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She had never expected the Duchess of Hawthorne to be anything except a taskmaster to tradition or filled with whims and careless indecision. But instead she had proved herself to be unconventional indeed. She was uptight but hadn’t been judgmental about Robert being born on the wrong side of the blanket. She was hell-bent on rebelling against her husband. She wasn’t indecisive or frivolous at all—that had been a pretense to prevent her from progressing too far on the duke’s suite.
Despite the chasm of rank between them, she had been surprised to discover their compatibility. Most importantly, the duchess didn’t mind if she spoke to her as an equal.
It had been impulsive to be so straightforward about her romantic preferences during their walk, but she hated hiding herselfand she was tired of hinting at it. Ever since her family had disowned her upon discovering her pregnancy, she had sworn to be honest in who she was. Nothing had ever hurt her more than her father’s disappointment when she hadn’t lived up to his expectations. It was easier to be up-front from the beginning, and let people judge her accordingly. That way, there was no opportunity for disappointment or betrayal.
It was folly to risk a flirtation with the duchess, though. It risked blurring the lines between what she could offer the woman in bed, and the duchess she yearned to impress with her design skills. She needed this job, and she needed the references to be dependent on her work. Not on her back. It was too much to risk.
A friendship was one thing, but flirtation had to remain out of the question. It was too bad that she yearned so much to tease smiles from that pretty mouth.
The duchess didn’t seem the type to indulge anyway. She was too straightlaced for Letty. She liked it when a woman knew her mind, and the duchess couldn’t even bring herself to talk about desire when it was clear no one could hear them. No, this was a one-sided yearning, and best to lock it away.
Feelings and desires aside, Letty was starting to understand the duchess, and she thought maybe the duchess was beginning to understand her too. Could she design something that suited her? She grinned. She thought she just might have some ideas.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Hawthorne Towers was Anne’s favorite estate, and summer was her favorite season. She inhaled the fresh country air, redolent with the scent of the lawn trimmings and rosebushes, and topped Letty’s glass up with more wine.
It was dusk, and they were sitting in the gazebo by the lake. Hawthorne had arranged to build it for her as a wedding gift, a fanciful structure of wood and gilt, but he had left England before it had been finished, and she had never much liked spending time there.
Now she had plenty of memories of Letty’s warm lips and strong arms from countless rendezvous in the gazebo on lazy afternoons, which meant that Anne added it to her list of favorite things about the estate. She could hear birdsong and the lake lapping at the shore, but as always, most of all she wanted to hear Letty’s low voice.
“How is the work coming along?” Anne asked.
Letty took a sip of wine. “I’ve almost completed the work on the butler’s bedchamber, and then I’ll move on to the second footman’s rooms tomorrow.”
Letty had spent the year traveling between London and the six other Hawthorne estates scattered across England, where Anne was slowly implementing her ideas for improvements. When she was with Anne in the estates, she had focused her time on renovating theservants’ quarters which had endeared her to the staff immediately and had earned her their loyalty. If any of them thought her relationship with Anne was strange, being her constant companion despite the fact that Anne had a husband, they never said it, and in fact seemed to be staunchly supportive.
Letty’s design skills were much in demand after the success of Hawthorne House and the interest from the Prince Regent, so she had as much work as she could wish for. She had started to train an assistant to help her, especially for the times when she was out of London.
Letty and Hawthorne had struck a deal where Letty could furnish the houses she worked on by using his vast collections in the warehouse, and they split the profits on whatever sales she made.
Hawthorne’s half of the money went to maintaining a charity in London to help men who were persecuted because of their romantic or sexual behaviors. Phin ran the charity on his behalf and seemed overjoyed to spend his days in London with a fixed purpose while Hawthorne was busy with parliament, where he had become a respected member.
“I am so glad you’re here with me, Letty. Life is infinitely more wonderful with you in it.” Anne clinked her glass against Letty’s and they shared a warm smile.
Letty had given up her apartment next to Fraser when she moved to Hawthorne House with Anne, much to the delight of Marcus, who had moved into her old apartment the very next day. Keeping rooms beside Fraser seemed the perfect cover for their relationship and kept the neighbors’ gossip to a minimum.
Robert had moved too, spending his days hard at work at Hawthorne Towers under the tutelage of the estate manager. Letty told her that she had never seen him so happy.
“How is it that I ended up with a duchess in my bed and in my heart?” Letty said, her gold-flecked eyes gleaming.
“I am lucky beyond measure that you did,” she said, leaning over to kiss her. “Now I have everything my heart desires.”
