Page 71 of A Mother for the Blind Duke’s Orphans

“God, help me,” she muttered under her breath as she walked down a corridor toward the breakfast table.

Poppy caught a whiff of his cinnamon scent that seemed to haunt every corner and hallway, but she shrugged it off.

Mrs. Patterson did say that he would only return tomorrow.

It had been such a small moment between them. There were no grand declarations and no impropriety that could be named and condemned. Only the cold, brooding duke standing near enough that she had felt the change in the air between them, his attention fixed upon her with that grave intensity of his. Poppy sometimes forgot that he was blind, so she could not help but wonder why her eye color mattered at all to him. And how could such a simple interaction be the most intimate she had ever had with another human being?

Even thinking about it caused her skin to rise with goosebumps. It made no sense. She was a married woman, though the marriage existed more in law than in habit, and she had been raised to understand that intimacy had a physical meaning. No one had warned her that a man might unsettle her with his words.

Oh, Your Grace. What have you done to me?

“Poppy?” The sound of the duke’s voice made her gasp.

Poppy spun around to face him, and her breath caught. She briefly imagined that perhaps she had said his name out loud and summoned him, but he seemed to have just arrived from his business trip. His coat and hat hung loosely; he seemed rugged from the traveling, and a light stubble grew along his chiseled jaw. He looked even more dangerously handsome, and it caused her stomach to flip ungracefully.

“Your Grace, you startled me.” She held her hand to her chest, trying to calm her frantic heartbeat.

Poppy was not expecting him to arrive so soon, but she felt delightfully surprised that he was there. She was beginning to think she had imagined their moment in his study.

“Are you off to breakfast?” he asked.

“Yes, I am.” She felt awkward then as he stared at her.

Can he see me clearly again? Is he noticing a flaw?

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“I just arrived. I think I will join you.” A valet appeared behind him and took his coat and hat away promptly.

Poppy gulped and nodded. She felt nervous around the duke all of a sudden, but it did not seem to faze him. They walked silently together, but she found herself glancing at him continuously. The breakfast room was quiet when they entered, and the morning light warmed Poppy’s skin even more.

His Grace walked to the head of the table, only stopping to pull a chair out for Poppy. He wanted her next to him, and the thought of being so close to him again made her feel faint. Poppy looked up at him and instantly blushed when she caught him staring at her already. His light gray eyes pierced through her as if he could read her like an open book.

“If you would like to sit elsewhere⁠—”

“No, this is all right. Thank you, Hector.” She froze; his name slipped out before she could stop herself.

But his expression did not alter; it was frustratingly unreadable, which made it worse. Heat rose in her face, this time from embarrassment.

“Forgive me. I did not mean⁠—”

“Do not bother with correcting yourself,” he said, lowering himself into his chair. His hand found the edge of his cup with precise familiarity. “You have convinced the entire household to call my niece Princess, so I believe that we are past certain formalities.”

Poppy sat slowly, highly aware of his nearness. “That was Aurora’s doing more than mine.”

Their tea was poured shortly after, and they began their breakfast. Poppy could not keep her body still as it vibrated with the anticipation of his touch or even a simple look.

“You are aware that you endorsed it,” he said over the rim of his teacup.

Poppy chuckled. “She is a baby, and she cannot object.”

“Yes, infants rarely do. It is one of their more tolerable qualities.”

The corner of Poppy’s mouth moved before she could stop it. The remark was dry, but there was no real irritation beneath it. Or perhaps she had begun to hear him differently.

He took a measured sip. “From now on, I shall call you Poppy.”

When he said her name, it felt like a secret that only he could unlock.