Page 47 of A Scot on Duchess Square
Well, it did not matter. Her niece was beautiful and young, and her smile dazzled. Men were always going to trip over themselves to spoil and impress her.
Solway took the parcels from the shop owner once he had wrapped them in paper and tied them each with sturdy string. When Miranda reached for one of the smaller parcels, Solway once again growled softly to stop her. “Tilda was very clear in her orders. Ye’re no’ to carry anything at all.”
She sighed. “I am not an invalid.”
“I know, but ye are under my care.”
The shop owner cast her a beaming smile. “Indeed, Your Grace. You must listen to your husband, especially in your delicate condition.”
“In my…”Dear heaven!Did he think she was with child and married to Solway? “I… Yes, indeed. I shall let His Grace serve as my beast of burden.”
She rushed out of the bookshop with her cheeks on fire.
Gwenys skipped after Miranda and laughingly locked arms with her when she caught up. “Slow down, Aunt Miranda. Running cannot be good for you.” She purposely held Miranda back as she tried to scurry off to the inn.
“Can you believe what that bookseller said to me?” Miranda grumbled.
“What, is his mistaking you for the duke’s wife so wrong? The two of you look like a happily married couple. You act so naturally around each other, even bickering like a husband and wife who have been married for ages.”
“Enough.” But Miranda also laughed. “Did you not hear him when he suggested I was in a delicate condition?”
“Well, you are. Cracking a rib is no trifling injury.”
“I know, but the shopkeeper thought I was… He thought I was in awomanlyway.”
Gwenys frowned, obviously not understanding her.
Miranda sighed. “He thought I was carrying the duke’s child!”
“Oh, isn’t that lovely? What a sweet thought.”
“No, it is not.” Miranda rolled her eyes, for Gwenys was being quite dense. “The point is, have I gotten plumper? Filled out more than usual? Do my clothes look too tight on me?”
She was getting older and there was no denying this. She was five and thirty now.
Where had the time gone?
Solway had followed them out and now caught up to them. “Gwenys, will ye run ahead to the dining room and reserve us a table for this afternoon’s tea?”
“Yes, of course.” Gwenys cast Miranda a dazzling smile and skipped off.
Miranda sighed once more, knowing this was quite a lame excuse for Solway to give in order to have a moment alone with her.
How much had he overheard?
He casually tucked the parcels under one arm and offered the other to her. “Ye seem overset.”
She winced. “How much of my complaining did you hear?”
“Bits and pieces,” he said as they walked toward the inn in no particular hurry.
“I was embarrassed.”
“That he thought we were married?”
She laughed gently. “No, that wasn’t it.”
“Och, that’s good.” But he regarded her in obvious confusion, for he was being as dense as Gwenys had been. “Then what?”
