“You were adorable, Simon. I’ve never seen you so flustered.”
“Adorable? I am not adorable, Harriet. I was simply doing what was required.”
“Of course,” Harriet said, her smile not fading in the slightest. “You were simply beingdutiful.”
“It is quite late. I suggest that you get some sleep, Duchess,” Simon turned on his heel, his mind racing for a way to extricate himself from this conversation.
But it seemed that the duchess was not yet done with the conversation. She followed him down the hallway, pacing to meet his rushed strides.
“I do not know why you are so bothered by this,” she called after him, “you know, you’re really quite good with Cathy. I think she likes you.”
Simon stopped abruptly, turning to face her with a scowl that was meant to be stern, but somehow lacked its usual sharpness.
“Harriet, you’re being ungrateful,” he said, trying to regain some measure of control over the situation. “I was trying to help you, and instead of thanking me, you’re mocking me.”
Harriet’s smile softened into something more sincere, though the amusement didn’t completely leave her eyes. She stepped closer to him.
“You’re right,” Harriet said, her voice quieter now, “I do appreciate what you did. It was very kind of you.”
Simon raised an eyebrow. “Then perhaps you should say ‘thank you’,” he said, “Are you familiar with those words?”
Harriet tilted her head, her lips curving into a smile. “Thank you, Simon,” she said.
There was something about the way she said it that made Simon’s pulse quicken.
He had thought she would have put up a bit more of a fight — as she usually did. Her earnestness had caught him off-guard.
They stood there, only inches apart, the space between them charged with an unspoken tension. Simon’s breath caught in his throat as he realized how close they were, how easily he could reach out and…
Simon abruptly stepped back, his usual composure snapping back into place. “You’re welcome.”
“I like when you are this way,” Harriet continued. “It shows me that there is gentler side to you, that you do not let come out nearly as often as you ought.”
Simon’s eyes narrowed slightly, his irritation rising, not at her words but at the effect they were having on him. “I am a duke, Harriet. My responsibilities do not usually include rocking babies to sleep.”
Harriet’s lips quirked into a half-smile. “And yet you did it so well. Perhaps you’re more than just a duke.”
Simon’s heart pounded in his chest, her words hitting closer to the mark than he was comfortable with.
Heneededto regain control of the situation. In a swift movement, he closed the distance between them.
“Harriet,” he said, his voice dropping to a low, serious tone, “I was only trying to help. You needed rest, and the baby needed comforting. Donotturn it into something it is not.”
“I was only sharing my opinion,” Harriet replied. “That is hardly a crime, Simon.”
“It is when your opinion is plainwrong,”Simon grunted.
Gentlenessand dukedom were two things that must never be uttered in the same sentence. That was what Simon had learned from his father, who in turn had learnt the same thing from his father.
“Is it really so bad to call a spade what it is?” Harriet continued on, oblivious to his internal monologue. “At the start, I was convinced that you lacked a soft side to your personality. You do a good job of concealing it. But now I see that…”
“That is enough, Harriet,” Simon muttered through gritted teeth. “Anyone listening to you speak in that manner about a duke will surely be shocked.”
“Are dukes somehow above being human, Simon?” she drew herself up, even though he towered over her with his tall frame.
He was close enough now that he could feel the warmth radiating from her.
Once again, close enough that all he had to do was lean in a little further and…
