Page 27 of A Duke to Restore her Memory
Slowly, she opened her eyes. She gasped. As if she had summoned him she suddenly saw the duke striding along a garden path in the distance, his hands clasped firmly behind his back.
Christina’s heart shifted as she watched him. What was he doing wandering the grounds alone in the dead of night? What demons had driven him from his bed and were causing him to wander in such a manner?
Abruptly, he stopped, turning around. He was looking straight at the window she was leaning out. Quickly, she drew herself back into the room, closing the window and pulling the curtains shut. Her heart was hammering, and she was finding it difficult to breathe.
She pressed herself against the wall, trying to compose herself. She didn’t know if he had actually seen her or not – perhaps he had just been looking in the general direction of this wing of the house.
The Duke of Newquay was enigmatic. She was living under his roof, but he was still a mystery to her. But she couldn’t deny she was drawn to him, like the moth towards the flame. Irresistibly.
It was dangerous, for his sister didn’t trust her and was watching her like a hawk, waiting for her to slip up and throw her out.
Christina took a deep breath. It was probably prudent to avoid him entirely, and since he was keeping his distance anyway now, that wasn’t hard.
Still, would she be able to do it forever? And what would happen if she didn’t?
She felt like she was leaning on the edge of a precipice and might fall at any given moment … just like she had fallen from that cliff into the mine. She had lost her memory that time. What did she stand to lose now?
Chapter 14
Sebastian stopped walking, his heart seizing, as he saw the trail of a pale blue gown vanishing along a path in the garden. He knew it was Georgina. He had spotted her from his chamber window this morning and admired her in the pale blue gown, thinking how much the colour suited her.
She is the reason you decided to go for a walk in the gardens. Do not deny it. You are hoping you will run into her.
He rubbed his neck ruefully before continuing, knowing it was true. She had been on his mind even more than usual today because he had seen her leaning out of her bedroom window last night when he had been walking this very path in the middle of the night.
For some reason, he hadn’t been able to sleep at all and had impulsively decided to take a midnight ramble through the grounds, thinking it would calm his mind. When he had seen Georgina, her eyes closed and her golden hair loose and streaming behind her in the wind, his heart had shifted in his chest, filling with a sensation he had never experienced in his life.
He quickened his step, turning down the path, and his heart almost stopped again.
There she was, at the end of the path, framed by an arbor of climbing red roses, as red as rubies, contrasting vividly with the gold of her hair and the blue of her gown. She looked like an angel from a Botticelli painting.
He had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
Their eyes met and locked, and he felt a frisson down his spine. Slowly, before he even realized he was doing it, he started walking towards her. She didn’t move. She looked as if she were frozen to the spot.
“Georgina,” he said, clearing his throat. His voice was hoarse and cracking. “I thought it was you.”
She swept into a curtsey, the blue gown spilling around her like paint onto the ground, before slowly rising, staring him straight in the eye again.
“Your Grace,” she said, her voice high and melodious, flowing like honey. Her eyes were impossibly green – as green as his lawns on a clear, bright day, and seemed to peer into the very depths of his soul. “You are walking very early this morning. I do not usually see you out this early.”
He raised his eyebrows. “It seems I was drawn out this morning.” He hesitated. “I was drawn out last night, as well. The middle of the night. I think I saw you leaning out your bedroom window.”
She blushed fiercely. “It is true. Her voice faltered. “I … I had a most vivid dream, and I was having a hard time shaking it from my mind. I thought the night air might help me.”
He gazed at her curiously. “You can tell me about it if you like. Shall we walk together?”
She hesitated. His heart almost stopped again as he waited for her to decide. Eventually, she nodded her head, smiling at him shyly.
“I would like that very much, Your Grace,” she said.
He nodded, feeling inordinately pleased. He was on the verge of asking her if he could take her arm, then decided against it. They started walking, taking the path that veered to the right and led towards the lake at the bottom of the estate.
“What was your dream?” he asked eventually, turning to her, admiring the purity of her profile. “Why were you having a hard time shaking it?”
Georgina sighed heavily. “I was arguing with a man,” she replied slowly. “He was … very angry with me. But I did not know why.”
“You feel that this man is part of your life?” He held his breath as he waited for her reply. “You feel that he is someone you know and that the dream really happened?”
