Page 22 of The Duke Meets His Match

“Then we have that in common as well.”

“What else do we have in common, Miss Chloe?

Chloe hesitated, debating how much to tell. “I was sickly as a child.”

“You were?”

If her story could give Emily hope, then she should share it with her. “It started as a simple cold, but I soon developed a cough. Then the cough lingered and lingered and wouldn’t go away. A doctor said I had weak lungs. But now I’m healthy.”

Emily’s lower lip trembled. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be healthy, Miss Chloe.”

“Never say that.” Chloe’s voice was firm. She refused to believe the child would suffer forever, or worse, die. As she gazed down at Emily, her throat ached. She clutched Emily’s hand. “Please promise that you will never give up hope.”

“I promise.” Emily’s little fingers entwined with hers, and the motion felt like a squeeze to Chloe’s heart.

“Shall I read?” Chloe asked.

Emily nodded and leaned against her pillow.

Chloe picked up the book and opened it to the first chapter. She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled. “Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a beautiful princess…”

…

Later that afternoon, Chloe returned to her sister’s home in Mayfair. The butler came forward to take her cloak. Sunlight glinted off the magnificent crystal chandelier and cast a kaleidoscope of color on the marble floor. The contrast between the scratched wood floorboards of the orphanage and the black-and-white marble of Huntingdon’s vestibule never ceased to amaze her. Her memories of her lodgings in the rookeries of St. Giles lingered in the back of her mind like specters in a closet that could never entirely be forgotten.

“There’s a package for you, Miss Chloe,” the butler said. “I put it in the drawing room.”

“Thank you, Mr. Burke.”

Another package? Her curiosity rose as she entered the drawing room to find a box wrapped in lovely flowered paper. The simple card was embossed vellum, and she broke the seal.

My dearest Chloe,

Indulge your fancy for sweets.

Yours fondly,

Henry

He’d used her Christian name and signed it with his own. Surely it was a good sign. She picked up the package and tore the paper to discover a box of chocolates from a popular confectioner. She reached for a piece of dark chocolate, her favorite.

“Your admirer is quite romantic.”

Chloe turned to see Eliza in the doorway. “It’s from Lord Sefton.”

Eliza smiled. “First flowers, now chocolates. If we are fortunate, badly written poetry will come next.”

Chloe looked at the treat in her hand nestled in delicate paper. She loved chocolate as much as the next woman, but for some reason she had no desire to taste the sweet.

“What’s wrong?” Eliza asked.

Chloe returned the chocolate to the box. “I visited the orphanage today.”

“Is it the young girl? Emily is her name?”

Chloe sighed. “Yes. She’s still ill, and they are not certain if she will ever be as healthy as the other girls.”

Eliza came close and touched her sleeve. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I know how much the child means to you.”