“I’d expect nothing less,” she said, before turning on her heel and walking out of the room.
The nerve.
Evelyn was used to people underestimating her.
It was why she usually tried to hide how quickly and efficiently her mind worked.
But not here. No, the British Institution was one place where intellect was celebrated, and she was not going to allow this duke to make her feel that she was anything less than she was.
She was storming down the hallway when a large, warm hand wrapped around her elbow. Instead of stopping her or pulling her back, however, he simply held on while he kept pace with her.
“Will you allow me to explain myself?”
“No.”
“Please?”
It was the erstwhile way he said it that finally brought her to an abrupt stop, and she whirled around, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for this supposed apology.
“Well?” she said, tapping her foot as she waited. He had better be quick. She had a prize to claim.
“My apologies,” he said, appearing much more ruffled than she would have expected as he scratched his head and looked down at her.
He was much bigger than she had realized, his hands large, his presence as domineering as he always appeared when he glowered from the side of the dance floor in ballrooms. She hadn’t known his eyes were so blue. Now she would never be able to forget.
“I was taken aback.”
“Now you know,” she said, turning once more. It was best she leave quickly, before she came more enamored with his masculinity. He would never be interested in a woman like her, so she shouldn’t give him a second thought, for it would only lead to her own disappointment.
Besides, his attractiveness didn’t change the fact that he was as obtuse as the rest of the gentlemen she was acquainted with.
“How did you solve it?” he called out after her, and Evelyn paused. She should ignore him, keep walking, but… it wasn’t often someone was interested in learning how her mind worked.
She knew he was only asking to appease his own ego, yet still, she couldn’t help but want to take the opportunity to discuss this with him.
“It’s actually a fairly simple riddle,” she said. “How far did you get?”
“I knew that it was a tapestry,” he said, looking down somewhat abashedly. “I didn’t get much further as I was busy saving a woman’s life.”
It took everything within Evelyn to keep from rolling her eyes.
“The second line was fairly simple. It was regarding battle preparation. That just took a quick perusal of the tapestries available.”
“What about the last lines?”
“That an error was made on purpose. The catalogue is wrong. They mislabeled Hector’s Departure as No. XV. It should be X.”
He stared at her unblinkingly.
“Well, your grace, if that will be all?—”
“How do you know who I am?”
Evelyn let out a small laugh as she stared up at him. “You are the unmarried Duke of Ravenscar. Everyone knows who you are. I’ve heard your name spoken enough every time you step in the room. It’s not often a young, available duke is also so appealing.”
She stopped suddenly, her lips pressing together as she tried to stop her flow of words.
“Please forget I ever said that,” she rushed out quickly.
