Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
“Does Her Grace wish to venture an opinion on this book?”
“I trust your opinion, Your Grace,” Maggie replied, keeping her face lowered. She’d never been a wife before, let alone a stand-in duchess, and she was highly embarrassed about that omission of Algernon’s most of all.
It felt like an insult.
At first, it had been quite the lark, the idea of being an appendage to a husband who hid his identity as duke, and hers as well, on their journey.
But now her mood had soured considerably, since he was openly referring to her as his wife and duchess while he intended to propose to someone else soon.
A wife was something she would never be. She’d always known that without money or great beauty, it would take exceptional circumstances to make a man offer for her. She had accepted she’d forever be a spinster.
But Algernon was known to many shop owners here, and the bookshop proprietor knew all about her before she’d set one foot through the door.
Gossip in this town had spread like wildfire.
The bookshop owner was practically rubbing his hands together at the thought of all the money he might make from the duke.
Maggie did not know how Algernon ignored the greed in the man’s eyes, to be honest or the suspicious looks thrown her way due to her lack of finery.
It had been hard to keep a civil tongue in her head as the man fawned over them both, though.
Algernon was no man to be fleeced by any merchant who overpriced his books.
But when Algernon walked into a room, all eyes followed him. And because they did, Maggie on his arm as duchess was no longer invisible to others. She’d become someone worth noticing, too, much to her consternation.
The years she’d spent alone had not been easy. She had given up so many of her dreams. Yet no one had expected her to be anything other than what she wanted to be.
And now, because of Algernon, she was forced to play at being a duchess, albeit temporarily, and nothing in her life had prepared her for that development.
She glanced across at Algernon now, leaning against a bookcase, skimming a book that had caught his eye. He was a duke from the top of his head to the high shine of his polished black boots. No one could mistake him for a man of low importance.
He pushed away from the bookcase and showed her what he was reading. “You’ll want this one, too.”
She started to read and, after a few passages, took the heavy tome from him. But his hand settled under the book, covering hers.
Maggie found his proximity a trifle disconcerting, knowing what she did about his intentions toward another woman. But she read to the bottom of the first page, enthralled by the vivid descriptions.
Algernon’s other hand curled about her waist and gently pulled her toward him. “Well? What do you think, wife?”
She wet her lips, struggling against the pull of need for more of his touch. “This is enough.”
His fingers slid up and down her back. “What about the others I showed you?”
She looked at the short pile with longing, then shook her head firmly. “One and one only.”
His hand dropped from her back. “I will buy them all,” he announced. “A present for my beloved wife.”
The wife he didn’t have yet. The one he was on his way to court. Not really for her.
Maggie pressed her lips together, irritated with him anew and the ruse he played. She was no longer Maggie but some figment of his imagination. A wife was a creature she’d no chance of ever becoming.
Algernon’s ongoing generosity was vexing and embarrassing. He should not waste his funds on her. She could not ask or expect her father to reimburse him for so much.
“Honestly, Your Grace,” she complained. “I cannot accept any more of your gifts.”
He ignored her words, settled the bill for all the books with the proprietor with a stack of coins, and handed the heavy books to the valet to carry.
He offered his arm.
“That was high-handed of you,” she hissed, refusing his escort and tugging her hood closer to her head, despite the warm day.
“I’ve heard that before from you,” he countered, smiling broadly despite her snub.
Algernon directed her outside and asked her to wait with Sims for a few moments while he went into another establishment alone. Sims had been shadowing them all afternoon, but he hadn’t said a word to her directly since they’d arrived at this village. He looked uncomfortable, and she knew why.
Algernon had involved his servant in their lies. Maggie hadn’t asked for help but was guilty of playing along with the duke’s scheme to ensure her reunion with Papa happened quickly.
She caught Sims’ eye. “Rest assured, I have no real designs on becoming a duchess.”
The man’s eyes widened. “I should be the one apologizing to you for the deception I forced him into. After all, it is my fault the proprietor believes you are a married couple.”
