“Inconspicuous?” he finally gasped, begging her pardon.
“Yes, and perhaps a touch witless,” Eva added.
“Witless?”
“Come now, Simon, you should be well versed in the word,” the duke said with an evil glint in his grey eyes.
“Are you suggesting I’m witless, Stratton?”
“Well, there was that time at Eton when you set fire to Professor Maitland’s front door only to find it was in fact Professor Hind’s front door.”
“That was not my fault!”
Eva had never heard her husband speak like this. He sounded as if he was enjoying teasing his friend. He even winked at her. She watched as the two grown men bickered, each giving as good as he got. When one drew breath, the other spoke. Her brothers had never teased each other and if they did, a fight usually ensued.
“Do you like it here at Stratton, your Grace?”
It took her a few seconds to realize the conversation had swung back to her. “Yes, thank you, Lord Kelkirk. I am quite content.”
“You will like London even more. It is a wondrous place, especially on your first visit.”
“I don’t think I would, Lord Kelkirk. I am a country girl,” Eva remembered the conversation she’d had with her husband last night. He wanted her to take her place in society and had said that he would protect her.
“And yet as we discussed, Eva, you are coming to London with me,” the duke said calmly. She could feel his eyes on her as she played with the handle of her cup.
“And on that note, if you will both excuse me, I have an urgent letter to write.”#p#分页标题#e#
Eva watched Lord Kelkirk hurry from the room. “It must be a very important letter.”
The duke snorted. “Simon has never written a letter in his life. He merely wanted to give us privacy, Eva.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He knew I wanted to talk to you about London.”
Eva didn’t want to discuss leaving Stratton so soon, so instead she tried to distract him. It had often worked with her brothers. “I would like to apologize for how I was dressed this morning, Daniel. I understand it is not acceptable for a woman to wear breeches.”
Eva’s words filled Daniel’s head with visions of her shapely legs encased in the form- fitting breeches and the raven plait trailing to her waist. She had the sweetest curve to her buttocks and he’d had to fight the urge to caress it when he had helped her mount Posy.
“I have no issue with you wearing them in the privacy of your own home, Duchess. But considering how you looked in them, I would suggest you not wear them outside of Stratton.”
“I understand.”
He doubted she did but he wasn’t getting into that now. “Besides, when I best you, I don’t want you to have any excuses.”
She smiled but chose not to reply, instead saying, “I wondered if I could ask another favor of you, Daniel, as I’ve still had no word from my brother Reggie and would like you to send another invitation to my father to see if he can visit.”
“I will, of course, immediately write to your father informing him of our intentions, and ask that he let Reggie join us in London.”
“Oh, but - ”
“You will be protected there, Eva, and I will put you in no situation you are uncomfortable with. It need only be a temporary visit, until society is satisfied that you actually exist.”
“My family - “
“Will not bother the Duchess of Stratton because she is far above them on the social scale,” Daniel said firmly. “I have told you I will protect you, Eva and am sorry that my leaving Stratton led you to believe I would not do so. Can you not trust me in this?”
“I want to.”
“Yet the circumstances of our marriage do not inspire trust,” Daniel said softly.
Emotions flickered through her eyes, yet she did not voice them. “I just need more time to prepare, Daniel.”
Daniel knew she was hoping to stall him but he would not change his mind. He truly believed this was the right decision for both of them. “I have no wish to prolong the journey to long, Eva.”
He could see her trying to read what she believed he had not said. Mistrust from her past did not make acceptance easy and he knew it would be some time before that changed.
“I will, of course, be ready when the time comes to leave, your Grace.”
He could hear how much those words had cost her, yet he would not back down in this. They would leave Stratton, and soon.
…
Eva lowered the book to her knees and stared out the window. She had slipped away to her room to curl up on the window seat and read, yet she couldn’t concentrate. Her thoughts always seemed to return to her husband.