Page 34 of Last Night with the Duke
The duke straightened and looked down into her eyes. “You are under my protection, and that means I must protect you from myself as well.”
Somewhere deep inside herself she found the courage to back away from him and found the breath to say, “I’m glad to hear that, Your Grace. Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get settled in my new position.”
He nodded once. “I’ll leave you to it,” he said and turned away.
Chapter 11
Do be willing to give in when it’s clear you have lost the argument.
MISSMAMIEFORTESCUE’SDO’SANDDON’TSFORCHAPERONES, GOVERNESSES, TUTORS,ANDNURSES
Griffin turned to leave Miss Swift but stopped dead in his tracks. Thank God he hadn’t given in to his overwhelming desire to kiss her. A red-haired girl with sparkling green eyes and cheeks lightly dusted with freckles was in the doorway staring at him. A short-legged, long-haired blond dog stood quietly beside her.
It surprised him that he hadn’t heard the two approaching. He was usually aware of his surroundings at all times. Perhaps he’d been concentrating a little too much on Miss Swift. For the dog not to have made a peep of sound meant he was either very well trained or too old to be interested in the goings on of people.
“Your Grace,” Miss Swift said, rushing up beside him. “May I present my sister—”
“Miss Josephine,” he interrupted. “I’ve been expecting to meet you.”
The girl curtsied and said, “I wanted to meet you too, Your Grace. It’s a pleasure. May I present my friend Napoleon?”
The dog’s tail wagged back and forth. Griffin knew the animal wanted to rush and sniff him, but Napoleon stayed right beside his owner waiting for the command.
“You may,” Griffin said and bent over and held down his hand to the short dog. Taking that as a cue, Napoleon sniffed Griffin’s hand, licked around his fingers, and then barked once. “He’s well trained,” Griffin said as he straightened and looked back at Josephine.
“Essie said we couldn’t keep him if I couldn’t train him to behave properly. But it didn’t take long. He already knew most things.”
He glanced over at Miss Swift. She looked worried, but she shouldn’t be. He didn’t mind that her sister had come as long as his sisters were taken care of. Looking back to Josephine, he said, “You do know that Napoleon is not a name that is held in high regard throughout most of England, don’t you?”
“I know,” the girl said as casually as if they were talking about the weather. “But I like the name. And I think it’s a good name for a dog.”
Griffin smiled. “So do I.”
Josephine sighed quietly as she looked up at him and added, “You’re tall.”
“No, Josephine,” Miss Swift admonished, stepping in closer to her sister. “It’s not your place to say things like that to a duke.”
Griffin held up his hand to stay Miss Swift’s objection as he looked down at Josephine and said, “You’re short.”
“Yes, but I’m still growing. I’ll get taller one day. You’re as tall as you will ever be.”
Griffin chuckled. “That I am. And what about Napoleon? Is he still a growing pup?”
“No, he’s old like you.”
He heard Miss Swift suck in another gasp as he responded, “I suppose at twenty-eight I am getting old.” Griffin hadn’t expected the girl to be so outspoken, but he should have, given the boldness of Miss Swift. Though she looked nothing like Miss Swift, they had the same daring personality.
“Do you have a dog?” the girl asked.
“Not here in London. I have a spaniel at my home in Griffin, and rest assured, he is not named after a defeated French emperor.”
Josephine smiled up at him, and Griffin had no doubts the girl knew exactly what she was doing when she named her dog.
“What’s your dog’s name?” she asked.
“Jasper.”
“That’s a good name for a dog. Is he the reddish-brown color of most jasper stone?”
