Chapter Four
Felicity followed Harrison’s butler to his study.
It was another sweltering afternoon in the city.
She wished the weather would break soon.
Her stomach fluttered nervously as they ventured farther into the townhouse.
She hadn’t seen him since the ball but felt foolish that he’d seen her in such a vulnerable state on the terrace.
There was something about the man that put her at ease, and clearly she found it fine to have a pity party in front of him.
The butler opened the study door. “Your Grace, Lady Hastings.”
“Thank you, Thomas,” he said.
Felicity stepped into the massive, elegant room that could easily serve as a drawing room if it were not for the bookshelves and mammoth desk taking up the far wall.
Harrison rose, and she was reminded again how severe and formidable he was at first glance.
His piercing blue eyes connected with Felicity’s, and her heart fluttered.
What was wrong with her? This man was only being kind to her.
A smile broke across his face, making him even more devastatingly attractive. “Take a seat in the sitting area. I will bring the books to you. It will be less formal that way.”
She smiled at him in return and sat on a sofa, placing her bag beside her.
Felicity had brought with her a satchel containing ledgers from her and Collin’s overseas ventures.
The sitting area was comprised of a large hearth, two sofas, and two large chairs.
The deep red and rich blue fabric of the furniture suited the masculine space well.
She suspected Harrison loved this room; it felt like him.
Felicity watched as he gathered ledgers, books, and other items. His jacket fit his broad shoulders perfectly, and her eyes flicked to his thighs and backside as he stretched to retrieve another ledger from the bookshelves. A deep longing to press her body against his coursed through Felicity.
Stop it, she told herself. Felicity was not here for a courtship or a liaison. She sighed, frustrated at the direction of her mind.
He glanced at her, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. “I’m sorry, I should have been better prepared.”
“No, I apologize; my huffing had nothing to do with you,” she said.
Liar. Liar. She shifted her gaze away from him, deciding that perusing his study was the wisest option.
“I need to be more organized. I do have a process, but to anyone but me, it probably seems like pure chaos,” he said, setting the items on the table in front of the sofa. “May I join you? I plan to point out different ventures in the ledger. It shall be easier.”
“Of course.” He sat next to her and started to open one of the ledgers, but she placed her hand on it. “Before we start, I wanted to thank you for your kindness at the ball. I don’t normally fall apart so easily.”
“It was nothing. I’m glad I was there for you. Collin would have wanted me to be a source of comfort.”
“He would be appreciative of all your efforts if he were still with us.”
“I don’t think I’ve said this to you, Felicity, but I’m sorry for your loss. My father passed five years ago, and it is still very difficult for my mother.”
Felicity did grieve Collin, but she doubted it was the same way Harrison’s mother mourned his father.
Absurdly, she didn’t want this man to misunderstand her relationship with Collin.
“I will always love my husband—he gave me two beautiful children—but we were more friends and business partners in the end than anything else.”
His brow furrowed as if he were puzzled by her declaration. They stared at each other silently for a moment. Eventually, Harrison said, “I find myself perplexed at my friend’s stupidity.”
An awkward laugh escaped her.
He watched her. “I mean it, Felicity.”
Why had she said anything? She was derailing the meeting. Felicity tapped the ledger and said, “Shall we begin?”
He nodded and opened the book. “The first ten pages outline the estate’s holdings.
You will see there are three properties—the London townhouse, the country estate, and a smaller farm property in Northern England.
There are also investments in mines and textiles.
On the follow-up pages, there are breakdowns for each and the income generated.
Currently, only one venture is in the red.
It is an investment in the use of electricity.
While it isn’t doing well now, I believe it will be highly profitable in the long term.
If the wait worries you, I would be willing to buy your shares. ”
She flicked through the pages, amazed. “You’ve been managing all of this for Collin?”
“It was the least I could do, and my investments are similar, which makes it easier.”
Felicity squeezed his hand. “I wish you had been able to see him again. Still, I want you to know that he held you in the highest esteem.”
“Our fight now seems so ridiculous. I worried he was being rash by leaving.”
She smiled softly. “That trait remained with my husband. He loved anything new and exciting. Honestly, he was at his best when exploring a new venture. My children adored and thrived off his curious nature. It was the serious stuff of life that he struggled with.”
“I think it was partially why he bucked against the idea of staying in England and managing the estate. It upset me that he left on a whim, but I also understood he felt smothered by it all.
“It sounds like you understood Collin very well. He was lucky to have you in his life.”
Their eyes connected, and camaraderie flowed between them. “I sense he valued you just as much.”
Felicity knew he had. After getting to know Harrison, she wondered if her husband had gravitated to her because of their similarities.
Collin had been so certain that Felicity and the duke would be great friends when she and the children moved to London.
Felicity kind of understood why now. They seemed to have played the same role in Collin’s life.
“You are correct. He was grateful that I was there to manage the boring bits of his ventures. That is what he liked to call the day-to-day operations,” she said, pulling a ledger from her satchel.
Felicity grinned at him and added, “Honestly, I enjoyed doing it. These are our ventures on the Continent. I sold off most of the businesses, wanting to start fresh here.”
