A thundercloud passed over the Duke’s brow. “And that is precisely why I so vehemently objected to you doing this in the first place.” He put his arm gently around Mona’s shoulder. “It isn’t safe for young ladies like you to be out in this crowd alone. The two men are not the only drunks here. When the wine flows freely, there will be more unruly behaviour as the day progresses.” He looked up directly at Theo. “Which is why you, Achilles, and Hector are to accompany her and remain next to her for the remainder of the fair.”
“Yes sir,” Les and Hecki said in unison.
“Can we buy some sausages? We’re starving!” Les said.
Lena nodded. “Of course.” She gave each of the children a few coins. “Spend it well.”
“Famos!” They disappeared into the crowd.
The Duke watched Lena, and she imagined seeing a fleeting look of tenderness cross his face as he looked down on her. She blinked, looked away, looked back again, but now his face was neutral. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“And you?” she asked. “Are you hungry?”
He shook his head. “Frau Bauer has been feeding me all morning.”
They made their way through the fair. “I didn’t know you left with them this morning. I thought that maybe you’d gone to town to do some work.”
“Adam asked me if I could help him set up the stall.” He frowned as he took Lena’s arm to help her over a puddle.
“I confess I did not think you had it in you, Your Grace,” Lena said. “I think you have earned the respect of the entire family today. And Mona has begun to idolise you.”
A smile flitted over his face so quickly that Lena thought she must have imagined it. “Nonsense. Now. Shall we have a look at those stalls over there?”
“They selllebkuchen, too,” Lena said. “But they must not be as good as ours, since there is still an entire basket full of them left. How did you sell them, by the by?”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult at all. I firststudied the price at which everyone else sold them, and then I decided to lower the price of ours. They went away almost immediately.”
Lena laughed. “So that was your secret. You gave them away for almost free.”
Once more, he nearly smiled. “Not for free. It would never occur to me to give away something you made with your own hands for free.”
Their eyes met. Her stomach flipped. Her heart began to pound. Blinking rapidly, Lena looked away quickly.
“I’m glad you came,” she said, shyly.
He nodded gruffly. “I’m glad to be here.”
Chapter Nineteen
In terms of personality—Catherine,Helena, Lena—this woman remained an enigma to him. How could this vibrant, chaotic woman, now leaning on the kitchen table with her elbows, teaching her son—his son, by Jove! He had a son! He still did not comprehend it—with unruly strands of hair tumbling over her cheeks and lips, dressed in an ill-fitting, patched gown worn by servants—how could she possibly be the same timid, fragile little thing he had once married, who shrank away every time he looked at her?
Physically they were identical. That is, if one ignored the way they were dressed. Catherine would never have worn stained linen aprons. It was as if there was a stranger inside the body of Catherine. Her entire demeanour had changed.
Even though he understood the reason for it, it perplexed him to no end.
Lena usually met his gaze in a straightforward, calm way. He often found her looking at him, mostlythoughtful and puzzled and with the kind of caution one approached the ice of a frozen lake, as if she couldn’t decide if she could trust it to carry her.
He wasn’t used to that.
She blew her hair out of her face as she leaned over the table, leaning on her elbows, giving him a good view of her shapely bottom.
His body tensed, and he tried to look away but found himself unable to.
She was beautiful. She always had been, of course, but the years had added a sense of womanliness and quiet confidence that had been lacking when she was younger.
He swallowed.
“No Hecki. Not thirteen. You forgot to carry over the number, here. Try again.” She pointed to a figure on the slate. She had chalk on her finger, on her nose, on her forehead, and ah! Now she was rubbing her eyebrows, smearing the chalk over those too.
