Chapter Twelve #2
“Oh, blue or green.” She shrugged and a slow smile curved her lips.
“I often dream that, if I were independently wealthy and my father ever took me to a society event that was elegant enough, that I would have a gown made in silver.” Another laugh escaped her.
“As it is, most of my clothing is designed for research in mind. Books and shelves are dusty. Crawling and climbing to reach tucked away volumes or going through forgotten places is a messy business, so I wear simple cuts and drab colors that would hold up well to laundering.”
“Ah, and now I have another piece of the puzzle.” His mind fairly percolated, for he had an inkling of what he might wish to secure her as a present for Christmas. “What is your opinion on the Regent?”
She snorted. “Don’t you dare think to drag me into a political discussion. However, I think he uses government resources in a wasteful way, and he is far too careless and practices excess in every aspect of his life.” Then she winked at him. “Let’s leave it at that.”
“Very well.” Barr nodded, but he was having the best time. “If you could only travel to one country, which one would it be and why?”
“You certainly know how to ask difficult questions, don’t you?”
He turned them around on the pavement to start the walk back toward his townhouse. “It’s the easiest and quickest way to gain knowledge.”
“No doubt you would probably assume I’d say Egypt, since that is the most popular choice of explorers and budding tomb robbers, but there is a large part of me that wishes to go to Rome. Can you imagine what lies beneath those streets and in the catacombs?”
“Besides long dead bodies?”
“Well, yes, of course, and treasures of all kinds.” She shrugged but the light in her eyes was unmistakable.
“Or to see the lovely countrysides of that peninsula? The vineyards? Feel the sun on my face… if it ever does return after this abysmal time. And I could overcome the sickness from the sea. Beyond that? Again, if coin wasn’t an issue, I’m not certain where I would go.
Perhaps America, to see if they are as savage as the king wished for everyone to believe? ”
“Ha! And if that land is uncivilized?”
“Then I should just go on to somewhere else. India might be so interesting, even if it’s half a world away and would take seemingly an eternity to arrive there.”
“It would be lovely to have all the time in the world to go wherever the wind took us and see more of the world than is contained in England.” With a sigh, he frowned. “And be out of the damned rain.”
“You certainly have no fondness for such precipitation,” she mentioned, with amusement in her voice.
“Of course, living in England, one needs to expect and become accustomed to such wretched weather, but I would enjoy a few days a week—perhaps a month if that’s all I were to be allotted—where the sun would shine and I wouldn’t need to slog my way through a day.
” Did it make him seem demented? “In any event, I’m sure eventually everything will come right again. Until then, I can dream.”
“Those are always free and plentiful.” She laid a gloved hand on his arm. “Why did you not travel with your wife and children? From all I know of you, it would have been the perfect educational tool for them. And you are a duke, so nothing would be out of your reach.”
“I don’t know about that.” He peered at her as best he could with the umbrellas and the brim of her bonnet.
“I had responsibilities and social obligations. My son was away at school, and my daughter had her tutors here. My wife was deeply involved with her charities and causes. I didn’t wish to disrupt any of that, and by the time the children were old enough to enjoy traveling, my wife perished. ”
“I’m sorry to bring up such painful memories.”
“It is not just you; it is this time of year.” When she nodded, no doubt remembering her mother, he huffed out a breath. “My wife and I were the typical couple of the beau monde. We conducted our lives much as we were expected, as we’d both been raised, for she was the daughter of an earl.”
“So then you had very little freedom to explore the man you might have been if you didn’t have expectations of you.” Sadness reflected in her expression. “That must have been difficult.”
“While that’s true to an extent, I grew used to it, but truth to tell, I don’t want my children to feel those pressures.”
“They will, though, merely because they are children of a duke.” When she dropped her hand from his arm, he mourned the loss of her warmth. “But you can at least encourage them and teach them to have balance in their lives, so they don’t feel trapped.”
He nodded. “That is exactly it, and I have told them both the same. Yes, they do have certain responsibilities—I’m a firm believer that those of us with privilege need to give back to the society who placed us here—but I want them to be happy as well.
I want them to know there is more to their existence than the gilded cage of society. ”
“You are a good man, Barr. I know they adore you as a father.”
“I appreciate that.” His townhouse came into sight, and that was a bit depressing, for it meant his walk with her was nearly concluded.
“Above all of that, without the children here, it is a tad lonely. One of the things I adored with my wife was her companionship. It was lovely having someone to share all the little things with, the quiet times, to have someone beside me, lying in bed and talking about our day those nights we shared a suite.”
“You might not believe it, but you are quite adorable. I hope you find that again with someone, for I don’t think you are the type of man to remain alone.”
“Indeed.” Then, after they’d gained the gardens at the back of his townhouse again, he brought them to a halt, gently cupped her cheek, and as he tilted her head back a touch, he brought his lips to hers.
There would hardly be witnesses, since they were much alone on this Sunday afternoon, and there was something so intimate and cozy about showing affection for this woman in the rain.
And what was more, he had a feeling that what he was beginning to feel for her went far beyond the heat and passion of having carnal needs met.
When he pulled back, he offered her a faint smile.
“Thank you for spending the afternoon with me. While you return to your translation efforts, I can make you some tea and forage for sweets in the kitchen.”
“I would find that perfectly acceptable.” As she made her way toward the library doors, he followed.
“Tomorrow, I am not scheduled at the lending library, but I do need to pop into the shops. Unfortunately, I’m realizing too late that time is running out before Christmas.
I promise, though, that I’ll work additional hours on the translation. ”
He nodded as they entered the house. “You needn’t finish it before that day, you know. There is time enough afterward if you’d like to spend that time with your father.” Though he would miss her presence.
“Fear not, Scarborough. Papa is lost enough in his research; he’ll hardly remember there is a holiday unless I physically tug him from his chair.”
“I see.” But relief twisted down his spine, for it was one more day he would spend with her. What would Travers say about that?