Page 27 of When the Duke Met His Match

The door opened, and she glided inside, only stopping to look at the fine furnishings in his room the moment they were closed inside.

Embarrassment crept into her cheeks the moment she realized they were there all alone, concealed away from the rest of the house. Her ears burned at the thought, and she swallowed harshly.

She whizzed around to look for him, but she lost him momentarily. Her heart quickened, then relaxed as he re-entered the room with a towel in his hands. He tossed it at her, and she instinctively caught it.

“One of the maids prepared a bath for me, but I think you could use it more than me,” Theophilus said with a playful pull of his lips.

Odette’s jaw dropped with a gasp, gawking at him. She held the towel tightly to her chest. “Are you implying that I smell?”

Her stomach squirmed at the grin that spread across his face, clearly amused by her feigned offense.

“No, I’m saying that you were locked away in prison with nothing but straw to lay on, and I thought you could use a proper hot bath.”

He winked at her, and she nearly crumbled at the sight. To regain herself, she pushed her blush away and raised her chin. “Well, then. If you put it that way, I suppose I could use a good soak.”

He gestured toward the adjacent room. “Be sure to keep quiet while I fetch you something to wear and anything else we need for the journey.”

Spying the tub ahead of her, nearly filled to the brim with water, Odette smiled softly. She went to turn and thank him but closed her mouth the moment she realized he was already gone from the room.

Left with nothing to do but bathe, Odette closed the door behind her and carefully shed the oversized uniform. It was a relief to be free of all clothing and pad over to the tub.

Carefully, she dipped a toe in to feel the pleasant warmth and eventually crawled inside.

Lowering herself to sit and rest her head against the back of the tub, every ache and worry slipped away. She released a contented sound and let the water come up to her chin.

It was easy to forget how tired and overwhelmed she had been in prison, where she was forced to be on high alert the entire time. Only then did she have the chance to sit with that exhaustion and let it cloak her.

The water smelled of lavender and made her skin smooth to the touch. Grateful for the fresh scent, she scrubbed her hands all over to try to rid herself of how her body reeked.

Deciding to soak up as much relaxation as possible, Odette closed her eyes and faced the ceiling. Never had she appreciated a bath as much as she did then, more than grateful for Theophilus’ help.

She couldn’t believe what she was doing.

He managed to break her out of prison, and they were officially runaways, even if they hadn’t left London yet.

Before, Odette was the only one that could be called a traitor or criminal. But the moment Theophilus decided to help her, those same labels became his as well.

It felt wrong to condemn that man to a life of running when he would’ve otherwise never experienced such a tumultuous existence. All he had known was comfort and fineries, which would swiftly be taken away from him.

He was a good man with morals—someone with a future ahead of him.

She sealed her fate the moment she aided the rebel group and landed herself in confinement. If it weren’t for her, he would still have his normal life. She couldn’t help but feel responsible, even if it was his choice to make.

Even so, a selfish part of her wanted him with her.

Being cast off to France by herself sounded like a miserable affair, and having someone she trusted, someone to lean on, offered her enough comfort to believe that everything would be just fine.

Her thoughts and worries twisted together the longer she thought about what they had done and how it might unravel. They were wound up so tightly that Odette forced herself to stop thinking altogether. Instead, she focused on cleaning every trace of that awful prison from her body.

Chapter Sixteen

THEOPHILUS

The whole house was eerily silent, with not a soul stirring in their slumber, providing a fortunate stroke of luck for Theophilus.

Clutching a satchel, he tiptoed through the dimly lit halls until he reached the kitchen. The room was shrouded in silence, indicating that the cooks were likely asleep.

He scanned the area and spotted stashes of bread, wheels of cheese, and tubes of cured meat, which he carefully wrapped in cloth and stowed in his satchel. Soundlessly, he made his way through the corridor and stumbled upon a basket of fresh washing.