Page 64 of The Good Duke
Persephone pushed herself to the edge of her seat. “I’ve been focusing on your future wife and duchess, and you are penning verse, Simon?”
Her query penetrated his embarrassment.
He stilled. Wait?Thatwas the reason for Persephone’s reaction? Upset with Simon for not taking seriously enough the search for his bride, and not shock at the fact he’d penned those words which were verses so very clearly about her.
Profound relief swept over him.
He laughed—and instantly regretted that involuntary explosion of lightness.
Persephone’s thick, long lashes swept low. She fixed him with a withering look, one he’d venture she’d perfected in the years she’d spent as a finishing school instructor.
“Do. You. Find. This. Amusing?”
The hell he did.Far from it. “No?”
She narrowed her eyes all the more so that her irises were almost completely concealed by her eyelashes. “Is that a question,Your Grace?”
Uh-oh.Now, she’d voluntarilyYour Gracedhimandplaced that slight emphasis upon those two syllables, a sure sign Simon found himself skating on thin ice.
“No,” he repeated, this time with the proper solemnity she evidently sought. “Mine wasn’t a question but rather…”Me woolgathering about you.
Clearly—andfortunately—misunderstanding the reason for that pause, Persephone gave Simon a long, warning look that made him feel like a lad in short pants.
Simon made a clearing noise with his throat. “Mine wasn’t a question but rather ananxiouslaugh.” After all, admitting to nervosity proved far more face-saving than revealing she’d stumbled upon Simon penning verses about her.
“You expect me to believe you’re uneasy aroundme?” Persephone snorted. “That would be a first.”
Yes, it would, and it also was.
Taking the unknowing on her part out, Simon rested his palms on the arms of his chair. “Persephone, I’ve hired you as my matchmaker and entrusted you with the ch—”Chore.
He immediately caught himself from making another dangerous misstep. “Responsibilityof finding my duchess. Given that, whatshouldI be focusing my attentions on?” He added a gentleness to that inquiry—a gentleness she met with another icy look.
“Let me see if I have this correct,Your Grace—”
“I thought we’d agreed we should call one another by—”
“You hired me to help you findyourduchess,” she cut him off, “and thought I’d oversee that very important role withoutanyinput from you and that you’d simply carry on with your carousing.”
Actually, that was precisely what he’d not only hoped she’d do but expected as well. Not the carousing part. But rather that she’d free him from the task so that he could freely live his life without these newest and latest encumbrances passed on by a distant relative.
At his silence, Persephone gave her head a disgusted little shake and stood.
She’d made it three steps towards the door before he registered she intended to go without so much as a parting.
Simon sighed. “Where are you going, Persephone?” he called after her retreating form.
“I am leaving.”
Splendid.That’d been the most welcome part of this exchange.
For the first time since Persephone had barged in and stolen Simon’s quiet interlude, he relaxed back in his chair.
“I’ll have my belongings packed and be on my way shortly, Your Grace.”
Given she’d directed that pronouncement as she continued on her forward path, it was a moment before Simon realized what she’d said:I’ll have my belongings packed.
She’d be on her way?
