Page 104 of The Good Duke
The young woman had rescued Lady Chloe and merely returned the pup to Simon.
Some of the tension left her.
Now that she’d done so, they would part ways and—
The striking couple continued speaking. Simon periodically ran an appreciative stare over the Diamond. For there could be absolutely no doubt the young lady who’d graced this hothouse was the reigning Diamond of the Season.
As Persephone remained there, forgotten by Simon and reduced to an outsider looking in, her noisy breaths filled her ears.
At her side, she balled and unballed her fist.
Go. You cannot stand here, simply staring at them.
Speaking alone and with no suitable chaperone about would prove calamitous for both of them. Nay, forallof them! Persephone and her own reputation were now intricately intertwined with Simon’s.
That was theonlyreason Persephone cared.
“Maybe you’d have an easier time believing that were you not just coming to terms with your feelings for him,” she muttered under her breath.
She frowned. Why, she could very well be experiencing both emotions—and undoubtedly was. Envy at the way Simon smiled and conversed so effortlessly with a woman who was not her. And concern that at this very moment, Simon and the lady risked their reputations.
A dark possibility slid in.
Maybe that was the unknown beauty’s intention? Maybe in order to obtain the coveted role of duchess, she’d merely sprung a trap to catch Simon?
Persephone’s scowl deepened. What was the likelihood a young, unmarried lady at that, one as beautiful and elegantly garbed as she, would be wandering a hothouse with neither a mother, chaperone, lady’s maid, or protective brother about?
None.The likelihood was zero.
At that moment, Simon tossed his head back and let out a deep bellow of laughter that drew curious stares his way.
Oh, this is quite enough.
Persephone, with long, quick, and very determined strides, started across the length of the hothouse to save Simon from himself.
Then there came a quiet chuckle from Simon. Not the sardonic sound Persephone had heard so many times since she’d come to London. Rather, this was a real, genuine expression of mirth atwhateverthe beautiful and apparently clever lady had uttered.
Persephone gritted her teeth.
Did he not care that his behavior this day imperiled Persephone’s future? Were it to be discovered that with Persephone guiding him through the courtship process, he’d broken the rules of propriety, any reference he wrote on her behalf would prove useless.
Who’d hire a woman who’d allowed such behavior to go unchecked?
He, on the other hand, would remain a darling of Polite Society for no other reason than he was both man and duke, and as such not held to the same unfair rules that constrained women.
As Persephone neared them, the young woman briefly looked Persephone’s way. Her perfectly formed bow-shaped lips formed an equally perfect pout.
Simon, on the other hand, proved entirely engrossed in the siren before him.
“I am so very happy to see you found her, Your Grace,” Persephone said the moment she reached the enrapt couple.
Lady Godiva looked her up and down and must have—accurately—declared Persephone no competition for the duke’s affections.
Simon, on the other hand, blinked and glanced about as if unfamiliar with the sound of Persephone’s voice and unclear as to why she was even there.
Persephone pursed her mouth.
For all the perplexity stamped on Simon’s features, he and Persephone may as well have just been reunited for the first time.
