Page 40 of Her Duke in Shining Armor
Her eyes were down as she stared at their tentative connection and as he was taller, he saw the tiny curls of her short, stubby lashes. A soft line of red was growing across her cheekbones as she dropped her hand in his fully. The firm contact suddenly stirred Aaron.
There was no sudden jolt of lightning or deep-set tingles running under his skin. He didn’t feel the world shift on its axis or a rush of anything ,but this felt right—her hand in his felt right. Slowly his hand closed over hers and her eyes lifted to meet his. This contact felt even deeper and Aaron’s instincts kicked in and he was inching forward…and closer…a hairsbreadth away…
Pure blue…her eyes are deep blue…
“I should go...” her voice was hushed and Aaron reluctantly allowed her hand to slip from his. She rose from the seat and crossed from him. A step away though he reached out and took her hand. She spun with slight fright in her eyes.
“Your Grace?”
“You're not the only one who feels alone,” he said but didn't follow with the rest of the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Words of comfort, empathizing words that would show her how alienated he felt about being the youngest duke in England, but not a word slipped out.
His hand tightened first but then he allowed her hand to slip through his and let her walk away. When she disappeared through the doors, he braced his elbows on his thighs and clasped his hands between his legs as a soft wind ruffled his hair.
There's no one else but her. There can only be her.And I have probably just sent her running again.
Aaron was not disillusioned, soon enough he would hear her carriage rumble off, Darcy would come out with her flour-speckled hands akimbo on her hips. Her head would be shaking and her motherly voice would be asking him what was wrong with him.
I believe I might have just fallen in love with her, that’s what wrong with me.
Aaron sat there until Darcy did come out but she only summoned him to dinner. He moved off but as he crossed the patch of ground where Lady Eleanor had nearly fallen and saw a glittering gem in the grass.
Bending he brushed the grass away and found a tiny opal earring. It had to be hers. Picking it up, he slipped it into his pocket. Smiling, he entered the cool house and then went into the dining room. Lady Eleanor was still there.
She and her chaperone made to stand but he held up his hand, “Please, that formality is not needed here. How do you do Miss Malcolm?”
“Very well, Your Grace, thank you for asking, and you?”
“Hungry. The cooks in my townhome do not have a fraction of your talents my lady,” Aaron replied while bending to kiss Darcy’s hand. “Madam chef, my compliments.”
Her expression was wry, “You haven’t tasted a morsel yet.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Aaron replied while taking his seat. “I know it will be wonderful.”
The unspoken cue to not mention Darcy’s fiancé was taken and the conversation was turned to light topics. The meal of roasted pheasant wrapped with bacon and seasoned with aromatic sage and a side of baked salt-and-peppered potatoes was eaten with relish.
Knowing that it would make her uncomfortable, Aaron tried to not directly look at Lady Eleanor but cherished the glimpses he stole.
“This is delicious,” Lady Eleanor commented halfway through her plate.
“Thank you, it is my great-grandmother's recipe,” Darcy smiled over her cup of wine.
At one point, Lady Eleanor set down her utensils, “Your housekeeper did say you commandeered the kitchen, but I find it amazing that you cooked…all this by yourself.”
“It’s an inherited talent,” Lady Darcy explained. “My mother, rest her soul, came from France with my grandmother's handwritten recipe books. She married a Baron, but even with maids and cooks at her disposal, made sure to keep up her kitchen skills.”
“And we all thank her,” Aaron added.
“I think I should be saying that since I will be eating those recipes for the rest of my life,” a wry voice said from the doorway.
Lady Darcy was out of her seat like a shot and Aaron not too soon after. Julius, with his arm in a sling, was at the doorway. The constable was in plain clothes, buff trousers, and a simple shirt and vest, and aside from the injury, did not look worse for wear.
“Julius!” Lady Darcy exclaimed. “Why didn’t you send for me? I could have come to get you!”
“Oberton had that covered,” Julius replied while aiming a grateful smile to his friend. “My love, would you excuse me and Oberton for a while. I’ll rejoin you as soon as I can.”
Lady Darcy shot a wondering look between the two men and then nodded, “You’re here…that’s all that matters. You may have the library and when you're done, I’ll have a plate waiting for you.”
Aaron stood and bowed his head to the two ladies, “Excuse me.”
