For Love of the Duke(86)
His seat slid backward along the wood floor, as though he were a moment away from leaping from his seat, and fleeing the room like the hounds of hell were after him. The muscle in the corner of Jasper’s eye ticked.
Lizzie reached for his free hand and tugged. “Bear,” she said, a bit louder this time.
“Lizzie, come here,” Aldora called, shooting an apologetic glance at Jasper, who remained stoically silent through the exchange.#p#分页标题#e#
He finally dropped his gaze to Lizzie.
She jabbed a finger at his plate. “I have your cake.”
Jasper’s frown deepened, and Katherine made to rise and go to the girl. But Jasper reached for his Shrewsbury cake and handed it over.
Lizzie accepted the sugary dessert with a wide-toothed smile. “Thank you,” she said, and proceeded to scramble onto Jasper’s lap.
Aldora gasped. “I am so sorry, Your Grace.” She rose, and hurried to retrieve her daughter but Lizzie burrowed against Jasper’s chest She smattered flaky white bits of crumb onto his immaculate black jacket. Aldora shot a questioning glance between Michael and Katherine, and then back to Jasper. “Lizzie, come here.”
The little girl took another bite of Shrewsbury cake. She shook her head, and a brown curl fell over her eye. “No. Bear,” she insisted.
Jasper sat immobile, as though he’d been turned to granite. His hand came up, hovered about Lizzie, and Katherine thought he intended to turn the girl over to Aldora’s care.
Then, he rested his fingers atop Lizzie’s crown of brown curls, and gave an awkward pat.
The last tiny sliver of her unguarded heart gave way, and fell into Jasper’s hands.
Lizzie grinned around a mouthful of cake. “Bear,” she said again.
Jasper reminded himself to breathe. He counted to ten. When that proved ineffectual, he counted another ten. And another.
He dug his toes into the soles of his boots to keep from upending the girl and tearing from the dining room like a madman escaped from Bedlam. Then, isn’t that what he was? The Mad Duke.
How else could he account for the alarm roused by this small slip of a child?
The girl, Lizzie, reminded him of his loss. He closed his eyes a moment and willed Lydia’s face to the surface.
But it would not come.
He clenched and unclenched his jaw and accepted the staggering truth—Katherine had weaved her way into his every thought, and had dispelled the memories he’d held most dear.
In the course of a fortnight, he’d thrown aside his vow to remain unwed and celibate. And now, a short while after spilling his seed inside Katherine, he partook in a Christmas Eve sup.
Katherine caught his gaze and smiled. She raised a spoonful of plum pudding to her lips. Her mouth closed over the small bite. A faint remnant clung to her full, lower lip. He wanted to go over and kiss the mark away. Then the tip of her tongue darted out and captured the small dab of pudding.
Small fingers still caked with Shrewsbury cake tugged at Jasper’s jacket, recalling his attention.
“Bear?”
He swallowed and looked down at Lizzie. “Yes?”
The small child possessed the courage and boldness of her aunt, for she grinned up at him. “Sing.”
He’d rather lob off his right arm than sing before this table of strangers and his delectable wife.
Jasper shook his head. “No.”
Her lower lip quivered. “S-sing.”
Jasper glowered. “No,” he said this time with more firmness.
Tears welled in her very familiar, warm brown eyes. A sudden image filled his mind. Katherine as a small girl with the same brown curl hung over her innocent wide-eyed stare. His mind went numb with a longing for the dream Lizzie represented.
“P-please, Bear,” she said on a trembling whisper.
Oh, for the love of Christ in heaven and all his blasted saints.
“Lord Redford loved his cards,
He played them all the time,
Wagered land and all his wealth,
And lost them to Lord Grimes.”#p#分页标题#e#
As his slightly discordantly sung ditty ended, an uncomfortable pall fell across the table. The little girl clapped at his feeble attempt at song. In the thick blanket of discomfort, it occurred to Jasper the enormity of the song he’d just sung to little Lizzie.
Jasper’s eyes found Katherine, who sat, shoulders squared, head at an awkward angle.
My father was a wastrel. He spent his days and nights at the gaming tables, and indulging in spirits, and he squandered everything not entailed.
Bloody hell, he could not even do this right.
He shifted the bundle in his arms and made to set Lizzie down but she tugged at his arm.
“Again. Again,” she urged.
Aldora rushed over, and Jasper was never more grateful to see another person in his life. He handed off the two-foot burden to her waiting arms. “Your Grace,” she murmured, her gaze averted.