Page 79 of Nothing Compares to the Duke
“Once I’ve discerned that a gentleman’s intentions are honorable, I should consider whether he makes me laugh.”
Rhys sifted his memories for times he’d made Bella laugh. There were plenty to choose from.
“Whether his looks please me and reflect a kindness of spirit.”
He was kind. Wasn’t he?
“Oh, and also whether he is well-read and well-spoken and is someone I could imagine conversing with every day for the rest of my days. But most important is that he treats me with respect and thinks highly of me.”
“Funny, because those will be my requirements for any gentleman who wishes to offer for you too.”
Meg giggled. “I promise I’ll choose a good man.”
A good man. Meg deserved no less. Bella too.
Could he ever be a good man? He’d been lucky. Popular. Successful in accumulating wealth. But good was something he’d never quite managed.
He could imagine himself approaching it. Mending his worst habits. Striving to be the kind of man he’d often wished he could be.
He knew he shouldn’t expect Bella to wait for that. She deserved the best, now and always.
The problem was that he wanted her as he’d never wanted any woman.
“You are planning to leave some of your books here?” Bella retrieved two more volumes from the shelf her father indicated and added them to a pile they’d built on the top of his desk.
He stared at her with his nose turned down, eyes looking up from over the rim of his spectacles. Then he looked at the pile. “Of course I am. But I do take your point. Those two won’t be necessary. They will likely have books at the school.”
“They’ll have a library certainly.”
“They do. I inquired and they assured me they’ve established a respectable library and would like my input as they add to the collection.” He pointed to a letter in the center of his desk blotter. “The school is rather fledgling, you see.”
“Then they definitely need you.” Bella approached and took the books he’d collected into his arms and seemed to have forgotten he was holding. “Mama too. She’s quite good at organizing.”
“As are you.” He indicated the book piles on the desk. “Arranged by topic, publication date, and then author?”
“Of course. Is there any other way?” Bella smiled at him. Her insistence on helping him organize his collection pleased him and had since she was a child.
“May I interrupt?” Louisa pushed the study door open but didn’t enter the room.
“Of course,” Bella’s father told her. “The more the merrier.”
“Actually, I was hoping for a word with Bella. I’ll return her to you as soon as I can.”
The wariness in her cousin’s eyes made Bella nervous. “I’ll be back,” she told her father before following her cousin into the hallway.
“We should go to your sitting room.”
Bella wanted to ask. Anxiousness was rolling off Louisa like smoke and she was usually as clearheaded as Bella. When they reached the sitting room, Bella closed the door behind her and leaned against it.
“Tell me what’s wrong. You look miserable.”
“I’m not,” Louisa insisted. “Please don’t worry. It’s just a challenge that must be overcome.”
“What is?”
For the first time she noticed that Louisa had something clutched in her hands. An envelope with Bella’s name and address written on the front.
“I have bad news and good. Which do you prefer first?”
