Page 19 of A Virgin to Tempt the Duke

She had stepped toward him at some point, or he had. She felt the tension of an exchange accumulated, gravity of a particular kind pulling two people together without either of them choosing it. They were closer than they had been, even in the carriage ride. Close enough that she could see the amber in his eyes precisely.

She wished she could trace the line of his bearded jaw. He was looking at her. She was looking back.

Something in the air had shifted, as if he could hear her thoughts. She stepped back, like after touching a hot stove.

“I should check on Rachel,” she said, which was true but not the reason.

“Miss Cartwell.”

She paused without turning.

“An hour,” he said, behind her. “In the future, if you want an hour… Just ask me.”

She considered this. She considered what it meant that he had saidin the future, which presupposed one with her in it. She smiled.

“All right,” she said.

CHAPTER 8

There he is…

She found him by sound first. It was a low, intermittent cry, half complaint and half fury, coming from the hedge that ran along the east side of the kitchen garden.

Anna stopped walking and listened. Then she followed it carefully.

Percy was wedged into the lower part of the hedge where two branches had grown close together. He apparently had decided to investigate the interior of the hedge, only to discover that the interior of the hedge had its own opinions about being investigated. His back left leg was caught, the fur twisted into the woody growth.

Anna crouched down, and Percy looked at her. His expression was not one of a creature pleased to see a potential rescuer.

“I know,” she said. “I’m sorry. Hold still.”

He hissed.

“Yes,” she said. “I understand. Hold still anyway.”

She reached in carefully. He swiped at her in warning with claws extended, close enough to skim the back of her hand without catching. Yet, she did not pull back.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” she assured him, which was not persuasive enough, so she pushed. “You’re going to have to decide to trust me for approximately thirty seconds, and then I’ll leave you alone.”

Percy hissed again, with feeling, but held still.

“That’s better.”

She worked her fingers around the caught fur, carefully, finding where it had twisted into the branch. The branch had curved inward over time, and she had to press it back gently to create enough space. Percy growled throughout, and then the fur came free. Percy was out of the hedge in the same instant, gone between two pots before she had even straightened up.

She looked at the back of her hand. A red line that was more pressure than break. She straightened. Brushed the yew fragments from her skirt. Looked in the direction that Percy hadgone and did not see him. Then she turned and went to find his master.

His study was in the north end of the house, which Rachel had told her, and which Anna had noted without intending to need. It faced the park rather than the gardens. It had a lovely view of the oak and the long grass beyond the gravel walk.

She knocked.

“Come.”

He was at his desk, which was covered with the organized precision of a man who moved a great deal of paper around and knew how to get things done. He looked up when she came in, and then, when she did not come with a household query or a note from Rachel, he put down his quill.

“Your Grace, Percy is somewhere in the grounds,” Anna said. “He was caught in the yew hedge along the kitchen garden. I got him out, but he moved off quickly. I couldn’t tell if he’d hurt himself before I found him.”

He was on his feet before she had finished the sentence. “Which section of the hedge?”