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“I did not ask you,” the duke replied. He yawned mightily. “I can’t seem to stay awake these days. I do apologize, my dear. I fear I must leave you.”
“It’s nothing, please don’t apologize.” Alice could see the duke was not only befuddled, but exhausted as well. He’d barely eaten anything, and what he had eaten was laden with sugars and animal fat. She’d have to have a talk with Nick about the duke’s diet.
“Excuse me,” Nick said to Alice as he rose from his seat. He laid his hands on his father’s shoulders. “Shall we go upstairs?”
The concern and tenderness in Nick’s eyes as he helped his father pulled at Alice’s heart.
The duke nodded sleepily. “I can’t... keep my eyes open. Until tomorrow, my dear.” The duke performed a wobbly bow, propped up on one side by Nick, and on the other by his towering attendant, Berthold. “I hope to have the pleasure of your company for a turn about my orchid conservatory.”
Alice rose and took his thin, knotty hand in hers. “It would be my pleasure, Your Grace.”
The duke squeezed her hand. “You know the orchids talk to me. They don’t talk to everyone. But I have a feeling they may be persuaded to converse with you.”
“Ah... that would be quite an honor, Your Grace.”
“Noon tomorrow?” the duke asked eagerly.
“Noon it is,” Alice replied.
Berthold helped the duke from the room. March and Bill followed, leaving Alice and Nick alone.
Nick took the seat next to her. “Much better. This table is far too long for ease of conversation. Thank you for being so patient with the duke.”
“I like his adventure stories, be they ever so exaggerated.”
He smiled, but sadness lingered in his eyes. “Most of his adventures happened only in his imagination. Not all... but most.”
“Does he truly believe the orchids speak?”
“He’s utterly convinced. Sometimes he brings a quill and parchment to record their speech. It’s mostly harmless. But if he weren’t wealthy, and he didn’t have me to care for him, it would be enough of an affliction to ensure he would be shut away in a private madhouse where he would suffer the worst ill treatment.”
A shadow passed across his face and was gone as swiftly as it came. “He still fancies himself quite the debonair lady’s gentleman, though.”
Alice smiled, remembering his courtly compliments. “I’m sure he was quite devastating in his day.”
“Favors me in that regard,” Nick said with a teasing grin, his careless charm restored.
Grabbing her wine, Alice gulped down half a glass. When Nick summoned the charm, a lady needed liquid courage.
One wouldn’t think the combination of the sharp, herbal liqueur and the wine would be pleasing, but as the wine dissolved on her tongue there was a pleasant burst of sun-dried plums that mellowed the lingering fire of the anise-flavored spirits.
“I’ll taste the wine later,” Nick said in a low, intimate voice, “On your lips.”
There he went, setting her senses aflame again.
Charlene’s words echoed in her mind: The act of love is the most intimate conversation two people can have...
She must remain composed. Distant. Detached.
She must observe her body’s responses from a remove. Separate her mind, heart, and body and keep them compartmentalized.
Which would be no easy task, as her body and mind were ready and eager for more kisses.
She’d tried to banish her nerves, but the moment he looked at her with that hungry expression, her trepidation rushed back tenfold.
She must stall a moment more. Keep him talking of other subjects. Seek the composure required to view this evening’s activities from a scholarly perspective.
“My lord, I’m worried about the duke’s diet,” she said. “He ate hardly any of his meal and what he did ingest was either animal flesh or smothered in butter.”
