Page 13 of A Duke Changes Everything
“Look again, Your Grace,” she insisted, glancing at the letter.
Nick narrowed an eye at her and then scanned the document once more.T. Thornestared up at him from the signature line.
“There’s a dot afterT,” she said pertly.
“A dot.”
“It’s the initial letter of my name.”
“Clever.” Or exceedingly foolish. If she’d truly taken on her father’s duties, it was quite a burden for a young woman to concern herself with. Especially at a gloomy place like Enderley.
Color still stained Miss Thorne’s cheeks, but he couldn’t detect any true remorse for her deception.
“Which came first? Adopting your father’s name or wearing his clothes?”
“These aremyclothes.”
That Nick believed. They hugged every inch of her body possessively. He could even acknowledge she was sensible for not binding herself inside oceans of fabric. He liked practical solutions, especially those that made life simpler. But he hated nothing so much as being deceived.
“You lied to my solicitor, Miss Thorne.”
“I did not lie. I always try to tell the truth.” She pursed her mouth, tilted up her chin a fraction, and shot him a look of pure defiance. Except for the telltale quiver in her jaw. “I simply didn’t fully explain.”
“Everyone lies. You’d be the most extraordinary woman in England if you didn’t.” Looking at her—wild hair, lush legs encased in buckskin, and a hostile cat clutched at her hip—Nick acknowledged that shewasthe most unusual woman he’d met in a long while.
“I did say I try.” She dipped her head before looking at him again, and an errant curl slipped down to curve around her chin. “I have been a trustworthy steward, Your Grace.”
“We’ll see, Miss Thorne.”
She’d already proven herself skilled at deceit. Not a good start for the one person he was relying on to tell him the truth about Enderley’s finances before he divested himself of every asset the entail would allow.
As they assessed each other, clouds rolled in. Angry black-gray billows that perfectly matched his mood. In the distance, thunder shook the sky.
“We should get inside, Your Grace.” Without waiting for him, she started toward the stable yard.
Nick stared at Miss Thorne’s backside as she stalked away and cursed under his breath. He’d been back an hour and already Enderley was turning him into a beast.
The lady’s appeal was nothing more than an irritating distraction. And a surprise. He hadn’t anticipated finding beauty in this blighted place.
He wasn’t sure he could trust the woman, and he certainly couldn’t bed her.
As if she sensed his wayward thoughts, Miss Thorne turned back, gazing across the distance at him expectantly. “Your Grace?”
“Can you arrange for a meal to be brought to me?” His stomach growled as fiercely as the storm clouds.
“Of course.” She turned away again as if he’d formally dismissed her.
“Come and find me in an hour, Miss Thorne.”
She stopped but didn’t turn back.
“I want to review the inventories my solicitor requested.” Business. Practical matters. That’s why he was here.
Looking out over the field they’d just trudged through, Miss Thorne said over her shoulder, “Very good, Your Grace. I shall meet you in your study.”
He hated the prospect of entering his father’s space, but he focused instead on how much closer every task brought him to leaving this place forever. If she had the inventories prepared, Miss Thomasina Thorne was efficient, and that would serve him well.
“An hour then, Miss Thorne.” He heard an odd thread of hope in his voice.
