“That is fine. He has a lot to tend to. You can go on with your duties, Albert, I am sure we can carry on without you,” the dowager said. Albert bowed and walked away, leaving the duchess and Selina alone.
The dowager led Selina to the music room. “I’ll go find Barbara so I can introduce you two.”
The dowager did not wait for Selina to answer, rushing off and leaving her alone.
She stood there for a moment, her words abandoned on her tongue.Well... I guess I will just have to wait here.
She looked around the spacious room for the first time.Must be great for acoustics.
Her eyes widened when they caught sight of a giant harp in the corner.Goodness, the Duke truly is affluent.
Selina admired the harp and as she moved closer to inspect it, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. Thinking it was the Dowager Duchess returning, she stood up, facing the door to greet Barbara.
However, it occurred to her as the footsteps drew closer to the door that they did not sound like the dowager’s footsteps which she had come to recognize.
There were also no accompanying footsteps to tell that the person approaching had a companion. The footfalls were also too heavy to belong to a little girl.
Her brows furrowed as she wondered who it could possibly be. Perhaps a servant coming to bring her refreshments?
Her question was soon answered as a man appeared in the doorway. It took all her self-control to keep her jaw from falling open.
He was very tall and broad, easily filling up the doorway. It was quite domineering. His countenance was that of someone not to be messed with. If not for that, he was quite handsome.
He wore a rather scary look on his face and he almost seemed disdainful. She stood like a deer coming face to face with a hunter as he regarded her, looking down at her like she was worth less than a page stained with ink.
“Excuse me, miss. Who are you?” he asked in a voice that matched the very description of him despite the politeness of his speech.
Selina curtsied. She was not certain who he was, but from his look, she assumed he was the Duke.
“My name is Selina Knight, Your Grace...” Selina had hoped that he would let her know who he was with her open-ended sentence but instead he looked out the door and back at her, his expression one of confusion.
“Pray tell, how did you get in here?” he asked instead, dismissing her indirect way of asking for his name.
Selina was slightly irritated by the tone he took with her. Why was he speaking to her as though she was a thief who had been caught in the act?
“I do not quite like your tone,” Selina said defensively. “I am the companion of the Dowager Duchess and I was brought in here by the butler.”
He raised his eyebrows, clearly not liking her response either.Good! He should have thought of that before speaking to me in such a manner.
“My tone, you say? Well pardon me for not taking kindly to finding a stranger in my own home,” he replied, not backing down.
Of course, he was the Duke. So, this was what the dowager meant when she said he could come across as prickly and cold. Right now, however, Selina was certain he was indeed being quite cold and that this was not just a misunderstanding on her path.
Selina frowned as she thought it seemed exactly what he intended.
“If you say that you are here as my grandmother’s companion, then what are you doing here all alone and why are you not with her? I would assume you would be in the presence of your companion, especially in a strange place, would you not?” he quizzed.
“Goodness!” she uttered sarcastically. “My apologies, Your Grace. I did not realize that I was to be at her side on a leash as she dragged me across your estate in search of your little sister.”
Selina knew that there was a bite in her voice. She had promised the dowager that she would be understanding, but she could not help it especially since he was so vexing. The man was getting on her nerves like no one else had.
Selina understood that she was a stranger and no one was fond of meeting strangers in their home. However, she had already told him who she was and instead of antagonizing her, he could have left her alone and waited for his grandmother to return.
He could have chosen to do so many things that would take him away from the same room as her while he verified that she was who she claimed to be, but he had done none of that.
She tried hard not to appear smug at the look of surprise on his face as he cocked his head to the side and regarded her incredulously with dark blue eyes. The Duke was clearly not used to being talked to in the way that she had spoken to him.
During their little squabble, Selina had been fighting a thought she simply could not get out of her head. Perhaps it added to the reason she was so irritated by him.
