He used his free hand to rub his brow. “If I am to call you Louisa, then perhaps you should call me Robert. Unless we are in formal company, of course.”
“Then what shall I call you in formal company?”
“Either Your Grace or Boroux.”
Of course. Louisa was surprised he even suggested she use his Christian name at all.
The duke nodded, taking a step and leading them down the hall. “Shall I begin with my favorite parts of the house? Or save those for the end?”
“Like saving the sweet for last?” Louisa smiled. “I would often steal a sweet at any point in the day, much to the protests of my governess.”
Robert glanced down at her, his expression, well, quite frankly, unreadable. “I cannot decide if that surprises me or not.”
“No?” She adjusted her hand on his arm. Goodness. This man must move large items of furniture on a frequent basis. There was no other explanation. “Perhaps we should share some things about ourselves as we continue our tour. I feel it would be beneficial to understand each other better.”
“A logical idea. What do you wish to know?”
“Anything.” She kept her gaze focused ahead as he turned them down a hall brightly lit by the sun. The one wall consisted of only windows looking out toward the back of the estate, where lush beds of flowers reached their colored petals toward the sky.
He paused before glancing down at her. “Would you mind going first?”
Louisa pulled her attention from the flowers and back to her husband, meeting his blue eyes. “Well, you should probably know that I do not take myself or anything too seriously.”
He turned his attention forward as they walked. “That is one thing I did know.”
Louisa watched him carefully to see if there was any crack in his exterior, but much to her chagrin, there was nothing.
“You wish to be surprised by my facts, then?” She cupped her chin with her free hand as she pretended to be deep in thought.“My favorite color is peach. Unless it is flowers, then my favorite is yellow. If we are talking about wall color, then blue.”
“I see,” he said, doing a remarkable job of seeming truly enthralled with a conversation that must be entirely dull to him. It almost made her laugh.
She continued. “I find my least favorite color is lavender.”
The duke glanced about the hall. “How unfortunate, as we have an entire room featuring the color.”
“Itisa very festive room. I credit the designer for their creativity, at any rate. They did nothing in halves, to be sure.”
“That would have been my great-grandmother. I have been told it was her favorite room of the house.”
“And what is your favorite room?”
“My library.” He didn’t miss a beat.
Louisa nodded, slightly pleased she was able to pull forth anything from him. “I look forward to seeing it on our tour then. And what do you hypothesize will be my favorite?”
The corners of his mouth turned down as he thought. “I cannot pretend to know. Hopefully you will find a place here that is comfortable for you. If there is a particular room that you are interested in, do not hesitate to let me know and you can do with it as you please.”
They walked the halls, mostly in silence except for when his grace made some note about a portrait or family heirloom. When they arrived at a door on the third floor, her escort paused.
He pulled his arm from her, grasping his hands behind his back as he nodded toward the door. “This will be your room. Would you care to see it?”
She shrugged in jest. “I must at some point. And I should rather like to change.”
“Oh, of course. I apologize I hadn’t thought of that sooner.” The duke’s severe facade softened as his mouth dropped open slightly. At least his face moved for once. “Your new maid isalready here and ready to perform her duties. Shall I call for her?”
“Nonsense. I can manage that.” Louisa crossed her arms over her middle as the duke swung the door open. So far, while being rather serious and stuffy, her husband had been perfectly pleasant. She couldn’t have claimed to know much of him other than the glimpses she’d had over the years in ballrooms and visits to the theater. And now he was her husband . . . Life was a funny creature sometimes.
Louisa strode into her room, looking around at the opulence of it all. A four-poster bed complete with a canopy stole her immediate attention. Next to be noticed was a bench beneath the window to allow one to enjoy the view, a toilette table and chair, a wardrobe, some expensive drapes that pooled on the floor, and enough space she could hold a small party if she felt so inclined.
