Page 4 of A Flaming Lady's Secret Valentine
She must have hit her head harder than she thought, because it seemed as though Mr Travers was teasing her. Leaning forward in her seat, she pressed the tip of her shoe on the document he was reaching for in an act of unusual defiance. His eyes widened and roved her leather shoe, running up her ankle and stocking, darting suddenly to her face.
“If you would not mind…” Mr Travers said. He smiled at her with a mix of disbelief and delight. “I believe you are standing on my things.”
“Am I? My injury must be making me delirious.” Her breath hitched as she remembered herself, quickly drawing her foot back.
Cecilia was flirting with Mr Travers.
And Mr Travers was flirting with her right back.
Raphael cleared his throat, sliding the land agreement from under Lady Cecilia’s slipper and adding it to the stack. These were his just desserts for slipping into the duke’s study when he knew the man was busy with lunch. He had only meant to drop the papers off without being forced to sit down and share a brandy with his employer, because the duke definitely would have asked, and Raphael definitely would have had to agree.
That did not explain what Lady Cecilia was doing here, however, though he suspected she had not been lying in wait for him. He pried another deed from under one of the legs of the armchair he had brought forth, hissing as he ripped it down the middle.
“Are you certain you do notneed my help, sir? I feel quite useless just sitting here watching you like the Queen of England on my throne.”
“We have to make sure that you do nothave a concussion. His Grace would never forgive me if I maimed his only daughter.” He turned from her, his jacket fitting tight around his shoulders. “Tell me what you were doing here and I will forgive your attack on me.”
Raphael reached for another document and froze. He should not have said that. He should not have been speaking with the duke’s daughter at all, especially not commanding her around. He had done well not to forget himself so far around the family, had managed not to anger them and get himself sent away.
To his surprise, his jape had the opposite effect on Lady Cecilia. He heard the chair creak as she sagged into it, and she scoffed,“I will tell you, as long as you admit that we were equally complicit in our blunder.”
“All right, as long as you do nottell His Grace.” He cursed himself again.
“You have yourself a deal, sir.” She paused. “I was hoping to catch Papa after his lunch and ask whether I could be excused from our dinner this evening.”
“The dinner hosted by the Earl of Radcliff?” Raphael had no business knowing the intimate details of the duke’s social calendar. Frankly, he did not care to know. The duke had spoken of little else since the invitation had arrived. It would have been impossiblenotto be up to date with his appointments.
“Just the one,” Cecilia replied cautiously.
“Do nottell me you have taken ill and I have only added to your poor health.”
“Would that you were right. Although…our bumping into each other does give me a proper excuse for why I would have a headache. Though, I suppose that would rather betray our deal.” She sighed for emphasis. “I shall just have to suffer in silence and attend the dinner anyway.”
“You would give up so easily? I am certain you could convince the duke of anything if truly you did not want to accompany him tonight.”
“Are you trying to say my father is gullible? Or that I am particularly persuasive?”
Raphael spun on his heel, looking up at her. “Definitely not the former.”
“I trapped you there, did I not?” She beamed. “I apologise, Mr Travers.”
He nodded and collected the rest of his documents. Once they were somewhat neatly stacked, he stood to his feet. He debated offering a hand to help Lady Cecilia out of her seat, but she seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She also seemed distracted, winding a dark ringlet of hair around her finger and looking out of the window.
She really is beautiful, and she has matured immensely in the year since my arrival.
Footsteps sounded from the hallway, and Raphael put a natural amount of distance between them. Cecilia scooted the chair back as her father appeared in the doorway, a footman in tow.
“God in heaven, this is a surprise,” the duke said, regarding them quizzically. “What are the both of you doing here?”
“Dropping these off for you, Your Grace.” Raphael motioned for the documents before setting them down on the desk. He took a deep breath before turning back around. “I am just arrived, but Lady Cecilia has been waiting for you.”
“Right,” Cecilia said. She shot Raphael a grateful look. “I was waiting for you to discuss something, but the matter seems to have resolved itself.”
“Delight me with it anyway. The longer I can keep you here, the longer I can keep your mother at bay. Leave us, Mr Travers.”
“At once, Your Grace.”
Stepping around the pair, Raphael made for the door. He closed it behind him, watching as the footman hurried away. If Raphael had been a proper gentleman, he would have walked away without a second thought. However, he was not a proper gentleman. So, like all rogues, he did what was in his best interest.
