She stood, her bare feet soundlessly padding across the floor. Holding her breath, she pressed her ear to the wood.
Silence.
He could be sleeping. It was the most likely circumstance. Louisa herself had been spending most evenings in the quiet of her room. During the day, the dowager duchess kept her busy with household matters, making the private moments in her room more and more welcome. To be fair, her mother-in-law—while a slight bit stuffy—had not been unkind. Perhaps the duke had been correct when he said she was looking forward to being freed from her responsibility.
Prince perked up from the small bed on the floor situated by the corner of the room. He stood, shaking himself, coming to Louisa’s feet and whimpering.
“No,” Louisa whispered, pushing him gently away with her foot. “He will hear you.” She shuffled back to her bed before Prince gave away her spying. Patting the place next to her, she eyed her dog. “Come, Prince.”
But he didn’t move, his small body trembling as he stared at her.
“You went outside just before I took you to bed,” she hissed.
Prince walked to the door, marching in small circles as his whimpers turned into louder whines.
Louisa tossed her head back with a groan before going to her wardrobe and throwing on her dressing gown. She picked her newer, thicker gown that had a nice trim of white lace on the edges. “If you go outside and decide you do not have togo, then I will be most upset with you.”
She scooped Prince into her arms before leaving her room, a curiosity pricking at her as she walked by the duke’s door. As if sensing her desire to remain quiet, Prince let out a quick yelp directly in front of her husband’s door.
“Shh!” Louisa hugged Prince tighter as she skulked the halls in near darkness. “He already does not care for you. Do you wish to wake him and make matters worse?”
Prince merely panted and wiggled, trying to free himself from her arms.
Louisa walked down the flights of stairs, and Prince pushed his paws against her chest with all the strength the small dog had. As she tried to force him to stay in her grasp, her words burst out into the quiet of the house. “No. Stay where you are.”
“Excuse me?”
Louisa froze, her spine stiffening as her eyes followed the low voice. And there, standing in the doorway to the LavenderRoom, was the duke. Disheveled, wearing only his shirtsleeves, waistcoat, and breeches, and holding a pair of spectacles in his hand.
She allowed herself to shamelessly take it all in while trying to find her voice. Goodness. What had come over her? And the more important question, what had come over him? Something about his relaxed state of dress and . . . and spectacles? Her stomach did twirls of delight even as she scolded it for doing so.
The duke seemed taken just as unawares as his eyes slid over her dressing gown, down to her bare feet, then back up to her shoulders where her hair hung free of its pins. A swallow trailed down his throat, and she watched it with intent fascination. A bit of stubble shadowed his neck and jaw, so much unlike the orderly man she saw during the day, going about his duties and tasks with an almost militant air.
She shook her head. “My apologies. I was talking to Prince. You are welcome to move if you wish.”
With that, the duke’s mouth curved into the faintest of smiles.
“Thank you.” He nodded toward Prince. “Is there a reason you are parading your dog around the house at—” he glanced over his shoulder, causing his shirt to tighten across his upper arm, before turning back to her. “—nearly two in the morning?”
“Prince seemed to need to go outside.”
“Ah.” He pulled the ear of his spectacles to his mouth, touching it to his lip. “You know we have servants that can do that for you.”
Louisa shrugged. “I thought I could stretch my legs.” Her eyes betrayed her, dipping to the ear of the spectacles as it teased his lip. “And why are you awake?”
At this, the duke’s shoulders lowered. “I was going over a few things. But I shan’t keep you. Prince might need to—” He pointed his spectacles at her arms where Prince wiggled and whined.
“Oh, yes. Please, excuse me.”
“If you wouldn’t mind,” he interrupted, causing Louisa to stop mid-escape, “there is something I would like your input on before you go back to your room.”
All Louisa could do was nod. He wanted her input on something? Him? The Duke of Boroux?
She nodded. “Very well.”
Louisa took her time as Prince meandered outside, finding exactly the correct spot to do his business before prancing back toward the house with a happy little waddle. Cold air brushed her face as she let him in, and they began the slow walk back to the Lavender Room.
Prince rushed in ahead of her, making a direct path for the settee near the low fire that burned on the far side of the room. The space seemed intimate during the night, glowing softly from the fire and a few sconces. And then there was the duke, leaning his palms on the same table he had placed the ruby and diamond necklace on before their wedding. A cluster of candles danced about, lighting up his profile as he stared at papers and fabrics littered across the table.
