Page 44 of The Curious Life of the Unfortunate Duchess
It warmed Elizabeth’s heart that he would make the effort to care for Frances. She knew it was not his duty to treat her with such kindness and in truth, Elizabeth had not expected it.
“Are you well?”
He stood before her again, the room cleared of all but the two of them.
“Yes, of course,” she replied quickly. “Thank you for being so tender with Frances. I feel like you have experience with people like her.”
Leonard’s eyes shadowed.
“I believe that Frances has been underestimated a great deal,” he replied slowly. “I did not show her any more humility than I would any other lady in her position.”
“She would not have been in that position if she was any other lady,” Elizabeth sighed.
“You are in that position at this very moment. Your heart is racing, you are afraid. You must admit that Priscilla disturbed you today.”
“Not in the least,” she lied. “It was quite an episode when it occurred but I have no fear on the matter.”
Leonard examined her face, closing the short space between them to peer directly into her eyes.
“I do not know if you are aware,” he said. “But your are as easy to read as an open book through a freshly washed pane of glass.”
Elizabeth blushed furiously and tried to look away but Leonard did not permit it.
“Look at me, Miss Elizabeth,” he murmured. “I have not imagined what we have between us. It is more than an attraction between a man and a woman. I feel as if, in a time before, our souls had been intertwined. I feel like we have already known each other for eternity. You cannot deceive me because I already know what is in your heart.”
Elizabeth’s chin quivered at the soulfulness of his words and she struggled to catch her breath. His face was so close to hers, his mouth so near. It would be so easy to steal a kiss, one moment to feel his lips against hers…
She forced herself to step back, the thud of her heart reaching out to touch the inside of her corset. Suddenly she was dizzy, unsure of what she felt.
“I meant what I said to your sister,” Leonard told her. She heard the regret in his voice and wondered if he wished she had acted on the kiss.
“In what regards?”
“You are under my protection and I will not permit a hair on your head to be touched. You need not worry about Priscilla again, I swear it. I will speak with her father—”
“NO!” She had not meant to speak so rudely but Elizabeth could think of no worse thing for him to do than approach the Baron of Argonshire.
“You must trust in me. I will do what is necessary to keep you safe,” he promised.
“Speaking to the Baron will only escalate matters, Your Grace. Please do not. She was taken aback to see me in town today, that is all. I am certain she has already pondered the foolishness of her actions and feels contrite. You need not pursue the matter.”
“Miss Elizabeth—”
“Your Grace!” she insisted. “We are here only for one month. I need not encounter Miss Priscilla again. I assure you, I have no fear. Please, do leave well enough alone.”
A strange expression crossed over Leonard’s face, one which Elizabeth could not read.
“I will agree to stay silent for now,” he conceded. “But if there is another incident…”
“There shall not be,” she assured him quickly. She gave him a tight smile.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
“If you were a lady who wagered, what would you say the odds are of you calling me Leo?”
Elizabeth stared at him in surprise.
“I, I would not know, Your Grace,” she replied, knowing her face was the color of late fall apples. “I have no sense for maths nor wagers.”
