Page 31 of The Duke Who Claimed Her

The little boy’s eyes widened, and he looked at her as if pleading. “You… No. You said… I heard you!”

“But you did not ask,” she pointed out and clicked her tongue. “Sadly, I will have no choice but to tell your uncle. I do not want to, but you have left me no choice.”

He scowled at her. “You tricked me!”

“Did I?”

“Yes!”

She smirked at him. “Maybe I did. But that serves you right for watching me as I ate. Really, this is your fault. You ought to be better at hiding.”

“I am!” Timothy turned toward her, and his scowl became determined. “I… If I wanted it, you would not have seen me.”

She scoffed. “Doubtful. You lumber about like a blind puppy, so I doubt that you could hide anywhere that I would not find you.”

“I can!” He jumped up from the chair. “I am the best at hiding. Even Uncle Caspian cannot find me when I do not want him to.”

She rolled her eyes. “He likely lets you believe that. No…” A shake of the head. “I do not think you are nearly so clever as you believe. Sadly, you have left me no choice but to tell your uncle what you have done.”

He scrunched his face at her. “I could hide right now, and you would never find me.”

“That is not fair,” she said. “I have only been here one day. Although…” She pretended to look as if she had just come up with an idea. “To be honest, I do not really want to tell your uncle what you did. And do you know why?”

“Why…”

“Because he is scary,” she said, which made Timothy giggle. “In fact, I wonder if sometimes I might need a place to hide from him myself. Do you happen to know anywhere?”

“Yes!” His eyes widened with the thrill of her question. “So many places!”

“Can you show me?”

“Maybe…” He narrowed his eyes. “No. You will just tell Uncle Caspian. I do not trust you.”

“And you should not,” she said. “What you can trust, however, is that I will happily tell him right now what you did.” She put her hands on her hips and looked warningly at him. “That is, unless you help me.”

“I…” He opened his mouth to argue, but no words came.

“Let us call it a truce,” she said. “You show me your favorite and best hiding spot, and I will pretend that I did not catch you stealing my breakfast.”

Arabella was sure to keep her tone light throughout the conversation. She was never going to tell Caspian, of course, but she had needed a way to speak openly with Timothy. And as she sensed in him one who liked to cause trouble and mischief, she knew that her offer would appeal to him greatly.

Also, she liked to believe that he wanted to show her. As she was alone in this place, she felt that he must have been the same. He did not need a mother so much as a friend, and she would offer him that, hoping he would return it in kind.

“Deal!” Timothy cried, his excitement taking over. Then, without another word, he sprinted across the room.

“Where are you going?” she called after him.

He stopped at the doorway and looked at her with that same mischief that he wore like a second skin. “To show you my hiding place! Come on, hurry!”

Arabella laughed as she followed Timothy from the room.

He was a ball of excitement as he led her through the manor. It made Arabella smile and laugh because, for the first time, she felt as if she were not alone. Since the moment that she had walked through the doors of the manor, there had been a sense of isolation that hung in the air, a feeling that she might never truly be happy because the manor would not allow it.

But Timothy’s energy, his enthusiasm and excitement, quickly dissuaded her from that belief. He raced ahead, constantly turning to make sure she followed, and always he smiled, splitting his face in two.

“Where are you taking me?” she laughed as he led her up the stairs, down the hallway, and up another set of steps onto the third level.

“I told you!” He laughed as he raced down the hallway. “My hiding spot!”