Page 19 of Maid for the Duke

‘I am glad you like it.’

‘I do. I would like to use this in my book, Amelie. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the land-based predators and I think this would look good on the first page.’ He let his eyes drift over the picture. It really was excellent. He could draw plants and flowers well, but he struggled more with animals, finding it hard to get their proportions right. ‘Perhaps if you have time you might help me with a few other drawings.’

‘I would like to help,’ Amelie said, a look of enthusiasm on her face. He realised how monotonous her life must seem now. Not for the first time, he wondered how he would cope if he were told he could no longer spend his leisure time reading books and riding out on his horse, but instead would have to work in a demanding physical job that swallowed up any sense of freedom.

‘I will make a list and show you the style of the other pictures I have completed. I know my otter leaves something to be desired, as does my field mouse.’

‘Then I will begin there, when I have a spare moment in between chores.’

‘Thank you, Amelie,’ he said.

She inhaled sharply at his use of her given name and for a moment a throb of desire passed between them. It would be so easy to reach out across the table, to take her hand in his own and convince her that one more kiss could not harm anyone.

He did not move. It would go against his every principle, even though Amelie was looking at him with an expression that he was sure matched his own. She might desire him superficially, but there’d be nothing for her but ruin if they pursued their attraction.

Even so, for the first time in his life he felt the urge to discard his duty and his respectability, do exactly what he wanted and damn the consequences. The thought caught him completely by surprise. His whole personality, his whole being, was tied in to his sense of duty and responsibility. Every decision he had made over the past decade, save for this trip to Cambridge at the behest of his sister, had been with these values at the forefront of his mind. Even to have a fleeting thought about choosing his own pleasure over duty was monumental.

Amelie stood, smoothing down her skirt. ‘I must finish packing for our journey to London,’ she said, disappearing into the house.

Will watched her go, wondering how he was going to survive the long hours cooped up in a carriage with a woman he wanted to ravish every time he looked at her.

Chapter Ten

Amelie watched the fading light as the carriage rattled through the outskirts of London and felt her heart sinking. She had hoped she would get to see her two little sisters and brother this afternoon, but she had underestimated how long it would take them to get back to the city. The roads had been dry and passable, but because of the good weather there were lots of people out and about, and she had lost count of the number of times they had needed to slow to a crawl whilst waiting for a cart or congestion ahead.

‘You are anxious to get to our destination,’ Lord Beescroft said, putting aside the papers he had been working on. They had travelled mostly in silence, but Amelie had found it to be companionable nonetheless. The Duke had brought much to occupy himself, swapping every half-hour between making notes in a little leather-bound notebook to reading a book to going through his correspondence. Amelie wondered if he had brought all of this so he would not have to talk to her but, even if that was true, as usual she could not fault his manners. Every so often he looked up from his book or bundle of papers and enquired about her comfort. He asked her if she needed a stop or refreshment and, only once he was satisfied she was comfortable, did he bend his head and resume whatever he had been doing.

‘I had hoped to see my sisters and brother this evening, but by the time we return to Grosvenor Square and then I make my way across London I think it will be too late.’

He took a gold pocket watch out of his waistcoat pocket and consulted it, frowning slightly.

‘The journey has taken longer than expected. Although I daresay if we go straight to the house where they are staying you would have at least a few minutes with them before they go to bed.’

Amelie felt a surge of hope. ‘Would you not mind?’

‘I have my papers to keep me occupied and I can always go for a short walk to stretch my legs.’

It took all her self-control not to launch herself across the carriage and embrace him. ‘Thank you; it would be a great kindness.’

Lord Beescroft rapped on the roof of the carriage, waiting for it to slow to a stop before asking Amelie for the address and relaying it to the driver. As he settled himself back onto the seat, he was frowning slightly.

‘That is not the most reputable area of London,’ he said quietly as the carriage started to move again.

‘I know. Mrs Creedy is all I can afford. She charges a fair rate. When I looked at a similar set-up in a better location, it cost three times as much, and I would only have had the funds for one of the children.’

‘Do you go here alone on a Sunday to visit your sisters and brother?’

‘I do.’

‘Do you walk from the house in Grosvenor Square?’

She nodded.

His frown deepened. ‘Please tell me you do not take the route through the Rookery at St Giles.’

‘There is no other way. Mrs Creedy lives on the very edge of St Giles, but the far side. To go around would take too long.’

‘Do you have no regard for your safety?’ The words exploded out of him and Amelie sat back in surprise. ‘That place is a den of thieves and cutthroats. You take your life in your hands every time you pass through.’