Romance: Regency Romance: In Bed With The Duke (A Regency Romance) Read Online Free Page A

delicate underthings. She laced my bodice and helped me into the exquisite dress that the Duke had sent. I had never worn silk before, and the feel of the expensive fabric on my skin gave me another stab of guilt. The Duke had been so generous, and not just to me. I wondered what the dress Sophie had been given looked like, but I didn’t ask. Mary buttoned the final closure on the dress and pulled the long gloves up my slender arms. The gloves sat loosely at my elbows, clinging to my forearms perfectly. I sat down at the dressing table and fastened my garnet cross around my neck. Sophie took her place beside me and began to curl my hair with her tongs. Her hair always looked perfect, so I was glad to have her help.
     
    Sophie chattered gaily as she curled, braided and tucked my hair into an elaborate style that she often wore to the dances and balls we attended together. I watched in the mirror as Sophie wound the garnet ribbon through my dark curls, and her quick fingers pulled at the fat ringlets in front of my ears. I smiled at her in the mirror and she returned it. She placed her hands gently on my shoulders and leaned forward, her gaze holding mine in the mirror.
     
    “So, shall we go down to dinner, Mrs. Rutledge?” I patted her hand and rose from the table.
     
    “Yes, Mrs. Charles, I believe I may be famished.” Sophie smiled and wound her arm through mine. I was hungry; I had been starved for company, for love, affection, for conversation… I had been wasting away since George had left but I hadn’t known what was the matter with me.
     
    As Sophie and I walked the halls she pointed out various portraits on the walls – all of His Grace’s royal relatives stared down at us with stern faces and I couldn’t help but shudder as I felt the judgement in their gaze. Despite the level of my birth, I was so far below these great men and women that I felt even more out of place, even in this fine dress, and being here at the Duke’s invitation. I wondered what her Majesty would think of the Duke’s antics in the country and a small smile crept across my face. Perhaps it was better not to think about that sort of thing.
     
    We walked into the dining room together and I stopped in my tracks. I had heard the chatter from the room echoing down the hall, but stepping into the room was an entirely different experience. The Duke had made good on his work to support and care for the women in the village who were without protection – there were more than thirty women of varying ages and even some children.
     
    “How many rooms are in this place?” I asked Sophie quietly, but she didn’t reply. When I looked at her and asked the question again, I realized that she had dropped to the ground in a deep curtsey. I spun around, my heart in my throat.
     
    The Duke had joined us for dinner.     
     

Chapter 6
     
    I gasped audibly and dropped to the ground, instantly furious with Sophie for not warning me of the Duke’s arrival. My face burned with shame, and I could only hope that the Duke was feeling generous when it came to a social faux pas in his own house. I felt the touch of a gloved hand on my shoulder and I dared to look up. My eye met the gaze of the man I could only guess was the Duke. His hair was thick and dark, swept forward towards his face, accentuating the leonine shape of his face. He was beautiful. 
     
    “Mrs. Rutledge,” he smiled down at me, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. “I’m so happy to see you, feeling more like yourself.” He held out his gloved hand to me and I touched my fingertips to his. He raised me gently to my feet and placed his lips gently against the fabric of my gloves. Brazen. I blushed harder. “You look lovely in silk, it’s so nice to be right.” His eyes were dark blue, almost sapphire. He was waiting for me to say something, everyone was waiting.
     
    “I... I…  I’ve never worn silk before, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever touched.