Page 41 of My Blind Duke
William walked off, muttering curses on his way.
Prudence quietly admired the plants growing around the orangery, a little surprised by how peaceful the space was. She could not believe that she had hardly spent a lot more time here.
The air was fresh and laced with something sweet and the only thing she could hear were the sounds of birds and insects.
It was a truly nice place to be, perhaps too private for a conversation with a man she had worked hard to avoid.
Suddenly, Prudence was left wondering how she had gotten into that situation. How had she agreed so easily to a meeting here where they would be alone?
What had she been thinking? She could not do this, not when her body still remembered the heat of his hands and the demanding nature of his kiss.
I cannot trust myself around him. I need to go back.
But it was too late.
“You have a lot of nerve, Duchess, summoning me to meet you all the way out here. I do not take kindly to being called about like a pet,” the duke stated in thinly veiled annoyance.
Prudence frowned at his words. “Summoning you? You were the one who asked me to meet you here! Did you not want to discuss the plans you had for the orangery? Though I confess, I was not aware you valued my opinion so highly.”
William frowned.
“No… what I was told was that you wished to see me to discuss something private. My steward said that the matters you wished to talk about were extremely private, so we needed a discreet place–”
“I never said such a thing!” Prudence squeaked.
“Then why are you here? I thought for sure that you would go on avoiding me for a few more days. Yet here you are, waiting to meet me in a secluded part of the gardens. What is it you want, vixen?” William asked, stepping closer.
Prudence briefly considered telling him how she had been tricked into coming to the orangery, but she knew mentioning Melanie would likely put the little girl in trouble. Prudence knew the girl meant no harm, and had likely sensed the tension between them and wished to help them resolve it.
She took a step away from him, watching as an emotion she could not recognize crossed his face. Prudence wanted to say something, but she was not sure what would aggravate him further. So, she opted for something safe.
“The orangery is rather nice to relax in. It does need a little bit of tidying but if that is sorted out, it would make a perfect place for a picnic.”
“I see,” the duke said, sounding as though he could not care less.
“Yes,” Prudence mumbled, looking down.
The air felt tense and she did not understand why he did not choose to leave.
With a deep sigh, she spoke up again, “What happened between us that day… I think it would be best to simply forget about it. We need to pretend nothing has transpired. It was wrong. There is no reason to dwell on the mistakes of the past.”
The duke was silent for a moment, then he nodded.
“I agree. It is a waste of time, dwelling on pointless things.”
Although she had been the one to say it first, Prudence felt a little hurt by how easily he dismissed what had transpired between them.
Do not be silly, she scolded herself.This is for the best.
But still, the ache remained.
“Do you like it?”
Prudence blinked, taken aback. “I beg your pardon?”
“The orangery. I actually had not given much thought to what to do with it. Melanie spends a lot of time outdoors already, and I wish she would spend that time doing more productive things. She does not need more reasons to play with dirt, so I had not exactly planned to renovate it. Do you like it?”
Prudence did not understand why her opinion would matter, just as she had not when Melanie had used that excuse to lure her there.
