Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Nora had begun to think her life was getting a little out of hand.
As her lady’s maid brushed her hair gently, her mind wandered as it often did these days, to the words the Duke had said the last time she had seen him.
After all that had transpired, she did not wish to entertain any more suitors, feeling too tired and too confused by the day’s events to hold any more conversations.
Godric had taken his leave once the suitors were all gone, bidding her goodbye in a casual, noncommittal manner that made her wonder what sort of man he was for the umpteenth time.
He said and did such outlandish things as though they were normal, and did not show any signs that they might not be.
And it always left her reeling. She could not stop thinking about the kiss they had shared, could barely have a moment of peace before her body recalled his touch, how her face remembered the heat that had threatened to consume it, and her lips remembered the press of his own against hers.
And he seemed wholly unaffected.
It irked her to no end. And now he had pledged to let no other man touch her!
What did that even mean?
“Are you excited, Miss? It is a wonderful day for a garden party.” Her maid, Annabelle, stated softly as she fussed with Nora’s hair.
“I suppose,” was all Nora could say because her feelings for the gathering had changed.
After hearing about the garden party she had been invited to and intended to attend, the Duke took it upon himself to offer his company as her escort. Nora had not refused for once, because she knew that, like most of her public appearances, Tobias was likely to turn up there as well.
“I am sure you are very excited! You’ll have another chance to meet with potential suitors!” Annabelle smiled cheerfully, slipping a hairpin with a bow to the back of the intricate braid she had done with Nora’s hair.
Strange, Nora thought. I had barely spared the idea of potential suitors any thought.
And it was all because of the duke. Because he had told her that —
“As long as I am here, no man will touch you.”
Ever since that day, she had been unable to think of anything or anyone other than those words. That was one of the reasons why she had dismissed the remaining suitors, because she found it difficult to focus on much else other than the Duke.
And now, she had doomed herself to spend an afternoon with him by her side.
Whatever will she do?
“You look splendid, Miss. A true vision of youth and beauty.” Annabelle clapped her hands with unbridled glee.
Nora stared at her reflection, her heart feeling reluctant to hope. Still, she mustered up a smile and said,
“Here’s to what I hope will be a good day.”
“Right this way, Your Grace. Miss Nora sends her apologies. She will be right with you shortly.”
Godric nodded, and the maid scurried away quickly, giving him time to look around his current environment.
Lord Gramfield’s house was just as void of warmth as he remembered it being when he visited as a child, the walls and hallways dreary and almost cold.
It was obvious that the house had not received any attention from one who bore the title of the lady of the house, but despite that, it looked well-organized.
Godric knew what lay ahead of him would entail an afternoon of mindless conversations and marriage proposals, but the idea of letting Nora go on her own filled him with contempt.
After the taste he had gotten… it would be a disservice to himself and his sanity to have her out of his sight.
He pulled out his pocket watch to check the time, despising the idea of being late for anything, before he glanced around to find a maid who would find out what exactly was causing the delay with Nora.
As he turned to walk towards the staircase, he nearly ran into the master of the house, the baron’s face overtaken by surprise.
“Your Grace! I – what are you doing in… in my home? I was not informed of your arrival.” Gregory Wightman, baron of Gramfield, sputtered, glancing around in confusion.
Godric narrowed his gaze and stated, “Likely because I am not here for you, Lord Gramfield. I am here to see Miss Nora.”
“My daughter? Are you, perhaps, one of her suitors?”
There was a glimmer of hope in the older man’s eyes, greed reflected in his expression as he clapped his hands together, already assuming his dreams had come true.
“Why, she did not inform me! After all, given your closeness to my son, you are practically family –”
“You would be so lucky,” Godric cut in with a derisive snort. “That is a far-fetched aspiration, even for you, Lord Gramfield. But I suppose that is who you are, is it not? Ever wanting, never satisfied. Not until you have taken and taken and left those you have robbed to deal with the aftermath.”
The baron’s eyes filled with nervousness, and he stepped back, practically shaking under the duke’s dark stare.
