She looked down quickly. “No. I do not.”
Theo didn’t press. “Tell me more about yourself, April. Not your sisters. Just you.”
She blinked, surprised by the request, then looked out across the clearing. “Very well. I used to wander the manor when I didn’t want their company. I’d slip away, especially on dull afternoons, and find little nooks to hide in with a book. Behind the staircase, up in the attic, once even beneath the dining table—until the tablecloth betrayed me.”
Theo’s mouth twitched. “Did it rustle dramatically?”
“Like a gust of scandalous wind,” she said, smiling. “My mother thought a cat had gotten in. I did not correct her.”
“You were rather spirited.”
“Indeed, I was.” April adjusted the folds of her skirts as she leaned forward. “I always dreamed of having a home of my own to decorate. Not merely to fill with fine things but to shape it. To make it soft in places, striking in others. To make it feel… lived in.”
Theo looked down at the scone in his hand. “Then you enjoy redecorating Stone Hall?”
“I do,” she said simply. “It is a pleasure, not a chore.”
He was quiet a moment then nodded slowly. “When my aunt comes to visit, she’ll hardly recognize the place.”
April smiled as she handed him the preserves. “That’s rather the goal, isn’t it? To surprise her into speechlessness?”
“She has never been speechless in her life.”
“Then we shall make history.” April leaned slightly, brushing crumbs from her lap. “She will be cross about the wallpaper in the front parlor, I think. She warned me she detests anything with a vine motif.”
“Then we shall cover it in roses and pretend it was your idea alone.”
April laughed. “You’re becoming dangerous, Duke.”
“You say that as though you are not the true menace.”
She met his gaze, light catching in her eyes. “It’s only fair. You’ve upended my world after all.”
“And you’ve rearranged mine. Room by room.”
Their eyes held. The silence stretched warm between them.He’s letting me in,she thought,and I’m not certain whether to rejoice or run.
Theo drummed his fingers against the armrest of the chair, counting the minutes before April would arrive.
The soft footfall in the hallway had him quickly gaining his feet. April entered the drawing room in a deep blue dress that flattered her form in a manner that made thought rather difficult.
Breathe, man. What is the matter with you?
“I hope I’ve not kept you waiting,” she said as she stepped closer.
“Only long enough to wonder if you’d decided to lock your doors again.”
She smiled. “Tempting. But I remembered I am a duchess now. There are appearances to keep.”
“Indeed. Appearances such as joining your husband for supper.”
She arched a brow. “Ah, so this was a command, not a request.”
“A coaxing. One rarely commands a woman so formidable.”
“You are learning.”
He offered his arm, and she took it, her fingers settling lightly at his elbow. Her nearness struck him harder than expected. The warmth of her touch bled through the sleeve of his coat. He shouldn’t notice that, but he did. Every time.
