Page 21 of A Virgin for the Duke of Depravity
“You do not know the way,” he called after her.
“I will ask the servants to show me to my chambers then.”
She cast a glance over her shoulder and found Aaron and Theresa close by in the grove of trees. Theresa had a half-peeled orange in her hands, a smile on her face from something her husband was telling her—alovinghusband, something neither she nor Theresa had ever hoped to find.
Something Margaret would never find.
She was to be married to the church in a few days. Nothing from this trip would matter to her then. This entire ordeal would be nothing more than an adventure she once had. Perhaps a sad adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.
“Are you going inside?” Theresa called. “I need to find our rooms as well. I need to sit for a while after such a walk.”
Margaret waited for Theresa to catch up to her.
“Will you be content to spend time with your friend without me?” Theresa asked Aaron with a smile. “I fear I spend more time sitting down these days than I would like. Perhaps we will squeeze in a dance at the party.”
“Go rest, my love,” Aaron said. “We will have a drink.”
“Let me at least order the maids to show you to your rooms,” Leo said. “Then Aaron and I will be in the study, should either of you need us.”
He looked pointedly at Margaret. She tried to avoid looking him in the eye and kept her chin jutted.
“We do not require anything of you at the moment,” she said. “If you would be so kind as to take us in, we would be much obliged.”
Leo smiled, but it came off as wolfish rather than helpful.
Her heart stuttered in her chest. Would he have that hungry expression on his face if he were to take her to one of his parties, or would he prefer to have another woman on his arm?
It does not matter who he would prefer to have on his arm.
She threaded her arm through Theresa’s and stepped back into the mansion, away from the one person who might have understood her better than anyone she knew.
CHAPTER 8
Margaret almost regretted that it was time to emerge from her warm bath. Embarrassment still flooded her at the thought that Leo might suggest that she was interested in him, that she would want him to do to her what the people in that book club were doing.
She was practically a nun now; how could she give up her refuge for the opportunity to explore that way?Didshe want him to explore with her that way?
She shook her head, sending water droplets to the floor. The warm water had managed to soothe her ahead of a dinner that she must attend with her friends. It would not do to work herself up again just before seeing them and pretend nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
The robe the maid had left her was warm and dry, perfect to wrap around her body as she contemplated what she needed to do tonight. She had eaten with Theresa and Aaron at Blackwell,but this would be different. They would expect her to know how to dine as the nobility dined.
But first, she needed to figure out what to wear for their first meal together. It could set the tone for the rest of the week, given her anxiety over the idea of having to head to the dining room.
The minutes were ticking by, and she still had no idea what to do. She rubbed her pale skin vigorously with the towel until it turned pink. Then, she turned her attention to the two dresses the maid had laid out for her, to give her options.
Margaret walked around to look at Theresa’s old gowns, running her fingers down the fine fabric. She had no idea which was more in fashion here in London, which one would be most appropriate for a friendly dinner. Which one said that she cared but did not want to try too hard to impress their host?
As she reached for one of the gowns, she heard a faint sound. A brief pause before she reached for the gown again, and the sound came clearer this time.
It was laughter, but who would be laughing in these chambers?
Margaret could imagine only two people who would laugh at her this way.
She grabbed the dress from the bed and held it up to herself. The laughter came again, louder this time.
“If only I had someone to tell me which of these dresses I should wear to dinner,” she called out loudly. She set the dress down and picked up the other, dancing around the room with it. “It’s so strange. I could have sworn I heard a ghost a moment ago.”
She walked to the far side of the room to give the impression that she had no idea where the laughter was coming from. She tucked the robe more tightly around her body for modesty, though she knew that the intruders were only children.
