Page 53 of Sincerely, the Duke
THE ART OF BEING A FINE GENTLEMAN
SIR DUDLEY SAMSON PEMBERTON FINE
One of the first things a gentleman should do when approaching a lady is learn how to read her expression, so he can react appropriately.
After a whirlwind of activity to get her aunt and sisters settled into their rooms and preparing for the first ball of the Season, Edwina headed belowstairs to wait for them. She didn’t know if it was excitement or worry that had spurred her to dress so quickly. Probably both. She wanted their first ball to be enchanting for all of them.
The duke’s rooms were silent as she left her chambers, so she assumed he was already in the drawing room, but it was empty when she entered. She considered checking the book room for him, but instead placed her velvet wrap and reticule on a chair and looked around the lovely and quite lavishly decorated room, realizing she hadn’t seen it before. The first day she arrived at the duke’s house, Palmer had never invited her into the drawing room to wait for the duke. Later, she and Rick spoke only in the vestibule and book room. At the wedding, all the furniture had been removed to accommodate the many guests. Now that it was put back together, she saw thelovely chairs with plump flower-print cushions, blue-and-ivory-striped settees trimmed with beautiful woodwork, and highly polished tables with vases and figurines of varying sizes and shapes sitting atop them.
Running her hand along the crest of a small sofa, she walked over to the secretary, imagining the duke sitting there while he wrote his proposal to her. She smiled to herself and thought,Or perhaps he had been at his mother’s house when it was written since the seal had been hers.
Edwina fingered the tickle soft feather of the quill, and then the raised gold lettering on the duke’s official stationery. She examined a pair of spectacles and wondered if the duke used them when writing or reading his correspondence. She tried to see him in her mind wearing them and laughed softly. Without thinking, she opened a drawer to look inside and simply stared for a moment.Ten Black Cat Superstitions and More Shocking Factsstared back at her. Slowly, she reached inside and took out not one, but two books.The Truth and Dangers about Folklore, Myths, and Superstitions.
Dangers? Oh, my. What did that mean?
Her hand trembled as a knot of tension grew in her stomach. Had Rick been reading these? Instinctively, she thumbed through one of the books reading the chapter titles. Her eyes caught sight ofBe Careful of Red Hair andbefore she slammed the book shut. Was her husband, the man who kissed her so intently she wanted it to go on forever, reading these? He had to be. For what other reason would they be in his desk drawer?
Edwina didn’t know if she was feeling hurt, anger, or disbelief he hadn’t been truthful with her about his thoughts and beliefs concerning superstitions. He had said he had no leanings toward shallow, obscure notions, but obviously he was curious and didn’t want her to know. “There you are.” Rick walked into the drawing room, stopped, and smiled at her with appreciation flowing from his expression. “I thought I heard you leaving your room. You’re dressed early.” His eyes seemed to glow warmth at her. “You are beautiful in that shade of pale yellow.”
Edwina swallowed hard as a sense of despair gathered in her chest. He was truly too handsome for words. Every time she saw him her breathing increased. She wanted to be near him, to touch him, smell his scent, and feel his warmth. He was so gentle and understanding last night she realized she wanted to be a part of his life, but could she? Glancing back to the books in her hands, her heart started pounding.
Unable to respond to his compliment, she held up the books and said, “You told me you didn’t believe in these.”
He gave her a perplexed shrug. “Books? No, I must have been talking about poetry, which I have no fondness for.”
His lackadaisical attitude toward something so important surprised her. She struggled to say, “Not poetry or just any book, Your Grace. These books.”
“Wait.” Rick frowned tightly and started toward her as if suddenly realizing something was wrong. “What do you have there?” Taking them from her, he glanced at the titles. “Damnation,” he whispered, anger hardening his eyes. “Do you think these are mine?” he challenged her. “That I was reading them?”
“This is your house,” she managed to say in a tone she hoped didn’t reveal the accusation she was feeling.
“That doesn’t make them mine,” he assured her. “I don’t read rubbish like this and you shouldn’t either.”
“Me?” His comment provoked her sense of vulnerability and she stepped back. “I don’t have to read it. I lived it. My father hid us away because of it.”
“That he isolated you just because of red hair and green eyes was extreme.” Rick said irritably. “And foolish.”
Edwina gasped in outrage. No one ever said anything unkind about her father. “Foolish? How dare you? He was protecting us.”
“You should never be hidden, Edwina.”
“He didn’t want—” She stopped abruptly. It probably did sound foolish to Rick because he didn’t know it wasn’t just because of their coloring. It was because they were triplets. “My father did what he thought was best for us.”
“You wouldn’t even know about these outdated ideas if you hadn’t read it or if your father hadn’t told you. I don’t give a damn about other people’s philosophies or positions, and I don’t want you to either.”
Rick sounded outraged and sincere. His words were logical, but she couldn’t shake the uneasiness finding the books incited in her.
“Where did you get them?” Rick asked.
She looked down at the open drawer of the secretary.
Rick cleared his throat and let out a desperate huff. “I’ve never seen them before. There were over one hundred people in this house for the wedding. I don’t know who put—” He swore another oath under his breath and winced. “But I have a good idea it was my mother who left them here.”
Remembering that he told her his mother thought women with red hair and green eyes could read minds, Edwina said, “She almost dropped her champagne glass when she met my sisters.”
“I thought she was going to faint. I understand my mother and know she means no real harm. She continues to feel she is protecting me as if I were still a small boy.” He quickly opened the front cover of one of the books and there written in beautiful bold script wasThis book belongs to the Duke of Stonerick.
Rick blinked. Edwina felt as if the knot in her stomach started growing tentacles. They spread throughout her body and squeezed her tighter with each labored breath.
