Page 10 of Sincerely, the Duke
“You are the most outspoken lady I’ve ever met. Now, drink before you find yourself feeling faint like your aunt.”
She drew in his criticism with an exasperated breath and regarded him with a bit of her own arrogance. “I have never felt faint, sir.”
“Then don’t let today be the first time.” His mouth twitched up as if he intended to smile but thought better of it.
After the first sip of the cool liquid, Edwina found she was too thirsty to be dainty. She quickly downed every drop, and then gently moistened her lips.
“More?” he asked, eyeing the empty glass.
Edwina shook her head as his gaze traced down her face, causing delicious tingles to ripple over her.
He reached over and took the glass from her hand and when he did so, she had the oddest feeling he wanted to tarry and touch her cheek.
“I admit I’m wondering why you chose to ask me to marry you when there are many young ladies who have better lineage, larger dowries, and—” She hesitated.
“And what?” He placed her glass on a side table without taking his attention off her.
“Don’t have red hair,” she answered honestly.
He grunted a half chuckle. “I picked your name from a list of belles making their debut in Society this year. I had no idea what you or any of the other ladies looked like, Miss Fine, but have no worry.” His voice and features softened. The smile stayed on his lips. “Your hair is lovely and so are you.”
A flush of appreciation warmed her like a blazing fire on a cold night. She believed he meant his words and was glad he told her. Every wife wanted to please their husband in such a manner as appearance. But she knew from experience that some people still harbored superstitions about women with red hair and green eyes as well as many other things.
“Thank you,” she answered, grateful he’d reassured her. But she had to ask, “What kind of way is that to pick a wife?”
The duke shrugged, nodded his head once, and folded his arms across his chest as he took his time answering. “The easy way.”
His expression revealed nothing more than his words. Coming from most gentlemen, his answer would be hard to believe, but she didn’t doubt the duke at all. She supposed a list was trouble-free for a man who didn’t have the patience to bother with the civilities of introducing himself to a lady the proper and usual way—before he asked for her hand.
“Are you saying you didn’t know anything about me before you sent your letter?” she asked, assuming that meant he hadn’t checked too deeply into her family history. Surely, he would have had a question or two for her if he had.
“You had already been approved by Society by being allowed to attend the Season. Otherwise, your name wouldn’t have been on the list, so as shallow as it seems, I didn’t. I’ve been consumed by… something else the past few days that has kept me busy since the night I saw your name and wrote the proposal.” He paused. “What do you know of me, Miss Fine?” he asked in a lower tone, his attention staying on her face as if he were willing her to say something he expected to hear. “That is, something other than what you’ve read in the gossip pages.”
She blinked rapidly at his question and smiled in genuine amusement. “Gossip pages? My father would never have allowed us to read them. I know what they are, and scandal sheets, but I’ve never read one.”
“Really?” His brows rose as he quirked his head a little and unfolded his arms, clearly showing he didn’t believe her. “You never slipped around behind your father’s back and read them? Not once?”
Her smile continued. “I wish I had, and perhaps now that I’m in London that will be possible.”
She would love to know what was written about this man who held her attention so raptly. No doubt it would be fascinating, but would it be true? From her readings about the much-maligned tittle-tattle not being fit for educated people to indulge in, some believed every word while others claimed none of it was true. Edwina could only assume there was truthandfiction in them as her father insisted they were not educational but merely entertainment.
“You truly haven’t read one?” he asked, folding his arms over his chest again as he queried her more with his beautiful gaze than his words.
“Where would I get one, Your Grace? You seem to think I lived in a city such as London where such readingscould have been delivered to my door, or that perhaps a servant could have gone out to buy one so it could be placed on my breakfast tray and taken to my bed.” A breathy laugh escaped past her lips at the thought of something so absurd happening in her home as eating food while in bed. “I am from a small village. My father was lucky if he received back issues ofThe Timesonce or twice a week. Sometimes not at all in winter. All we had were games, cards, and chessboards to entertain us. We were never any good at chess because Papa wasn’t and couldn’t teach us much.”
“I’m glad to know that and it brings us back to the issue of what did youknowabout me, Miss Fine, before you came to my door?” he said with a lightness in his voice she hadn’t detected before now.
The duke seemed to accept her explanation without question and surprisingly that pleased her. A warmth of pleasure washed over her. Emboldened by his undemanding tone and the absence of tension in his features, she answered without any uncertainty. “Absolutely nothing other than you are a duke. And I assure you, all my preconceived ideas of how you would look, sound, and behave vanished the moment you introduced yourself to me.”And how you make me feel delightful things I shouldn’t be feeling.
Edwina took a step back. There was no way she was going to tell him that.
CHAPTER 5
THE ART OF BEING A FINE GENTLEMAN
SIR DUDLEY SAMSON PEMBERTON FINE
When confronted by a lady who needs help, a fine gentleman never hesitates to offer his wise and strong assistance.
