Page 14 of The Haunted Duke

“Pardon me, but I do not believe that is any of your business, Your Grace,” she stated coldly.

Evander cocked his head as he looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“You do not like this Lord Ingram,” he stated after a moment.

Helena flinched, hating that he seemed to be able to read her so easily.

“I… I never said that,” she replied.

“You did not have to. The blush in your cheeks drained the moment your maid said his name. He makes you uncomfortable.”

She might not have been blushing before, but she certainly was now. He would not even speak to her before now, yet he had been studying the varying shades of her cheeks.

First, he ignores me, then he sits as far away from me as possible, and now he pretends to care about me?

Evander took a step closer, hovering on the brink of breaking through her personal space, but Helena did not step back. She just raised her chin a little higher so she could keep her eyes on his. As he did so, the intoxicating scent of juniper, pine, and something deliciously spicy filled her nostrils. How had she not noticed such a scent in the carriage? Then she remembered how she had all but stuck her head out the window in an attempt to get away from him and blushed all over again.

“What has he done that has made you so uncomfortable?” Evander asked, a hint of an edge to his deep tone.

“I… I never said he made me uncomfortable,” she stammered out, her heart suddenly racing.

“Your body is betraying your secrets,” he replied, squinting a little more as he leaned closer. “Now tell me why he makes you uncomfortable.”

“You are making me uncomfortable,” she breathed, her mind lingering on the way his tone had almost become sensual as he said, your body.

Evander chuckled, the sound husky and dangerous.

“No, I make you frustrated,” he countered, his eyes flicking down her body for the briefest of seconds. “And curious, I think.”

“I think you know nothing whatsoever about me,” Helena shot back, and to her surprise, Evander’s lips lifted up into an amused grin.

“Tell me what I should know. What is your association with Lord Ingram?”

“There is nothing to tell.”

“Why do you lie?”

“I do not—”

“Excuse me, my lady. Your Grace.” Aggie cleared her throat again.

Helena blinked at the sound, looked around herself, and then down. She bit her bottom lip as she saw that the toes of her shoes were nearly touching the Duke’s, and they were far closer than she had thought. Had she moved toward him? Then she took in her setback shoulders, her clenched fists, and realized that she was not cowering back from Evander’s encroaching body, but instead challenging it with a stance of her own.

“Shall we go inside?” Aggie asked tentatively, tugging at the sleeve of Helena’s gown. “Pick out some lovely flowers for the wedding party? From the windows, it seems they have a lovely selection.”

“Yes,” Helena stated, taking a decisive step back from the Duke of Redgrave. “Yes, we should.”

Before I lose my sanity altogether.

Chapter 4

“Iwas so honored that Her Grace chose my shop to procure flowers for the wedding!” the shop owner said excitedly. “She is quite particular about her own flowers, so I was surprised to receive word about this.”

He laid the assortment of flowers he had bundled in his arms out on the long table. Helena gave him a polite smile.

“Well, we are so relieved that you could honor our request,” she replied politely. “We were planning on using the flowers from the Winterbourne Estate. However, with the early frost that hit last month, we were woefully disappointed to find them wilted.”

“A pity. Well, whatever you need, we will be happy to provide,” the shop owner answered readily. “Even if what you desire is not here, we would willingly go in search of it. So please. Take your time to look and smell around, and let me know what you would prefer.”