. “I think we are just about done here.”
“We will be once we have agreed on the furniture for your study.” Rowen gave him a pointed look.
“I know what furniture I will have. Two of the forest green armchairs with footstools, and I think… Yes, a chaise.” Tobiasgave her a wicked smile. “It is getting colder, after all. One never knows when one might have company.”
Rowen opened her mouth, her cheeks flushing a deep scarlet. Before she could say anything, Tobias gestured towards the shopkeeper. “Now that we have chosen the furniture, I will arrange for everything to be delivered to our home.”
It was only as he was negotiating with the shopkeeper over the price that he realized what he had said.Our home.
Cold crept through him.
It does not mean anything. It is our home, at least for now.
He tried not to think of just how often they had uttered the word ‘our.’
“This makes no sense.” Alistair scowled at the paper in front of him. “How is this bigger than that? Four is bigger than two!”
Tobias took a steadying breath and looked at the fractions Alistair was pointing to.
This was the fourth private lesson they had together, and Tobias had hoped that the boy would become less resistant over time.
During the previous lesson, Tobias had even managed to coax a smile from Alistair, but that had all changed as soon as he had started to teach him about fractions. Even as he tried to think of other ways to explain the concept, all he could think about was how bad it would be for Alistair if he did not understand this.
“Because it is. A half is bigger than a quarter.” Tobias struggled to keep the frustration from his voice, wondering how he could make the child understand.
