“Be careful of that vase!” he said, realizing that, like him, she had also bumped into something in her haste.
He heard skirts swish as she whirled around. Then, the sound of breaking ceramic, accompanied by spilling water and a soft thud.
“Heavens! I am sorry. I didn’t see it in the dark!” she said.
“My fault entirely,” Nathan assured her, recovering his wits.
The surprise of the vase breaking must have made her jump, for suddenly her scent was filling his nostrils and he could sense her proximity. A sighted man would have offered a steadying arm, but he did not know exactly where she was or how she was standing. Trying to recover his wits and reassemble his mental image of where he stood in relation to the hallway and her, Nathan tried to step back, but once again bumped her. Instinctively, his arm went about her waist, hand settling briefly on her hip. She pressed against him, clearly unsteady. Her hip pressed against his own and her hand found his.
CHAPTERFIVE
For a moment, Gemma’s fingers were entwined with the Duke’s. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart raced. It made no sense to feel this excited. The man was a stranger to her and someone whom she was deceiving. But his face was handsome in an exotic way, as though he possessed the blood of oriental princes in his ancestry. He was tall and gave an aura of physical power. Gemma supposed that a blind man would seem to be disadvantaged, even weak because of his affliction, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Duke was the epitome of self-assurance and control. Until he bumped into his furniture and then her. The Duke looked down at her, as though he could see her. It was disconcerting to gaze into pale blue eyes that looked in her direction but were blind.
In the spur of the moment, she looked directly at him and then pursed her lips, blowing a silent kiss towards him. He chose that moment to smile and Gemma snatched her hand away, taking a step to separate herself from him.
He is blind. He said so. Can he see more than he allowed me to believe, perhaps? If so, that would be a dirty trick to play on a girl.
As would pretending to a blind man to be a house guest he was expecting. But she felt that she had good reason. Her cousins did not mean her well.
“Shall we proceed?” the Duke asked.
“Yes. I’d be delighted,” Gemma replied.
He nodded and took a deliberate step into the middle of the hallway before making a smart turn on his heels to the left and proceeding to stride away. Gemma hurried to keep up. She wondered at his unnatural movements until she realized that the center of the hallways, ofallthe hallways, was a clear straight line. No furniture was allowed to encroach upon it.
He was taking care to step into the clear path in the center and knows there will be nothing in his way. That is how he walks as though sighted.
“You must have a remarkable memory,” she said.
“How so?” the Duke replied.
“You have memorized this house,” Gemma observed.
“You’ve noticed, have you? But your father will have described how Hutton is laid out to very specific requirements. And the exercises I devised to improve my memory, simply so that I may walk the complex geography of my ancestral home without fear.”
“Yes. But it is quite something to see, nonetheless,” Gemma said, almost floundering.
“I thank you.”
Gemma bit back a question about the Duke’s marital status. It came to her as she saw more of the castle. There did not seem to be a strong female influence. For a man of his age and station, it struck her as unusual. Particularly because of his affliction. Surely such a man would seek out a wife, if only to aid him. But then the Duke did not seem to need aid. The route by which he led her to the Supper Room was complex. She could not believe that he could memorize it and thought that she herself would struggle to remember it, even though she could see every step. The supper room was at the summit of a long, spiral staircase of bare stone steps. Windows set into the outer wall were tall and narrow, set back in stone embrasures that seemed deep enough for two people to sit abreast. In each one, the lamplight fell on curious shapes made from the wood of various colors.
Gemma was about to comment on them when she reached the top of the staircase. It ended in the center of the floor of a circular room with a conical ceiling, supported by dark, wooden beams. The windows were larger and ringed the room. A modest fireplace held a merrily crackling fire. A table before the fire, its legs and edges carved in fine flowing detail, held silver trays and plates with a variety of food.
“It is extravagant but I have the servants prepare the room for supper every night, whether I partake or not. If not, they are free to enjoy the food, wine, and the fire as well as the comfort of this room. I believe Marshall, the butler, singles out those who have done excellent work and gives it to them as a reward.”
The Duke moved to a tall-backed chair and pulled it out from the table. Gemma sat and the Duke took a seat opposite her.
“This is a remarkable place.”
“Of course,” he grinned. “I do not believe you have ever set foot in Hutton Castle. Though your father knows it well.”
Gemma took a sip from a glass of ruby red wine. It tasted of fruit and had a flavor that was unexpectedly refreshing. She took another swallow. It helped to make her feel more relaxed, though she was afraid that this might not be a good thing. The fear of tripping herself up the longer she was in the Duke’s company was churning her insides. She felt a cold bead of sweat trickling down her back.
She looked across the table at the Duke, studying his face intently.
I should plead illness and ask to go back to my chambers. Then I can make my escape when the house is asleep. It does not matter what this man looks like. Or that when our hands touched, I felt as though my senses were on fire. Or that I believe he may be the most fascinating and exotic man I have ever met.
“Does my appearance please you? Some find it suspicious, because of the Turkish blood that runs in my veins from some five centuries ago.”
