Page 89 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
Huh.
That sounded somewhat fancier than ‘Your Grace.’
“Really, it’s not a bother at all.” He pulled the two mugs to the front. “Have you managed to call your mother?”
She nodded. “She’s with my grandpa at his house, and they’re fine, thankfully. They still have power.”
Thomas looked at me. “There you go. Lizzie’s grandpa lives close to your house, so if he has power, so do your grandparents.”
I smiled. “That’s a relief.”
“Do you need anything?” Lizzie asked, tilting her head to look at me. “I can show you to a room to change, if you’d like, ma’am. Your jeans are quite wet.”
I looked down at my legs.
Oh.
Yes.
They were.
I honestly hadn’t noticed.
I’d also never been called ‘ma’am’ before, so that was a new one on me.
“Oh, it’s fine, thank you.” I shifted so my feet were right in front of the fire. “They’ll dry in no time.”
Thomas’ lips tugged to the side as he set down a coaster and a cup of tea next to me. “She didn’t plan to come here. We had car issues,” he explained. “Is Beth at home?”
“Yes, I believe she just put Master Daniel to bed. Would you like me to fetch her for you, my lord?”
“No, it’s all right. I’ll get her once we’ve had this tea. Thank you, Lizzie. I appreciate this. Please make sure you get some rest.” Thomas smiled and sat down, effectively dismissing her, and she quickly bowed her head before she left.
I watched her go, then flicked my gaze back to him. “I have to be honest, ‘my lord’ isn’t my first choice of a nickname for you. It’s somehow fancier than Your Grace, isn’t it?”
He laughed, leaning over and throwing a log on the already roaring fire. “It is. I prefer the staff to refer to me that way since that’s how it’s always been, but it’s not the same for the newer staff members. I’m still getting used to them addressing me as the duke. It still feels like it’s Dad’s title, especially in the house.”
I nodded slowly. “He hasn’t been gone long, has he?”
“A little over a year,” Thomas replied, looking into the flames. “We knew it was coming, but it doesn’t make it easier.”
“You can know something is coming, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready for it. I don’t think you’re ever ready for something like that.” My attention flicked to the rug before I let my gaze linger on him again. “I don’t know what that feels like, especially not in your situation where losing him was more than just losing your dad, but I think you’re doing a pretty good job.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I mean, look at this place. You haven’t razed it to the ground, have you? You clearly have some sort of a handle on everything.”
His jaw ticked, and his blue eyes met mine as a smile threatened to curl the corners of his lips. “Why, Sylvie Harding, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“It’s the only nice thing I’ll ever say to you, so don’t get too excited.”
He laughed, planting a hand behind him and leaning back on it. “I take you into my home, I let you sit in front of my fire, my household staff make you tea, and this is how you treat me.”
“I complimented you. What more do you want? Me on my knees, thanking you for your hospitality?”
One of his eyebrows quirked, and there was a dry twist of his lips into a smirk that was almost flirty. “That would depend how you’d thank me while you were on your knees.”
The sound of a throat being cleared tore through the room, and I leant to the side to look around him.
