Page 51 of A Spinster to Heal the Duke
"I do. Especially now, when I feel we have grown so much closer," Noah replied.
"You do?" asked Anne surprised by his comment.
Then, she felt a frustration of her own rising within her. She stood too, to face him directly.
"How can we grow closer, knowing all the while you are leaving? What can we be when everything about our situation is circumstance?" she asked.
Her voice wavered more than she intended.
Steel yourself so you do not become a weepy mess,Anne told herself.
"You say circumstance, but others might call it fate," the Duke replied.
"Would you call it fate?" Anne asked.
The Duke was silent but continued to look her in the eye.
"I would call it scary," Anne admitted. "I am a lower stationed girl in the country, removed from your life, and I know you will soon be able to go about your life unscathed in London when you inevitably leave."
The Duke was silent and clenched his teeth. Anne saw his jaw tense. Then, her eyes settled on his lips. The Duke's eyes had lowered from her eyes to her lips.
"Call me by my name," he stated.
"Your Grace," she said with a shrug as a tear escaped her.
"No, call me by my Christian name," he urged more slowly in a low tone.
Anne swallowed and took a deep breath.
"Noah," she said softly.
As soon as his name escaped her lips, Noah placed one hand at her chin and the other lightly at her waist. Then, he pressed his lips to hers.
CHAPTER 14
Icannot believe we kissed,Anne thought as she woke up.I've hardly slept at all. Surely, I look dreadful.
She looked in the mirror.
Oh, dear. He shall never kiss me again if he sees these dark circles under my eyes,she told herself.
She leaned toward her reflection and looked at herself more closely. Still, she smiled. She could not stop smiling.
"He kissed me," she whispered to herself, placing a hand over her mouth to keep from squealing loudly.
"I must try to make myself look as nice as possible today," she said. "It was not an admission of love, but a kiss is still a symbol of feeling. He felt something strongly enough to kiss me and kiss me deeply."
Anne touched her fingertips to her lips.
Or perhaps only I feel so deeply,she thought.
She paused for a moment, feeling all the good and bad wash over her. Then, Anne decided to focus on the good. She dressed in her favorite blue day dress. She took a few extra minutes doing her hair, and she put a light dusting of blush on her cheeks with an even lighter stroke of rouge to her lips.
"Grandfather and Charles will surely say something, but if the Duke likes it, I do not care," she decided.
Then, she made her way downstairs, thinking of everything the Duke had seemed to enjoy most from the breakfasts she had prepared.
She moved through the house quietly, but one person still heard her every step. It was someone who had managed to get as little sleep as she had. The one on the other end of the shared kiss.
