A Duke for Christmas Read Online Free Page A

us too soon,” he said earnestly. “I know, had he lived longer, we all would have been the better for it. Not just you, his loving wife, and I, his dearest friend, but the world will suffer from the loss of his talents, whether it knows it or not.”
    “Yes,” she said, moved more for his sake than for her own. “I shall do what I can to bring his work to the world.”
    “Then you mean to proceed with publication?”
    “If I can. I owe it to his memory.”
    He raised her hands to his chest and pressed them there. “If I can be of any assistance in this great work, I pray ... I beg ... you will call upon me. Though you kept Broderick’s heart, I feel I had some insight into the workings of his mind. I would gladly give all my time to your aid.”
    With an effort, she freed her captive hands. “You’re too kind, Mr. Knox. I have your address in town. If I need your help, be assured I shall call for it.”
    Sophie became aware that Dominic waited for her. With a bright smile that belied her true feelings, she said good-bye to Mr. Knox. Picking up one of her valises, she motioned to the two Italian girls to follow her. “Andiamo, mia ragazzi. Follow the gentleman.”
    Dominic seemed to be scanning the faces of the dockside idlers. “Ah, there he is,” he said. “And he’s brought a barrow for your baggage.”
    “Your servant?” she asked, eyeing the ragtag figure approaching.
    “No, but I’m considering attaching him to my service. He’s an unusual character. I’d best not, though. He’d give my valet an apoplexy.”
    Strange to walk arm-in-arm with anyone but Broderick. Dominic Swift was much taller than her late husband, and Sophie was surprised to find how comforting it was to press through a crowd with him. His care to guard her from the carelessness of passing strangers was equaled by his ability to do so. No one had ever stepped aside for Broderick, no matter how he swaggered. But roads seemed to open when Dominic came near and it couldn’t be that everyone knew who he was. He wasn’t that famous.
    She kept her eyes upon the two girls, smiling at them reassuringly whenever they looked back. Angelina was rolling her eyes from side to side like a frightened horse, amazed and frightened by strange sights, sounds, and smells. Lucia also looked around her, but, as had been true from the start of their acquaintance, it was with lively curiosity and the most intense desire to acquire knowledge. Before them, as if leading a procession, came the beached sailor, pushing the barrow and keeping up a constant commentary as if he’d appointed himself guide and preceptor to the two foreigners, little though they might understand.
    It seemed a long way to the inn. She had cause to be glad of Dom’s arm. “I am not accustomed to walking more than the length of the deck,” she panted at the top of a hill. “I had no notion I was so out of condition.”
    “Do you still feel the motion of the boat?”
    “Not so much, though I should be glad to sit down. And, oh, a cup of tea. Real tea. I’ve been dreaming of it every night.”
    “Don’t they have tea in Italy?”
    She peeped up at him suspiciously. Was he laughing at her? His face remained grave but there was a smile in his voice.
    “Yes, they do. But it’s rather expensive and somehow never tastes right. I think it’s the water in Rome.”
    His smile broke through his reserve. “I think the Golden Hind will run to a cup of tea. Perhaps even an entire pot.”
    “Then let’s hurry.” Having caught her breath, she tried to pull him along. She might as well have tried to pull the Attendez Moi, though he consented to move at last with a resigned smile upon his face.
    When she reached her bedchamber, the landlady was there, stripping the sheets off the bed. “Oh, I beg your pardon,” Sophie said, hesitating on the threshold.
    “You are Mrs. Banner? That valet told me to change your linen. As if sheets in my house are ever damp!”
    She stood with her