Page 34 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
Chin resting on his palm, he stared at her from behind a table piled high with ledgers. His shirtsleeves glowed a startling white in the light of the moon coming through the window as he rose to his feet. ‘Rose.’
So intent on her task, she hadn’t seen him on the other side of the room. ‘Why are you sitting in the dark?’
He made a soft sound and arched his back in a stretch. ‘The candle must have gone out.’ He sounded surprised. ‘I must have nodded off.’
She drew closer. ‘You were working? I thought you left the house after dinner.’
‘Keeping track of my movements, Miss Nightingale?’ Now his voice sounded frosty.
‘Not especially. You do pass right beneath my window on your way to the stables. I happened to be looking out when you headed that way.’
‘I beg your pardon. You did indeed see me. I had intended to go...to go...well, out, but I changed my mind.’
She couldn’t stop the glad little feeling that lifted her heart a fraction. ‘What are you working on?’
He dragged his gaze from her face to the papers and account books. ‘This month’s reports from various properties and tenancies the Duchy owns.’
‘Do you not have employees to do that sort of thing?’
He nodded and a small smile curved his lips. ‘I do, but they are employees. It is important to check their work from time to time.’
As the housekeeper always checked the maid’s work once a day to make sure no one was shirking their duties.
‘And what brings you to my office in the middle of the night?’
His office? ‘I was told this was the library.’
He shrugged and glanced around. ‘It is more comfortable than the estate office where my man of business and my secretary are in and out all the time. Here, I can work without interruption.’
Unless someone like her started prowling around at night. He didn’t say it, but she could imagine the words coming from his mouth without any difficulty.
‘I should go.’
‘Please don’t. You came for a book. Perhaps I can help you find one.’
She gazed longingly at the lovely full shelves. ‘I didn’t expect quite so many to choose from. I am not even sure where to start. I’ll come back another time.’
‘I insist you take something with you.’ He came around to her side of the desk. He lit his candle from hers. ‘What did you have in mind?’
He was so tall.
And his shadow danced across the books, stretching up to the ceiling the closer he came. The scent of his cologne filled her nostrils. The warmth of his body penetrated her flimsy robe.
A small shiver passed down her spine. Not fear, but something altogether different. Pleasurable. She forced her mind to focus on their conversation. ‘Something other than the books of sermons your grandmother enjoys.’
He smiled slightly. ‘We have all kinds of books. Travelogues. Atlases. Flora and fauna.The Farmer’s Almanac.La Belle Assemblée. Or if you would like something a little more entertaining, there are novels by Walter Scott or Fielding.’
She forced herself to listen to his words, rather than the dark and delicious cadence of his voice that seemed to beckon her closer. With some effort she kept her distance as he wandered the shelves naming the various works. So many books. She had no idea where to start.
‘Of course there is always dear old Hannah More, if you feel in need of a bit of moral uplifting.’
‘“Forgiveness is the economy of the heart...forgiveness saves the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits,”’she quoted and chuckled ruefully. ‘I have read lots of her work,’ she said. ‘They provided them at the—’ She cut herself off. Her Grace had told her never again to mention the Foundling Hospital.
‘It’s all right, Rose. You don’t have to pretend with me.’
‘I shouldn’t have to pretend at all.’
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