Page 22 of If the Duke Demands

“Of course not!” She laughed at him, and his mouth twitched as he realized she was goading him. “Don’t worry. I was painfully proper. I kept the conversation on all the appropriate topics for a young lady.” She shrugged and untied her bonnet, letting the long ribbons dangle over her shoulders. “The weather, fashions, upcoming season events—”

“With Robert?” he interrupted in an incredulous mutter. “You’d have been better off with fishing.”

Well,thatwas rude.

Or perhaps, she reconsidered glumly, he was irritatingly dead-on.

Her shoulders slumped dejectedly. “But those are all acceptable, ordinary topics for conversation.”

“There’s your problem.” His gaze took a deliberate roam over her, drinking her in from the lace-edged hem of her pale green dress and matching velvet pelisse all the way up to her cheeks, which warmed of their own accord. He murmured, “You’re not an ordinary woman.”

Her lips parted slightly at his soft words, and once again, she found herself not knowing how to take him. Was he insulting her or complimenting her? Should she thank him or slap him? Heavens, the conundrum that was Sebastian Carlisle!

Instead, she puzzled, “Why do you—”

“There you two are!”

He retreated away from her as the duchess swept into the room with a beaming smile for them. Robert followed slowly behind and stopped in the doorway to lean casually against the frame.

Miranda’s heart sank as she glanced at him, with an entire grand parlor now stretching between them. At that moment, he felt further away than ever before. She’d lost another opportunity to make him see her in a new light. Truly seeher.

She glanced thoughtfully between the two brothers. Was Sebastian right? Was she taking the wrong approach by being a proper lady to gain Robert’s attention? It was exactly what Sebastian wanted, but Robert didn’t seem to notice how hard she was trying. Nor care.

She sighed out a heavy breath. Apparently, she couldn’t please either Carlisle brother.

“The bags are sorted, and the trunks are to come on wagons tomorrow. So Miranda and I shall travel on to Audley House now,” his mother announced with a sigh. In the soft sound, Miranda heard her longing to be done with the long trip and to settle into the house that the Marquess of Chesney had purchased for his new family just last year and only a few streets away from Park Place, much to the duchess’s delight.

The two of them would be staying with the marchioness. Although to Miranda she would always be just Josie, she thrilled with excitement to know that this summer she was going to be the guest of a marquess, even if Robert was living in a separate residence. She only hoped Sebastian stayed true to their agreement now that they were in London and could find a way to arrange more time for her with his brother.

“Would you like to stay for tea?” Sebastian offered. “I’ll ring for Saunders.”

“No thank you, Trent,” the duchess declined with a tired but affectionate smile. “I’m anxious to see Josie and my grandchildren.”

Miranda was struck by his mother’s use of his title, and her eyes darted to the duke. At Chestnut Hill he was always just Sebastian. More proof that London was a far cry from the casual country life of Islingham Village.

As she looked at him now, tall and imperial and perfectly matching the impressive grandeur of the city around them, she couldn’t help but wonder where he preferred to be. Where he most felt free to be himself, where he was happiest…the village where everyone had known him since he was a boy, or the city where he was recognized as being the respected peer he had become. And how did he ever reconcile the two?

His mother tugged at her travel gloves. “I will send you copies of our schedules and all the events you will need to attend as Miranda’s escort. Most likely, we shall need two weeks to shop for all the necessary accessories and have her dresses made.” Elizabeth smiled at her with all the affection of a mother doting on her daughter, and Miranda’s chest tightened with affection at the duchess’s kindness. “You cannot be officially presented at court, of course, but I will arrange for an informal invitation to a drawing room with Queen Charlotte, if you’d like.”

Miranda caught her breath as unexpected joy shot through her. A drawing room with the queen? Oh, she’d never dared to hope for something as extraordinary as that!

Sensing her excitement, Sebastian shot her a quelling glance. “Make certain you purchase the proper kind of shoes, Miss Hodgkins,” he warned, subtly reminding her of their agreement in a private language his mother and brother didn’t understand. “We wouldn’t want you getting into trouble. Would we, Robert?”

“Miranda can handle herself,” Robert answered with a wink at her that sent nervous butterflies flitting inside her belly.

She stared at him, stunned into silence and unable to do anything but stand there and blush.

“Besides, we taught the sprite how to box when she was ten, remember? I think I can still feel the bruise she gave my chin.” Another teasing wink…but this time, the butterflies dropped away with a sinking disappointment. Even after all those days together in the carriage, Robert still thought of her as nothing more than the girl next door.

“Miranda’s a grown woman now,” Sebastian reminded him gently. “In case you hadn’t noticed.”

Her chest soared. Oh, she could have kissed Sebastian for that!

His eyes met hers, and she thought she saw a dark flicker in their sapphire depths, one that made her suddenly and inexplicably nervous— Well, maybe notkisshim…

“I know how old she is,” Robert assured him. “I went to her last birthday party when she turned twenty-one. You were there, too. Don’t you remember?”

Sebastian’s mouth twisted at that.