Page 116 of Courting the Wrong Duke

“Then Nelly will have to accompany me.”

The maid, who had entered during the conversation, agreed readily. “Gladly, my lady. I can wait belowstairs while you take tea.”

Rosalind caught the satisfaction in her voice. “You have another reason for volunteering.”

“A house as large as Aldermere is bound to have a very well-informed servants’ hall,” Nelly whispered.

Rosalind understood immediately. Nelly could make discreet inquiries while she was upstairs, particularly now that they knew her father had left White’s in someone else’s carriage.

“Then perhaps we can both make good use of the afternoon.”

Nelly hurried away to prepare, leaving Rosalind with the unsettling realization that she was about to see William for the second time in only a few hours.

Her mother had already begun to notice how often Rosalind found herself in William’s company.

More troubling was that Rosalind was beginning to notice how much she enjoyed it.

Somewhere between a false courtship, a missing father, and a family full of secrets, seeing William had stopped feeling merely useful to the investigation.

She had begun to look forward to it.

***

By the time the carriage stopped before Aldermere House, Rosalind had almost convinced herself that the afternoon was merely another part of their arrangement.

Almost.

Nelly descended behind her, and within moments Rosalind was ushered into the drawing room.

William rose the instant she entered.

The change from that morning was striking. He was still tired, the shadows beneath his eyes betraying a night without sleep, but some of his usual brightness had returned.

“Lady Rosalind.”

“Lord William.”

His smile warmed. “You came.”

Rosalind nearly laughed. “Your invitation would have been rather wasted otherwise.”

“There she is.”

The familiar teasing eased something inside her.

The Dowager Duchess welcomed her with considerably less restraint. “My dear, come and sit beside me. William has told me almost nothing useful about you.”

William looked wounded. “I have told you a great deal.”

“You told me she is intelligent, amusing, stubborn, and entirely unimpressed by you.”

Rosalind glanced at him, surprised by the warmth that stirred beneath her ribs. She had expected him to mention their walks or perhaps say that they enjoyed one another’s company.

She had not expected to discover that he had been describing her.

William cleared his throat beneath her scrutiny. “I may have said something to that effect.”

“Then your mother has already formed a remarkably accurate impression.”