Page 25 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

Here, shadows filled the corners of every room, black and imposing. They passed open doors with absolute darkness beyond, so impenetrable that she could not guess what lay behind the doorway. The Duke’s rapid footsteps did not leave her much leisure to stop and stare. She almost ran to keep up with him, breathless already.

“There is no night footman on duty,” he remarked suddenly, making her flinch. “But if we are noisy, the housekeeper might come to investigate. Or a maid, perhaps. I suggest we keep our voices down.”

“Your servants are gossips, I take it?” she whispered.

“All people are curious. It’s hard to blame them.”

Thalia blinked. “I suppose. I had not thought of it like that.”

He did not reply. They climbed a staircase, a thick red carpet muffling their steps. A round landing waited at the top, with various hallways opening up like spokes from a wheel. Without hesitation, the Duke turned right, briefly plunging her into darkness when he took the candle with him down the narrow corridor.

“I apologize for the long walk,” he offered. “I have suggested to my sister that she take a larger room in the west wing. My own room and our mother’s room are there. However, she insists on keeping her childhood bedroom. I have no idea why.”

Thalia said nothing. Laura had told her once that her bedroom had plenty of hiding places. There were loose floorboards, wall panels that could be lifted to reveal alcoves behind, a hollow window seat, and so on. No doubt a larger, fancier bedroom would not have so many good places.

The Duke abruptly stopped before a door and pushed it open. Inside was darkness, but already, Thalia could make out the square shadow of a bookcase.

“Let me,” he murmured, stepping past her and setting the candle down on a low table.

She blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the flickering, buttery light. Laura’s room was still a little like a child’s—untidy and rather too small. There was not a surface that was not covered in clothes, paper, or books.

And the books!

“I don’t know why I bothered keeping a library,” the Duke commented wryly, eyeing the overflowing bookshelf. “It seems she has her own right here.”

“Pride and Prejudice,” Thalia murmured, hurrying towards the bookcase. “Something to do with these books.”

“There are at least three copies of Pride and Prejudice that I can see,” the Duke noted, baffled. “Why so many copies?”

“I can answer that. Laura makes her own translations. So, she likes to have several copies. She’ll have a pristine one for reading, and at least two spares for annotations, in case of ink blots and such.” She paused, glancing up at him. “Laura has a great interest in translation. She has several German novels that she hopes to translate into English and vice versa. Did you not know?”

The Duke’s expression shuttered. “It hardly matters.”

But I think it does matter to you, Your Grace, Thalia thought, biting back a grim smile.

She wished she had asked Laura more questions about her brother. Whenever she had tried, however, Laura’s face grew pained and a little angry, much like the Duke’s expression at that moment.

“My brother has had a hard and unfair life,” she’d said once and no more. It seemed sensible to Thalia not to press the matter. After all, it was not her business. She’d always assumed that Laura and her brother would make peace and reconcile their differences.

What if they don’t?

She bit her lower lip, glancing up at him. “You really never suspected that something was bothering her?”

He eyed her thoughtfully. “No. I did not, but I will be frank with you. Mine and Laura’s paths did not often intersect over the last year or so. She rarely required my chaperonage to parties, since our mother would take her. She has always been a clever, independent young woman. She had her own life, and so did I. I never once assumed that anything was wrong. That is my fault, and if you are trying to reproach me for not knowing⁠—”

“I am not trying to reproach you,” Thalia said quickly. “I am only trying to understand.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. At last, he nodded slowly.

“The bookcase, then,” he said. “What do you see?”

What do you see? What a curious way of asking for her opinion.

Thalia chewed on her lip, thinking.

“There are three shelves with copies of Pride and Prejudice,” she began. “Three shelves, three pieces of paper. But if I’m not mistaken, these quotes are all taken from the very first page of the book. So…” She stepped forward, reaching for the threadbare volume sitting on the topmost shelf. The book came free with difficulty, bringing a little dust along with it. She sneezed.

“The maids do tidy in here,” the Duke murmured, sounding almost apologetic. “But I suspect my sister ruins their work just as soon as they are gone.”