Maggie stared at the valet for a long moment, and then shook her head. “His Grace said nothing of your part in this madness. It is just like him to take the blame, though.”
The valet mumbled another apology, and Maggie nodded, accepting it.
“Well, nothing can be done to rectify the situation until I leave him tomorrow, I suppose.”
Sims sidled closer. “I would not wish anyone to think the worst of you or my employer.”
“Neither would I.” She glanced around and sighed. The duke’s game had to end, or he risked a scandal at the worst possible time.
“But I’ve never seen him like this,” the valet confessed. “Not even with his brothers have I seen him so happy.”
“His brothers were vexing as children,” she noted. “I had hoped they’d be less so as adults.”
“He’s different with you. He’s fascinated,” the man warned. “He told the coachman to go easy on the horses each day to slow our journey, so he could spend more time with you.”
Maggie straightened her spine, horrified by the confession. “I never asked him to do that.”
“You didn’t have to. He does as he pleases. The woman he intends to marry is nothing like you, either,” the valet whispered.
“What is she like? Accomplished and elegant, I suppose.”
“She’s spoiled and ill-tempered toward servants. None of his brothers like her very much, but she’s the money he needs in a wife.”
Maggie frowned. “Surely money could not be his only reason to offer for her.”
“I’m not sure His Grace even likes her,” the valet whispered morosely.
Maggie was astonished by the valet’s confession but attempted to keep the shock off her face. There were many reasons to marry without affection, but none she agreed with.
From the beginning, Algernon’s words and behavior suggested he lived a carefree life. He’d been flirtatious, teasing, generous with her, and she’d responded in the same vein, imagining such foolishness that she could never repeat with anyone else.
Maggie’s heart hurt, for him, and for herself mostly. She had become a distraction for Algernon again, but hadn’t that been all she’d ever been to anyone? When he was married, he would forget her, but she would never forget him.
And she couldn’t stand to watch him make a grave mistake.
She glanced at the bookshop window and realized what she must do. She asked Sims to wait outside before entering the bookshop again. The proprietor was only too pleased to see her return and answer her questions.
“Sir, have you a book of maps of the area between here and London I could consult?”
“I do indeed, Your Grace.”
The shopkeeper was only too happy to oblige, and Maggie found the information she needed almost immediately. She stepped back outside and joined Sims on the pavement, pulling her hood back over her head.
Algernon reappeared a moment later, walking toward them with his hands behind his back and looking far too serious.
She squared her shoulders as he stopped before her and produced a posy of flowers from behind his back. “I recall you picked flowers from the garden at home as a girl. Did I remember the right ones?”
She took the flowers he offered and buried her nose in them, overcome by such a sweet, kind gesture…and the futility of it. “You have.”
“I found some still in the pages of my books last month, when I reordered the library shelves. They made me smile, and perhaps it was an omen that we would meet again.”
Maggie met his gaze, and her heart started to hammer against her ribs at the softer look in his eyes. He liked her, and perhaps too much. She gulped and looked away, lest she become lost in his gaze and make a greater fool of herself than she already had done.
Algernon’s pretense was too much, too intense. Even as a faux husband, he was so easy to be around. He should be giving flowers to his future wife. Making his future duchess begin to love him, instead of Maggie.
“I have to return to the inn now,” she declared, horrified by her last thought, pulling her cloak closer around her body as if it was all the protection she needed.
Algernon’s brows rose high. “Is something wrong?”
“No, no. But I am eager to read these new books you purchased.”
The books would be left behind when she left tomorrow, hidden in his trunks, since she had the care of them.
Algernon shook his head. “But I had intended we walk through the town together,” he argued. “The view of the river is quite breathtaking. Surely you could come and see it with me.”
She should have said she had a headache, but she was a terrible liar, and he would certainly catch her out.
“The flowers should be put in water or they will wilt,” she added. “You two go, and perhaps you’ll find a better amusement than watching me read. I will be quite dull company for the rest of the day, I’m sure, with all these to look through.”
“I have never once found you dull company, Maggie,” he argued. “Even reading. If the flowers wilt, I’ll always buy you more.”