He pinched the bridge of his nose, aware that he was fighting a losing battle, but he had to try. “Don’t you have a care for your reputation? You know things are a lot more complicated in polite society. If you were discovered at my townhouse without a proper chaperone?—”
“It means little to me since we are to be married.” She quirked a brow at him. “Our understanding is still valid, is it not?”
“Of course, but I feel it would be safer for?—”
She went on as if he hadn’t spoken at all. “I will need something appropriate for traipsing about Mayfair, and since I have no idea where my trunks have gone, I leave it up to you to take care of that.”
With that, she moved to stand by Amos, as if they were a united front and Dominic was the single one who was setting his foot down on the subject.
However, when Amos just shrugged, Dominic realized that he truly was overruled. “Fine,” he snapped, determined to have the last word. “But you do not stray from my sight.”
She smiled in a brilliant manner, her lashes fluttering almost innocently when he knew the opposite was true. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere other than at your loving side.”
As Dominic escorted his “nun” back out of the Crown & Sceptre, leaving Amos behind in case there were any further developments, they returned to the cottage without further incident. He gathered a few things he might need for the journey back to the heart of London and after Lexie had changed into the same torn gown she’d worn when she’d arrived, they set out for Mayfair. By that time, some of his frustration had subsided.
In the hired hackney, Dominic sat back against the squabs. “Come here.” He was glad that she didn’t hesitate but moved across the seat to lie in the crook of his arm. “How long have we known each other?” he mused aloud.
There was a pause, and then Lexie gave a light laugh. “You know, I have no idea, but it seems like forever, doesn’t it?”
“Indeed.” A smile tugged at his lips. “It has been an adventure, to say the least.”
“Our odd courtship can be stories that we tell our grandchildren someday.”
He heard the teasing tone in her voice, but something aboutthe image of his estate filled with their grown children and the next generation of the Eastland line struck a chord in him that caused a bit of bittersweet melancholy. “I always imagined my brother, Edmund, with that sort of future. Sometimes it seems that I stripped him of the joy he was meant to have.”
Lexie stirred at his side and then her blue eyes were looking at him with empathy. “That’s not fair to say. You did not steal anything from your brother. He died, and there was nothing you could do to prevent it.”
“I wonder if that were true,” he mused aloud. “Granted, I could not cure him of the illness that struck him, but perhaps I could have prevented my father’s mistreatment and he might have been stronger, more resilient.”
“You cannot blame yourself. It’s wrong to do so,” she returned softly. “There are times I wish that my mother was still here, but while my father was dreadfully cold after her death, I had to keep reminding myself that it was his anger and hurt that caused him to treat me that way. It was nothing that I did—or could prevent.”
He gently turned her around to face him. He hoped that his tone, if not his expression told of his sincerity when he murmured, “I should not wish to treat you in such an offhand manner.”
“You won’t.” She smiled. “And if you do, rest assured I will inform you about it at once.”
He laughed. “I have no doubt of that.”
She returned her head to the crook of his arm. “By the way, I am still owed a proper proposal from you.”
“Although we have given each other our word?”
“Yes. I’m not asking for the romantic gesture with flowers and all the prose, but surely bending one knee?—”
He had to laugh again. He was sure that his future would be filled with many moments like these. With a smile curving his own lips, he promised, “I will give it some thought.”
Lexie awokewith a start when a housemaid entered her chamber and began to tend the fire. “What time is it?”
The sharp demand caused the girl to start. Spinning around, she nearly dropped the poker in her grasp. “A quarter to eight in the morning, miss.”
Since Dominic didn’t have the meeting with the private investigator until nine, she realized she had time to get dressed and join him. Breathing a sigh of relief, she asked, “Forgive me. I was just worried I was late for… something.”
The girl smiled warmly. “Not to worry, miss. The duke informed us that we were to wake you by eight and ensure you were dressed and ready to go by half past ten.”
“I see.” She glanced toward the wardrobe.
“The modiste sent over a few gowns this morning, as well as several undergarments. It’s quite a trousseau.” Her grin widened.
Lexie hadn’t been expecting that much generosity. A single gown would have sufficed. But considering she was to be his duchess in short order, she decided that it was a gift she would accept with undying gratitude.
