Duchess by Chance(67)

“Did you ever have a puppy, Daniel?”

“No.”

“Nor did I.”

“So what are you going to call him?”

“Furban.”

“Perfect.” Daniel laughed so hard, the puppy woke. “But I insist he sleep somewhere other than your bedroom.”

“Of course. I shall have Wernham find just the place for him.” Eva rose to take the puppy back to his bed. “I had toffee today, Daniel, and I think it may surpass a Gunther’s ice as my favorite sweet,” she said when she returned.

“Eva, Wernham tells me you have misplaced your pendant.”

He watched the color leech from her cheeks as she nodded. “Yes. I’m so sorry, Daniel.” Guilt was written all over her face and he felt a chill run down his spine. Why was she lying to him again?

“Eva, where is your necklace?” His words were harsh but he was past caring. This time he wanted the truth.

“I…I have lost it, Daniel, as Wernham told you.”

She was hiding something and he was determined to find out what. “Eva - “

“I must get Molly to take Furban outside. Excuse me, Daniel.”

He watched her go, eyes narrowed in thought. Tonight she would be in his arms in his bed and he would not let her leave until she told him everything.





CHAPTER TWELVE





“Sssh, for pity’s sake, Eva, the actors will hear you.”

“Sorry, Claire, but you must admit he looks silly,” she whispered back.

“Silly? He looks like an overripe peach,” Claire added from her seat to Eva’s left.

“Sort of all hairy and fleshy, do you mean?”

Eva looked down at the actors again. This was her first play and she could not believe what was taking place around her. Not just the performance - which was actually not all that good - but the antics going on in the stalls below. People were screeching with laughter, some even throwing things at each other. Meanwhile, the actors were taking it all in their stride.

“His head could be the pip,” Lady Dunbar said. She and the Dowager Duchess were sitting to Eva’s right and Simon and Daniel were seated at the rear. Claire had at first been nervous about sitting so close to Daniel’s grandmother but the old lady had been surprisingly pleasant so far.

“Stone, I think you mean.”

“Thank you, Beatrice – yes, I did mean stone. However, now I think on it, I have yet to see a peach with a stone on its head.”

“May I suggest melon as a substitute?” Simon offered over Claire’s shoulder before turning his attention back to a discussion he was having with the Daniel.

Eva heard the word Bonaparte and Wellington then little else.

“No, but thank you, Simon, melon suggests round and smooth,” Eva said.

The women turned their eyes to the stage. Round and smooth were definitely not words to describe the actor.

“Orange?” Simon proffered.

“No,” the four women said simultaneously.

“Pear?”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous, Simon,” Claire scoffed.

“Accept my apologies, Miss Belton. I had not understood the gravity of the conversation,” Simon replied in a deep drawl.

Eva was pleased to see Simon and Claire had formed a truce and were being scrupulously polite to each other, although perhaps a little too polite, she thought, studying the glint in her friend’s eyes.#p#分页标题#e#

“Are you enjoying your first theatre experience, Duchess?”

Eva shivered as the deep words tickled her ear. Turning, she looked at her husband. He had known she was lying earlier today when he questioned her about her pendant and guilt had nearly made her confess but fear had kept her quiet. Fear that he would turn away from her, that what they had found would be gone forever, had made her remain silent and walk away from him.

The feel of his fingers on her cheek made tears sting behind her eyes. He deserved the truth from her, yet she was too much of a coward to tell him.

Eva looked at the stage while she listened to her friends discussing and dismissing various varieties of fruit. What had she done to deserve so much happiness? And how would she cope if Daniel was taken from her? Never had she cared for another person like she did her husband and it terrified her to realize that without him she would be lost.

“Don’t frown, Eva. Wrinkles will come in their own time - there is no need to aid them.”

“Sorry, Claire,” Eva ignored the snort of humor from her husband. However, she could not ignore his hand as his fingers lightly brushed the back of her neck. Giving herself a mental shake, she once again refocused on the stage.

“What have you called the puppy?” Claire asked.