Harrison flipped through the leather-bound book, and then he looked up, shaking his head. “I’m sorry I was so difficult about your managing the estate. It is clear from this that you are more than competent.”
“No, you and your mother were right. I know nothing about England. I appreciate your willingness to assist me.”
“Always,” he said.
They stared at one another, and madly, Felicity wondered if he’d kiss her.
His eyes flicked down to her lips, and the urge to lean closer filled her.
He was so different from her husband. Collin had been handsome in a boyish way, but this man was the opposite.
He was regal, severe, and distinguished—qualities that had never been appealing to Felicity but now were.
The hiss of water falling broke the spell, and they both turned to the windows. It was pouring outside. It hadn’t rained for weeks. They both rose to get a better look. It was a torrential downpour. Harrison smiled at her. “We are about to receive a slight reprieve from the heat.”
A happy sigh escaped her. The children would be delighted. “I will take Arabella and Harry to the park tomorrow. Would you like to join us?”
“I can think of nothing better.”
They smiled at one another, and something that felt like desire flickered between them.
It shot warmth straight to her lower half.
Felicity suspected the heat she was feeling had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with this man’s nearness.
She needed to leave before she made a fool of herself. “I must go.”
He frowned at her. “In the rain?”
“It is only next door,” she said, starting to gather her things.
“I will escort you, then.”
“No! I’m fine,” she said, wincing at the highness of her own voice.
He didn’t argue with her further. “Thomas will escort you with an umbrella. Let me fetch him.”
What was Felicity doing? She couldn’t lust after a duke.
*
The following day, Harrison walked with Felicity, Arabella, and Harry through Hyde Park.
They weren’t the only ones there enjoying the slight reprieve from the heat.
It seemed all of London was out today. Arabella and Harry raced ahead, along the Serpentine, excited to be at the park with the other children.
“Collin and I used to come here often,” Harrison said.
A smile filled Felicity’s face. “I can imagine the two of you chasing each other by the water.”
Yesterday, she’d left his townhouse in a rush, and Harrison worried that she’d somehow deduced his attraction to her.
He was doing his damn best to keep it contained, but there had been a few moments in the study where he wasn’t sure he’d pulled it off.
Harrison needed to better control his emotions.
Felicity was Collin’s wife—not a lady to be wooed or seduced.
His body hummed when a vision of Felicity in his bed appeared in his mind. Christ! He was a mess.
“Were you well-behaved boys?” she asked.
He shook the wanton thoughts from his mind. “No.”
A bark of laughter escaped her. Arabella and Harry stopped by the banks of the water, looking at something with other children. Felicity turned to him, smiling. “I can see Collin causing trouble, but I don’t see that in you.”
“I was smarter about my trouble, but we both had our fair share of misdeeds.”
She grinned, and Harrison found himself smiling back at her. He enjoyed spending time with Felicity so much.
“Your Grace, it is lovely to see you,” Lady Crump said, approaching them with her daughter, Lady Imogene.
Harrison wanted to groan. The woman had been throwing her daughter at him all year. Lady Imogene was beautiful. She was tall, slender, with hazel eyes and blonde hair, but nothing about her appealed to him.
The young lady batted her eyes at him, and he politely smiled in return. He glanced at Felicity, whose eyes danced with merriment at his predicament.
“Will you attend Lady Derry’s ball in a few weeks?” Lady Crump asked. “We will be there. Imogene has the most divine gown that gives her such a regal appearance.”
Harrison tugged at his shirt collar. “I haven’t decided yet. Have you met Lady Hastings?”
Lady Crump flicked her gaze to Felicity, assessing her against her own daughter. Still, she said, “I’m sorry for your loss. I read about your husband’s passing last year.”
“Thank you for your kind words.”
Arabella and Harry ran farther ahead. “We must catch up to Lady Hastings’s children. Good day, ladies,” Harrison said.
Lady Crump and Lady Imogene waved goodbye, and he and Felicity continued on. She laughed. “I believe you are using Arrabella and Harry to escape the clutches of a matchmaking mama.”
“Guilty.”
“Lady Imogene is very pretty. I imagine she will make a splendid duchess.”
“I’m not looking for a duchess but a partner. Someone who wants to grow old with me.”
Her eyes widened, and heat crept up the back of Harrison’s neck that he shared such intimate thoughts with Felicity. She smiled at him. “You want love.”
“Does that make me foolish?”
She stared at Harrison for a long time, studying him. He could almost see the wheels in her head spinning. “No, I think it is wonderful. Any lady would be lucky to have you, even if you weren’t a duke.”
He snorted. “Tell that to the ton.”
They kept walking, and she quietly said, “Your title doesn’t make you a catch. Anyone who suggests such a notion is foolish. You are a catch because you are a good man, Harrison. I’ve only known you for a short amount of time, and I already greatly admire you.”
He smiled at her, but she was focused on watching Arabella and Harry. Harrison couldn’t fathom how Collin had not held on to her tighter or loved her properly. His friend had been a damn fool.