Page 38 of The Penitent Duke
The Duke did as he had been requested though his fingers still remained laced through her own. His eyes darted across her face as though seeking to reassure himself that she was as well as she had said and, seeing the concern there only warmed Rosalind’s heart all the more.
“I have just had a very strange visit,” she began, speaking quickly so that he would hear all and hoping he would not interrupt. “A lady came to speak with me, a lady who wore a veil across her face. She told me that I was in danger, that what has happened to me are not accidents, as I presumed, and suggested that it is because whoever this is, whoever is behind myaccidentswishes to injure you.”
“What?” There was a hoarseness to the Duke’s voice, betraying his surprise as Rosalind nodded. “Someone seeks to cause me pain by injuring you?”
“That is what this lady said,” Rosalind said, calmly, “though she would not tell me who it was that she believed was doing this. I did ask her but she said she could not be certain and, therefore, did not want to say his name openly.”
Blowing out a breath, the Duke pushed one hand through his hair, shaking his head as though this was all quite unbelievable.
“Shewasgoing to tell me,” Rosalind finished, “but when she saw you approach, she practically ran from me.”
This seemed to confound the Duke all the more, for he simply stared at her for some moments, no sense of understanding in his eyes. Then, he closed his eyes, setting his jaw for a moment – and Rosalind’s stomach clenched.
There is something more here.
“After you fell in the pond, I was given a message by someone,” he told her, surprising her utterly. “This message was from someone unknown but a lady all the same. Perhaps the very one that came to speak to you for it was clear that she had no desire to come and speak to me herself. Shewantedto be hidden, wanted to keep herself away from me so that I would not know who she was.”
Rosalind swallowed hard. “What did she say?”
“She warned me that I had to be careful, that there was more to him than I knew.”
“Him?”
The Duke sighed and shook his head.
“So,” Rosalind continued, speaking slowly as she pieced one thing together with another, “we now have a situation where this secretive lady is coming to speak to both yourself and to me, albeit in different ways, and both of these messages contain a warning.”
“Though they are different warnings,” the Duke continued, searching her face now. “Does this mean, Lady Rosalind, that you wish to step back from me? I can well understand why you might wish to, for you have endured two dreadful situations already and I would not like for you to suffer more. The only reason you are doing so is because of your betrothal to me.”
Rosalind did not immediately answer. There was a certain pull towards ending their betrothal, for she certainly did not want to suffer any further injuries or embarrassments! But yet, as she considered this, she also had to admit that the Duke himself had changed since their first meeting. Never could she have imagined that he would have been so very considerate of her that he would offer her the chance to end their engagement! The gentleness in him, the kindness and consideration wasan indication to her that hewaschanging in his character. Was that something she was willing to hold onto? He might not change any more than he had at present, but what if he did? Was she willing to risk further injury in the belief that she might, in the end, have a happy future with the Duke?
“I do not think that I shall, no.”
The Duke’s eyebrows lifted in clear surprise.
“I understand and appreciate your concern for me but we have already made an agreement, have we not?” Rosalind smiled at him and, as the Duke gazed back into her eyes, the edges of his mouth lifted in what was the first genuine smile he had ever offered her – and everything changed in that moment. Rosalind’s heart jolted, her whole being warming with a furious heat that rushed through her, stealing her breath. The Duke’s eyes lightened, no longer the dark blue that she had come to expect from him, but instead a golden hue rising within them. He was more handsome than she had ever seen him, more handsome than she had ever wanted to admit before and with this in her heart, she leaned a little closer.
The Duke’s eyes widened and Rosalind pulled back instantly, mortified with the realization of what it was she had been about to do. Losing herself in her emotions, she had been caught up, forgetting all about what they were discussing and seeking a new closeness with him – though quite why she was desiring that, she could not explain.
“The warnings.” She closed her eyes to shut out the sight of him. “What are we to do?”
The Duke’s eyes held hers for a long moment. “I do not know,” he said, eventually. “I am confused as to who this lady is and why she is warning both you and me – but hides her face. Is it someone with whom we are both acquainted?”
Rosalind’s lips pursed as she thought. “I could not say but surely the gentleman that she warns us about is known to us both. Otherwise she would not have spoken to youandto me. Indeed, she was about to offer me his name before she saw you and I am sure that I would have recognized it, had it been given to me.”
“So it is someone we both know,” the Duke murmured, rubbing one hand over his chin, his gaze pulling away. “That does not make things any easier for there must be many gentlemen that we are both acquainted with.”
Rosalind nodded but then, finding herself leaning closer to him again, waited until the Duke’s eyes met hers. “I think it is a gentleman of aclose acquaintance,” she said, softly. “Think about what was said to you. She spoke in a way that suggested intimacy, did she not?”
The Duke hesitated, then began to nod slowly, a fresh glow coming into his eyes. “Indeed, I think that she did! Goodness, Rosalind, you are quite wonderful!”
This made Rosalind blush for the kind remarks were joined with a broad smile that was directed solely at her.
“I mean every word,” the Duke continued, speaking a little more softly now as he continued to gaze at her. “I truly believed that you would end our betrothal when given the chance, Rosalind. But you have decided to stay, to continue on, tocommityourself to me – and I cannot understand why.”
Rosalind took in a breath, pressing her lips tight together for a moment as she wondered whether or not she ought to be honest with him. There was something all the more altered about him, the change having come over him all the more during this single conversation. Her heart began to beat a little more quickly, her hands pressing tight together as she looked back at him.
Then, she closed her eyes. “You have changed a little, Strathmore, whether you realise it or not.”
