“Not at all. I came to see you, actually.”
“Me?” he questioned, his brows coming together slightly, putting together a face Nora was not sure she could refer to as a frown. “Why?”
Nora restrained herself from rolling her eyes at his empty tone, holding up her basket.
“I’ve come to thank you. Regardless of my initial… reluctance to receive your assistance, it was truly a godsend that you were there that night. I cannot imagine what would have happenedif you had not turned up when you did. Thank you very much, Your Grace.”
He waved a hand dismissively.
“It was barely anything. And in any case, it is my duty to protect you. Had I known such a treat existed, I would have handled it before he made his way to you.”
His words were ominous, and they sent a shiver down Nora’s spine at the thought of what they might mean. But instead of worrying about that, she stepped closer to the desk he was seated at.
“As a token of my gratitude, I have brought you fresh pastries, baked by my family’s cook. They are simply exquisite. Easily some of the best I have ever had.” She said, lifting her basket and placing it on the table.
His eyes dropped to the obstacle she had placed before his document and then back up to her as he stated dryly,
“I see. You did not have to do so. As I said, it really was no –”
“Did I mention that our cook studied in France for ten years? His dream was to open a pastry shop of his own after he had learned long enough under his teacher. But just as his final year of tutelage was nearly completed, his mother passed away. He had to use the money he had saved up for her funeral arrangement, rather than opening his shop. He was devastated and aloneafterwards, and he did not know what to do, so he came to London looking for work. And somehow, he found himself at our door just as our former cook had been fired. Is that not a wonderful tale?”
The duke’s lips parted, and his left eye twitched. Then he pursed his lips for a moment, and then he told her,
“If you say so. Is there anything else you needed?”
Perhaps he was not the kind to get sentimental about the life story of a stranger he had never crossed paths with and could not fathom an ounce of concern about.
“I just… I thought we could have some of these together with some tea. I miss my brother dearly, and it often gets quite lonely without him at home. Please?” Nora stuttered, hoping he would not throw her out regardless.
There was a long moment of silence before he sighed and said,
“Ask for a pot of tea, then.”
Nora clapped her hands and ran to the door to flag down a servant.
A few minutes later, she found herself facing the duke once more as tea was served to them, a platter of the baked goods she had brought along taking up the center of the table.
“That is… quite a spread,” he observed, stirring honey into his tea.
Nora felt bashful for some reason and cleared her throat.
“I was not sure which you would like, so I simply put together a selection, in hopes that something might suit your tastes.”
The duke looked down at the platter and said,
“You should not have bothered. I do not particularly care for sweets.”
She felt her spirit deflate. “Oh. But… they’re not all – I did not think –”
“Clearly,” he sighed, reaching for a blueberry muffin. “But your efforts are to be commended. Next time, make inquiries before you carry out needless actions.”
It was strange. She could not tell if he was trying to be comforting or insulting, so she settled on the latter because she knew he did not care in the slightest about her feelings.
“I see. I will do that next time, then. I apologize for being a tad… thoughtless.” She paused, deciding to provoke sadness out of him through this medium. “I have to admit, I have been rather confused since my engagement ended. I have tried to keep my spirits up and look forward in a bid to move past it, but it has been quite difficult.”
When he said nothing, she went on, “You see, I met Tobias at a flower shop. Cecil and I take flowers to our mother’s grave every month, and that day, he was too busy to accompany me. I said I could handle such a menial task on my own, but that day, I had decided to get her two bouquets. She loved white lilies, but I wanted something else that would brighten up her grave. And when I got there, he was also buying flowers for a relative – living. He saw me in a fit of indecision and suggested I pick some hydrangeas after I explained who the flowers were for. He then told me I could pick a new kind of flower every time I wished to add an extra bouquet, because it would please my mother to receive random gifts like that. It was one of the sweetest, kindest things anyone had ever said to me.
“I never thought I would see him again, but I met him the following month at the flower shop. This time, I was with Cecil, and Tobias expressed his interest to court me to my brother. He was… always such a gentleman. He seemed loving and thoughtful, ever mindful of me and my feelings. I thought I was in love, and when he proposed, I was overjoyed. I expected I would have been married at the end of the last season. Then I found out about his unfaithfulness, and I had to end things. It was… the hardest thing I’ve had to do.”
