Looking her over again, Daniel disagreed. The pale blue was perfect with her dark hair and creamy complexion.
“Simon has called.” Daniel directed Eva into the front parlor where Simon was seated, or rather, lounging, in a comfortable chair. In one hand he held a cup of tea and in the other a huge piece of cake.
“Make yourself at home, Kelkirk,” Daniel drawled, lowering his wife into a seat before taking the place beside her.
“Always have excellent cake here,” Simon said. “Hello, Duchess, you are looking fetching today.”
“Thank you, Simon.”
They drank and talked and Eva told Simon about Reggie going away to school and what they had seen since she arrived in London.
“So London is not the horrible city you envisaged it to be, Duchess?”
“I shall reserve judgment until I meet some of its inhabitants.”
“Fair enough,” Simon said, standing. “And now I am full, I shall leave you. Goodbye, Duchess.” He gave Eva a kiss on the cheek, which made her blush.
“Lord Kelkirk is a very nice man, Daniel,” she said when he had left.
“He has his moments.” Daniel got up to shut the door.
“I’m glad he’s your friend.”
Taking her cup, Daniel placed it on the tray and then he opened the buttons of her pelisse and slipped two fingers into the neckline of her dress to caress her soft flesh.
“Daniel!”
He took her lips for a thorough kiss that left Eva breathless and wanting more. He then buttoned her pelisse back up and placed her on the chair opposite his.
“Tell me of your shopping exhibition, Eva,” Daniel said, drawing in a deep, steadying breath. The woman was a walking siren.
“Sh-shopping?”
He laughed as she struggled to compose herself. It was no different for him - just breathing her scent had him hard as a table leg.
“With my grandmother…today,” he prodded.
“Oh, yes, of course,” Eva smoothed her hair and skirts. Daniel had never touched her like that in daylight. She wondered why he had now. “Your grandmother told me I had a responsibility to the dukedom and dressing like a maiden aunt was not taking that responsibility seriously. She then dragged me from shop to shop until she was satisfied I would be dressed as befitted a duchess.”
“Did she? Never has had any tact. Half of London is terrified of her, you know.” Daniel swallowed a small piece of cake and immediately reached for another.
“She talked of balls and dances and what I would need to learn.” Eva sighed. “And corrected me constantly over my bearing and address.”
“Shall I tell her to leave you alone?”
“Of course not!” Eva looked indignant. “It was rather sweet having someone care about those things, even if she is a little brusque.”
Daniel choked on his cake.
“A small, rosy-cheeked child is sweet, Eva, not my grandmother.”
“She is my grandmother now, too,” Eva picked up her parcels, preparing to leave the room. “And as I do not have another yardstick with which to measure her, I will call her sweet if I wish to.”
“That is, of course, your prerogative, however misguided.” Daniel rose as she did. “I will be in my office with my man of affairs for awhile, Eva. Apparently I have been neglecting things since my return to London.”
“Then I shall finish the letters I started before your grandmother descended and will see you later, Daniel.”
He watched her leave the room. The changes in her over the past two weeks were vast. She now felt comfortable around him, she laughed more freely and he believed she no longer feared him. However, it was only because of her upbringing that she could believe his grandmother was sweet.
