Page 26 of A Duchess Mistaken
It was only a natural and scientific reaction to a gentleman like the duke, she told herself as she slipped into her bedchamber. Agnes pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the off-rhythm staccato of her heartbeat. It was nothing. She was a lady and he a gentleman. A woman and a man. She was nothing but a slave to her animalistic reactions and that was all her beating heart and flushed skin meant.
Agnes marched over to her vanity table, taking a good look at herself. She looked no different than normal. Despite the chaos raging in her mind, no one would know where she was coming from. That was all that mattered now.
So she tucked a few curls back into place, grabbed her parasol, and left her chambers. Rather than go down to the dining room or the drawing room, she headed to a side door she knew would take her out to the gardens, one she had spotted during the dowager duchess’ tour of the manor. She headed around to the front of the manor and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the butler.
“Oh, it is a good thing you’re here,” she breathed, closing the parasol. “I seem to have forgotten my way around. I have not been here long enough, it seems.”
The butler seemed surprised by her sudden appearance but he hid it a moment later, bowing. “Good morning, miss.”
“Good morning,” she greeted with a bright smile. “I am simply famished! Could you escort me to where the others are having breakfast?”
“Certainly, miss. Just this way.”
Agnes gave him a grateful smile and followed him in through the front door. As she suspected, everyone else was having breakfast in one of the drawing rooms. Agnes waited until the butler opened the door for her before she spoke again.
“Thank you,” she breathed, sweeping into the room. She made sure she was fully within sight before she handed her parasol to the butler. “It was truly appreciated. And I would also appreciate if you could take this to my room for me.”
“Of course, miss,” the butler said instantly, unaware of her ploy.
She offered him another smile of gratitude before she turned to face the others. Her eyes instantly fell on the duke, who was sitting next to Caroline. At least there was one person who knew what she was doing.
He gave her an impressed look and it took all her strength not to preen happily under his approval. Instead, Agnes made her way to where her brother sat. Her parents were seated with Lord and Lady Reeds by the window and they gave her a small smile which she returned. The dowager duchess was, unsurprisingly, absent.
“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted loudly. “Forgive me for being late.”
“Agnes, I was just asking His Grace if he has seen you,” Caroline said with a happy smile. “I went to your chambers but you were not there.”
“I decided to go for an early walk and lost track of time amongst the rose bushes,” she lied. She ignored the pang of guilt. She didn’t like lying to Caroline, mostly because Caroline's softheartedness often gave way to naivete.
“A walk?” Paul probed, wrinkling his nose. “And here I was telling everyone that you were probably holed up in the library with towers of books stacked around you just waiting to come tumbling down.”
Agnes rolled her eyes at him. “Your imagination knows no bounds, dear brother. Perhaps it would be better served elsewhere.”
“I enjoy terrorizing you,” Paul said with a grin, popping a grape into his mouth.
“And I would so kindly like to see you pick up a book now and again.”
“No can do, sister,” he said easily. “I shall be going horse riding with Lord Christopher—I mean, Christopher—this afternoon.”
“I shall be teaching him a few of my tricks,” Christopher spoke up at last. Agnes held back her smile. How expected of him to join in when the conversation turned to horses.
“Tricks?” Caroline echoed, frowning worriedly. “Won’t that be dangerous?”
“Not as dangerous as you may think, Miss Caroline,” Christopher said easily. He set his mug down and turned to her, giving her his full attention. “The horse is oftentimes seen as a fickle creature that is ruled by their personalities, but every horse can be trained, if given the right attention. And I know just what do to make a horse easily trained.”
“Oh?” To Agnes' pleasure, Caroline seemed interested by that. “What sort of tactics do you use?”
“If I were to say them all, Miss, I may never stop,” Christopher said with a laugh.
“Perhaps you could show them to her,” the duke said.
Everyone looked at him. Everyone except Agnes. She poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip to hide her smile.
“After breakfast,” His Grace went on. “We could all get horses from the stables and we could make our way to the lake. That is a perfect place for you to show us these tricks you speak about.”
“A marvelous idea, Your Grace,” Agnes agreed.
Paul frowned at her. “You do not like horses,” he pointed out. “How odd of you to be interested in such a thing.”
