Page 17 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
Do not let him find you, she remembered her father saying.
If Theresa knew that her grandfather was here in London, would she let it slip to someone who knew him? How long would it be before her grandfather found her and forced her to do her duty?
No, it would not do for anyone to know the truth. She would rely on Leo to protect her. It was all she could do in her remaining time here before she took her vows.
She simply had to hope that she would make it one whole week in the city without her past catching up with her.
CHAPTER 7
Leo woke up early in the morning to a knock on his door. A servant coming to fetch him this early after a late night at Olympus could only mean one thing: there was a problem with Annie and Kitty.
Again.
“The girls are not in their rooms, Your Grace, and we must get them ready before the guests arrive,” Joan announced when he opened the door.
The older woman was a fantastic governess, the only reason he had been able to keep up with the girls thus far. She cared for them in a way Leo was unable to.
“Have you looked beneath the stairs?” Leo asked, running a hand through his dark hair.
He wished Margaret were close by so that she would help him find the girls and put a stop to their mischief.
“Well, I thought you might know their whereabouts, but it is clear I have interrupted your slumber.” Joan turned around and stepped back into the hall.
“I will get dressed and help you look for them,” Leo said with a sigh.
“Your help would be much appreciated, Your Grace.” Joan was already walking back down the stairs, albeit slowly.
At her age, her back pained her, and climbing the stairs was hard on her. It did not escape Leo’s notice that she had come all the way here in search of the girls.
Quickly, he shed his night clothes and put on something more presentable.
Where could the girls be hiding this time?
Leo flipped through their usual haunts in his mind. While he trusted that Joan had already looked in many of them, he decided to tackle the ones that would be more difficult for her.
Annie preferred to play outdoors while Kitty watched from the window with a book in her lap. But it was too early for the girls to step out of the mansion, so he ruled out the possibility that theyhad split up. No, they were definitely together, wherever they were.
Leo’s stomach growled as he entered the front sitting room and checked behind the settee.
“I suppose I could check the kitchens again,” he muttered.
The girls would not be in any danger if he stopped to grab a piece of toast with jam before resuming his search for them.
It would not surprise Aaron at all to learn that the girls were missing when he arrived. Even Theresa might have better luck at finding them.
He left the sitting room and went to the kitchens. When he pushed the door open, he plucked a croissant off the plate that was meant to be taken to the breakfast room. As he stood there, chewing and thinking about the mess he was in, he heard a small voice.
“You must sit still, Annie. How else will I finish braiding your hair?”
Leo set the pastry down and moved deeper into the kitchen. At first, it was not clear where the girls were, only that they were close by. Kitty did not speak again.
He stepped into the pantry off the kitchen and found them both sitting on stools that they had borrowed from the cook. Annie sat in front of Kitty while Kitty did up her braids.
“Why are you two holed up in the pantry?” Leo asked, arms crossed in front of him.
No matter how stern he was with the girls, they always seemed to know that he did not mean it. Both of them were just as likely to hide from him later today, no matter what punishment he meted out.
“Getting ready for the day like Joan asked us to,” Annie said.