“I-I apologize if I spoke out of turn, Your Grace. It was not my intention. I only thought –”
“Your mind works far too much for such an empty life you live, Lord Gramfield. You would do well to cease such baseless assumptions. I am only here to chaperone your daughter to a garden party.” Godric said, raising his head so he could stare down at the baron.
Nora’s father nodded, unease apparent in his hunched frame, and he gestured vaguely behind him.
“I have affairs that I must attend to, Your Grace. Pardon me.”
Godric said nothing else as the man walked away, but he noticed a strange weight settle in his chest, crawling beneath his skin and screaming for justice.
“Soon,” he muttered to himself. “It will all be over soon.”
“My goodness,” Nora called from behind him, the sound of her quick footfalls on the stairs telling him that she was rushing down.
“My apologies, Your Grace. I could not find the right shoes to suit my dress, so I had to settle for a different pair, and that one was a tad difficult to find. Have you been waiting for too long?”
Godric turned, intending to give her a lecture on the value of punctuality, only for the words to flee his mind at the sight of her, sinking and choking him.
Quickly, he stated, “It is fine. We would not want you roaming through London without any shoes on. That would not bode well, I fear.”
She rolled her eyes as she came to a stop by his side, meeting his gaze with that usual stubborn fierceness of hers.
“No, I imagine that it would not. Shall we?”
He barely managed to nod, unable to keep his eyes from roaming over her form.
Godric had long since come to terms with the fact that Nora was no longer that little girl who had assumed the role of her brother’s shadow. He had already acknowledged that he was dealing with a woman and had prepared himself to deal with her womanly wiles and her stubborn nature.
However, he had been greatly unprepared to face her silent seduction. It was remarkable how her beauty stunned her, how her expressions beckoned him closer, how her wild mouth asked for his with every pout and frown.
Even now, she looked like the goddess of spring, draped in a pink dress that bore an outrageous amount of chiffon that somehow made her look ethereal.
Her dark brown hair had been constrained in a large braid with a bow behind it, but a few slim curls framed her face delicately, and his fingers itched to brush them away.
His whole being ached to touch her, to kiss the mole under her eye and then trail his lips to the one on her upper lip, to press their mouths together until she was exhaling his name.
With a grunt, he led the way to the carriage, his heart twisting strangely as she followed along.
Once there, he held out a hand to her, intending to help her into the carriage.
She stared at his palm for a moment, then she cleared her throat, slipping her fingers over his as a delicious flush filled her cheeks, and she averted her gaze.
It only made him want to tease her even more, to bring her to tears until she was writhing breathlessly beneath him with pleasure.
As they both settled in the carriage, her perfume filled the space, the soft fruity scent snuffing out the thoughts rumbling in his head.
“I expect that I do not need to advise you to be on your best behavior. You are the one on the marriage market, after all,” he stated, needing to do something to break the silence before his thoughts ran farther away with him.
“Have you ever perhaps considered that all of my misdeeds are as a result of your incessant interference?” she retorted, not to his surprise.
“You are basically saying that you need to control your temper around me. It is no fault of mine that you are easy to rile up.”
Nora closed her eyes, and Godric could not help but feel struck once more by just how beautiful she looked, somehow managing to remain nonchalant when her eyes fluttered open and she met his stare.
“I am starting to regret not accepting your offer to accompany me this afternoon,” she told him with a frown.
The corner of his lips twitched, and he quickly schooled his expression.
“It is too late. I have pledged to be your shadow for the rest of the afternoon.”
“How fortunate for me,” she scoffed, but for once she did not look as disturbed as she usually was.
That observation crawled into a corner of his mind and continued to pester him as the afternoon wore on.
The garden party was in full swing by the time they arrived.
It seemed a lot of people were still reconciling with the idea that the Duke had begun to attend social gatherings. Their arrival was welcomed by shocked stares and bewildered whispers, the masses still unsure of what they were seeing.
Godric remained as unconcerned with the opinions of others as he had always been, keeping his eyes forward as he walked through the garden. He had kept his word and lingered a few feet behind Nora at first, pretending that he was not there to ensure her safety and well-being.