Duke Herheart Final Read Online Free Page B

please not ‘Your Grace’ me just yet? My investiture is not for another ten days and I’d be quite happy being Lord Stafford or Captain Stafford until then.”
    “As you wish, My Lord.” He did not miss his proper butler’s reproving gaze.
    Michael took a deep breath and found the light scent of Jasmine floated on the air in the hall since the doors were still open. He had spotted the vine creeping up the arbor marking the entrance to the garden. It had been his mother’s favorite place on the property and he had ensured it was well tended in his absence. Like the stables, Michael had paid the garden particular attention in his directives. Bright blooms registered that indeed the gardeners had followed his instructions.
    With the hall empty save for his trusty retainer, Michael turned his attention to his butler. “Thorpe, I need a dress.”
    “A dress, My Lord?”
    “I know where. I can get it myself.” While he had not originally expected his first action upon returning home would be a visit to his deceased wife’s bedchamber, Michael’s very real and growing concern for small, bold Kathryn compelled him forward. His legs leaden, he forced himself to mount the stairs. He was completely unsurprised at the scene that met him in Catherine’s room. Her closet, untouched for years but for the maids’ infrequent attention, was largely empty. As it turned out, there were only two dresses hanging. He selected the brown muslin day dress, leaving an evening dress for a change of clothes. Michael found a valise and stuffed in the only pair of shoes left in the bare expanse of dressing room.
    18

    Duke of Her Dreams – Olivia Ritch

    Fumbling through half-empty drawers, he found two unmatched garters, old limp stockings and heaven forbid, a bodice that looked and felt like it could stop a speeding shot. The thought of his earthy American cinched up in that armor… Had he just thought of her as
    “his” American? Arrgh.
    Demmit. “Hallthorpe?” he bellowed.
    “Yes, My Lord.”
    “Er…yes…how did you get here so fast? Were you lurking after me?”
    “Yes, My Lord.”
    “Why?”
    “I thought you might…need me,” the man replied softly.
    “Thank you, no. I have much greater concerns at the moment. I need a fresh mount. I have to return to Wilton.”
    “Yes, My Lord.” He answered but he did not move. Michael could tell that Hallthorpe was expecting some form of explanation. They did have a more personal relationship beyond that of a Master and his butler.
    “There is a woman…a lady…”
    “ I see .”
    “It’s not like you see, Thorpe.” Michael resorted to the name he had called the butler since the time he was in short coats. “I came across a woman traveling alone, far from home and without proper clothing. She is lost. There seemed no one to help her but she slipped off while I went to find her appropriate attire. I mean to see her safe.”
    His repeated “I see” was infused with far more perception than Michael welcomed.

    * * * *
Thunder ate up the return distance much as Fury had on bringing him home. As the buildings of Wilton came back into view, Michael’s thoughts returned to their obsession with the wayward American. Where would she be hiding? What if she had taken the afternoon coach?
    “No, My Lord, no young ladies or lads on the coach today. Only two men and an older woman.” The Innkeeper at the Blue Bell shook his head. Michael was grateful this one was not the same scraggly youth who had been unaware of Kathryn earlier that morning.
    “Have you by chance seen a gentle lad dressed shabbily in his Father’s clothes?”
    “Well, yes, now you mention…odd fellow, excuse me, odd woman in truth asked for the road to London. Had no shoes on. I noticed special cause when he, umm she, quit the door, the taproom men stopped their yapping and stared. She was a piece, mind you. Hard to miss. No 19

    Duke of Her Dreams – Olivia Ritch

    mistakin’ her for a man even though she