Page 72 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
‘But I hate to think of it going to waste, when it must have cost a fortune.’ Her spoon hovered over the raspberry ice.
He also loved it that she was considerate about spending his money. So different from any other lady of his acquaintance, he realised with a sense of deep admiration.
‘Do not worry. I’ll eat anything you don’t want, so nothing will go to waste.’ He wanted to kiss her again. Taste all those flavours on her tongue. And not a sneaking kiss in the dark as he had at the rotunda, but a possessive this-lady-is-mine sort of kiss for all the world to see. Wouldn’t that be scandalous? He grinned inwardly at the thought, even knowing he would never embarrass her that way.
‘Westmoor.’ Fred stood looking down at him. Jake rose to his feet.
‘Challenger.’
‘Well met, old chap. Can we impose ourselves on you? There’s not a table to be had and we walked over, so I cannot even offer my lady a carriage in which to partake of her ice.’
‘Please, do join us.’
While Fred went for a couple of chairs, Jake bowed over Georgiana’s hand. ‘It is good to see you again, Georgiana. Please, allow me to introduce my grandmother’s companion, Miss Rose Nightingale, and my sister’s daughter, Miss Lucinda Robertson. Ladies, this is Mrs Challenger.’
Georgiana smiled warmly at both of his ladies. ‘How lovely to meet you. And please, call me George. Everyone does. What luck for us, meeting you here, Jacob. I feared we would have to leave without our ices and I would have been most disappointed.’
Rose visibly swallowed and took Georgiana’s outstretched hand. ‘I am pleased to meet you, Mrs um... George.’
A flush stained her cheeks and she looked nervous, her gaze flitting to his face and back to Georgiana as if the sky was about to fall. A feeling of impatience took Jake by surprise. He didn’t want her feeling embarrassed when meeting his friends. He wanted her to feel...comfortable. At ease.
‘I am pleased to meet you, too,’ Lucy added. ‘Can I have another ice, Uncle Jake, if the waiter ever comes back? I am still hot.’
Jake gave her a mock-stern look. She had been such a good girl today and he didn’t want to crush her high spirits as long as they stayed within bounds.
Georgiana, bless her, looked indulgent. ‘It is hot,’ she said.
He became aware of Fred giving Rose a narrow-eyed stare and his stomach knotted. Not much slipped by Fred.
‘Why don’t I go and order at the counter?’ Fred said. ‘It might be faster.’ He gave Jake a pointed stare.
‘I’ll come with you,’ Jake said. Might as well hear what he had to say.
He followed in Fred’s wake, the man’s shoulders militarily straight and an aura of disapproval distinctly visible. When they reached the counter, Fred gave him a chilly stare. ‘Nightingale? I recognise her name. She’s employed at Vitium et Virtus. Damn it all, I’m sure I have seen her there. You certainly have a nerve to introduce her to my wife?’
‘To the devil with you, Fred,’ he said in a low voice. ‘You joined us. Don’t you think that if she’s good enough for my niece, she’s good enough for your wife? And besides, she worked there as a maid, nothing else.’
His friend looked mollified. Slightly. ‘What on earth is she doing as the Dowager’s companion?’
‘My grandmother likes her and she is doing a very good job. First one the old lady has agreed to tolerate, in fact.’
‘If that’s the case, where is your grandmother?’
‘I don’t see that it is any of your business.’
‘I saw the way you were looking at her when we came in.’
‘The way... Blast your eyes, man. You are as bad as all the other gossips in this place.’
‘So you don’t have seduction on your mind? Or do you plan to make an honest woman of her?’
That was the question, wasn’t it? He’d promised his father he would be the Duke his brother would have been. Sworn it. His brother, Ralph, would have done his duty. Married for political or financial advantage, for the sake of the title. He would not have married a scullery maid, even if he had fallen in—He froze. Cut off his thought before it could fully form. Love was not an option for him.
He’d keep his promise.
Fred thrust out his chin, wanting an answer.
Jake glared at his friend. ‘Miss Nightingale is a perfectly respectable young woman, Fred, and if you say one more word suggesting otherwise, I swear I will draw your cork.’
