It would seem Miranda would have to pry any information she wanted from the lady’s maid. “May I ask who?”
Green cleared her throat, casting her eyes to the Axminster. “It is His Grace, of course, madam.”
The scoundrel.
He had settled her into the bedchamber beside his, as if he were already anticipating her capitulation. As if she were his mistress, joining him for the week’s revelries. As if they were as familiar with each other as man and woman could be.
Green’s ill-concealed embarrassment made sudden, awful sense. She believed Miranda was a woman of ill repute.
“I see,” she forced out, struggling to keep her expression unconcerned. “Tell me, Green, is this sort of arrangement customary for the duke?”
The lady’s maid squirmed. “I couldn’t say, Mrs. Loveless. I’m new to Wingfield Hall, I am. Was brought on to be a lady’s maid just three days ago. It doesn’t show, does it? I was happy to take this situation, I was.”
That also explained the girl’s desire to please.
It would seem that the Duke of Whitby had hired Green specifically to be her lady’s maid. Just as he had procured a small yet costly wardrobe for Miranda. Just as he had cleverly maneuvered himself into the chamber next door to hers.
“Of course not, Green,” she reassured the younger woman. “I would have suspected you had years of experience.”
Green beamed, dipping into another curtsy. “Oh, thank you, madam. Please know I’ll have discretion in…all that transpires. I will bid you good evening.”
With that, she disappeared, leaving Miranda alone with her thoughts.All that transpires indeed, she thought with a nettled sigh.
Whitby’s earlier words returned, echoing in her mind.You ought to never trust me. Not completely.
Well, he certainly hadn’t been wrong about that. She was fast learning she had underestimated her opponent. Like any goodchess player, the duke had swiftly and cunningly maneuvered her into a position of great danger. But this would not be checkmate, she vowed.
She would simply have to prove to him she was not a woman who could easily be wooed. Because she wasn’t. Her disastrous marriage and the scandal of her divorce had left her without choice. She could not indulge in an affair with the seductively handsome Duke of Whitby. The unwise urges that boiled to the surface whenever she was in his presence could and would be controlled.
Her tenuous future depended upon it.
CHAPTER 5
With a deep breath, Miranda emerged from her room, half expecting Whitby to be awaiting her there. But the hall was empty. Not even a servant in sight. Which made Miranda painfully aware of the fact that she didn’t know her way around Wingfield Hall. Good heavens, she wasn’t even certain she could find her way to the dining room.
At least she knew how to reach the staircase. She made haste in moving in that direction, but a familiar voice at her back had her halting.
“Going somewhere?”
She turned to find the duke sauntering toward her in a leisurely prowl that was at once both smug and elegant. He had the unhurried gait of a man who knew he commanded the attention of every eye in a room.
In this case, hers, and not just because he had called out, staying her progress. But because he was the most compelling man she had ever beheld. He was dressed in evening black, interrupted only by the slash of a crisp white shirt and matching necktie. His golden hair shone in the lamplight, looking soft, the waves falling naturally over his brow, as if he had run his fingers through the strands.
Oddly, her own fingers itched to run through his hair too.
“Your Grace,” she forced herself to greet him, clinging to formality in sheer desperation. “Good evening to you. I was attempting to find dinner.”
“I see my timing is excellent, then.” He executed a bow that felt somehow like the prelude to something far more intimate than what next ensued as the duke strode forward, offering her his arm. “I shall be pleased to escort you there.”
She eyed his proffered elbow dubiously. “You need not squire me about as if I’m a lady.”
He raised a brow at that. “Youarea lady.”
“I am a businesswoman,” Miranda countered sternly. “One you hired to please your guests.”
The duke took her hand and settled it on his arm. “I’m far too selfish and greedy for that. I hired you to please me.”
She stiffened.
