The ladies would probably think him touched in the head. But one or two might understand the value of this knowledge and listen with interest. Was it not worth testing out? She decided to goad him into a wager. “Oh, I think most of them will.”
She was not goading him for the purpose of exchanging money since she had none to exchange and would not be tossing it on a wager even if she had enough to spend on such frivolities.
He shook his head as though not hearing her right. “What?”
“I think most of them will be fascinated by the use you put to those orange peels.”
He laughed heartily. “Harry, are you having me on? None of them will care a whit about their agricultural efficiency. Shall we place a wager on it?”
She nodded. “Yes, I am all in. However, I haven’t anything to wager. You know I came to you penniless.”
“That’s right. I’m sorry. I was not thinking.” He cast her a remorseful look. “It needn’t be a money wager, Harry. If you win, I shall help you clean the little chapel in the woods.”
She inhaled lightly in surprise, for this was a better outcome than she thought possible. “And if you win?”
“You must let me teach you to ride. My grandmother has several old riding habits that you can easily alter to fit you, so you have no reason to decline this bet.”
“Frankly, I do not see any risk to me. I would love to learn how to ride, but…” She cast him an impish smile. “I would love even more to see you scrubbing the chapel floor. Are we agreed that you must do it and not merely assign it to your scullery maids?”
“Hah! I knew there was a cruel streak in you,” he teased.
“Oh, do not say that. I will be on my knees scrubbing right alongside you,” she assured him because she wasn’t really going to make him do it all on his own.
He would not have to do it at all if he won the bet.
“You would work alongside me?”
She nodded.
His smile was tender as he held out his hand, expecting her to shake it. “Are we agreed then?”
She placed her hand in his, denying the tingles that shot through her as he closed his hand around hers. His were not the hands of a gentleman but a laborer, slightly roughened. Big hands that were firm but gentle in their grip. “Agreed. Get out your bucket and scrub brush, Your Grace.”
“Oh, no,” he said, his grin wide. “It is you who must get out your needle and thread to alter the old riding habit.”
They both had a chuckle over the wager before moving on to the lemon trees. The duke surprised her by leaning close, so that his nose was inches from her neck, and breathing in the scent of her skin. “That’s what I noticed on you. Lemon.”
She nodded. “It’s in the elegant Farthingale soap Mrs. Watkins provided for me. Isn’t it a lovely fragrance?”
He nodded. “Smells nice on you.”
She had purchased one of those luxurious soaps years ago while on a visit to Oxford with her brother, but that was in happier times when he was healthy and they could afford an occasional frivolity.
There was more to peruse in the conservatory, but the duke cut short their tour because his guests would soon be rising and he had to ready himself for the day. “I wish I could spend more time with you, Harry. But duty calls.”
“Of course. You have been quite generous with me.”
“A pleasure, I assure you. What do you plan to do today? Would you like me to include you in any—”
“Oh, not yet. Please, I am in no way ready to be introduced to anyone. I’ll have plenty to do sewing hems and taking in seams on the gowns your grandmother will lend to me.”
“Not lend, they shall be yours to keep. Ah, now you look pained.”
“Because it is unnecessarily generous,” she explained.
“And I have now made you feel like a charity case,” he muttered. “It isn’t my intention. In truth, it is very little to give you. How else am I to repay your brother for saving my life? Beingbrothersin arms has a meaning, Harry. It makes you a part of my family. And should a man not look after his family?”
She nodded.
