Page 24 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

“I find that hard to believe.”

“I don’t require you to believe it. What I require, my dear Lady Thalia, is that you look at these papers and translate them. My grasp of the German language is poor enough that the only conclusion I can draw is that it is German. That, my dear, is why you are here. This is not an Ann Radcliffe novel. I do not have nefarious schemes against your person. Do as I ask, and you’ll soon be on your way. Save your musings on my habits and scandals for later if you please.”

Thalia flinched. A flush spread down her neck at this scolding. A dozen sharp retorts jumped to her mind, but she cleared her throat, refusing to allow them to come out of her mouth.

The Duke was, after all, right. The sooner she translated the papers, the better for everybody.

She tore her gaze away from his unblinking stare and glanced down at the papers once more.

“They are excerpts,” she noted, “from novels.”

The Duke blinked. Clearly, he had not expected this.

“Novels?”

She nodded, tapping the middle paper. “Es ist eine allgemein anerkannte Wahrheit, dass ein Junggeselle im Besitz eines schönen Vermögens nichts dringender braucht als eine Frau.”

He frowned. “And that means what, exactly?”

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” Thalia quoted and saw understanding dawn on the Duke’s face.

“The opening lines of Pride and Prejudice,” he murmured. “A fine book, I won’t lie. And what of the other quotes?”

“They are from the same book, I believe, but the opening line is the one I immediately recognized.”

“Why on earth would she write down translated lines from a novel, only to hide them?” he wondered aloud, frowning.

Thalia glanced back at the papers. “I am wondering the same thing. There must be some significance. I know that Laura used to translate various pieces of literature into German and preferred to read German novels. It helped her better understand the language.”

The Duke frowned. “I had no idea that she did any of this.”

Thalia tilted her head. “Really? I cannot understand why not. My brother knows just about everything I do. Of course, he utilizes that knowledge to make sure I don’t embarrass him in public, but I suppose we were close once.”

She’d said the wrong thing; that was immediately evident.

The Duke reared back, head snapping up, and his lips tightened. “I know my sister suitably well,” he snapped. “I simply did not realize she had a penchant for German literature. I am a busy man.”

Thalia didn’t bother to point out that, apparently, he knew very little about his sister. But Laura spoke highly of him, as if they had once been friends. Was it his absence that changed things?

That seemed likely. She’d heard of the Duke’s long absence. For the first year, his family had said that he had gone on a Grand Tour, a fairly normal thing for a young man to do. But as the first year bled into the second, followed by a third, people began to whisper. It wasn’t usual for a young man to stay out of the country for years on end, especially when he was the only son and heir to a dukedom.

He had only returned after the old Duke had died, and of course, a great deal of censure came with that. Thalia recalled her brother reading about his return in the papers, sniffing to himself, and remarking that a dutiful son would have been by his father’s side till the end. For once, Thalia found herself inclined to agree.

Certainly, the Duke did not seem to be the sort of man to weep by his father’s bedside. But neither did he appear hard and unfeeling. His worry for his sister seeped out of every pore, his movements keen and jerky. The very fact that she was here, that he’d agreed to their pseudo-engagement simply to secure her help, told her that he was worried about Laura.

And perhaps he should be. I am worried about Laura, too.

“Laura has books in her room, doesn’t she?” she said. “Might I see them?”

He eyed her. “You’re prepared to wander the house at night with only my company? Into a bedroom, no less?”

She sniffed. “I think it is rather late to worry about my reputation, don’t you? I want Laura found just as much as you do.”

“Very well. Follow me.”

Without another word, he seized a candle and strode out of the room, leaving her to follow. She scuttled along the dark hallways after him, keen to outpace the shadows.

At home, Jonathan kept candles and oil lamps burning in the hallways. Rooms like the drawing room and library were locked after bedtime, but the halls were left open. He was keen on keeping them well-lit. To discourage mischief, he said, whatever that meant, but Thalia suspected the profusion of light was to keep her from getting up to no good. Not that there was much naughtiness one could get up to in the hallway.