Page 23 of A Duke in Her Fate
Isla blinked. She needed to sort this out. “Are you reading scandalous stories, Your Grace, of dramatic dealings of the household staff?”
“There is no such thing,” he scoffed before pausing. “Is there?”
“There are books for everything. Including for housekeepers,” she added emphatically, “If that is whom you really need to hire. I feel as though I am one of them now going under review.”
He frowned. “You could never be a housekeeper.”
“Oh, how kind.”
“I’m not kind. Housekeepers aren’t supposed to be beautiful.”
Furrowing her brow, she craned her neck to look up at him since his expression had yet to soften. “Are you complimenting me?”
“Would it make you feel less under review?”
“I don’t know.” She tried not to smile as her attitude softened toward amusement. “It depends on what your next statement is. Because if it’s a question on how I check the staff’s sanitary habits, we might have a problem on our hands.”
“That is not my business to ask anyone,” he assured her. Then he took a tentative step forward. She glanced down at their feet, noting how close they stood. When she lifted her chin to him again, the duke was awfully close. Almost like they were dancing again. “If it is any consolation, you are more than satisfactory in every way.”
Inhaling, she gave a slow nod without looking away. Those eyes of his held her still. There was a world inside them she wanted to explore.
Did he have more questions living in there? What was the story behind them?
“I’m glad to hear that,” Isla whispered. She didn’t know why she spoke so softly, only that it felt right. Her heart was beatingtoo fast all of a sudden. Being so close to him made it feel like she needed to be very careful. If only her heartbeat would slow down. Her hands tightened into fists before relaxing as she added, “Do you think you’re almost done with all your questions for me, Westvale?”
A strange expression crossed over his face. Just when she thought he was going to pull away, he told her, “Call me Ronan and I’ll stop my questions for today.”
“Ronan.” The name fell from her lips at once without thinking. It was a pleasant sort of name. Irish in origin, she knew, so it was a fairly surprising name for a duke. But it fit him. There was a wickedly charming energy to the man that his scowls and dark moods hid fairly well. In a moment like this, however, it was harder to hide. “Ronan.” She liked it the more she said it. “Ronan… Ronan.”
She thought he would turn away then, a note of vulnerability in his gaze as she saw the relief smoothing his brow. Instead, his hand rose to brush against her face. Isla froze. Her smile couldn’t move. She couldn’t event breathe while his hand gently brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
It was an unexpected contact, much more intimate than she had expected. She felt a lump in her throat begin to form.
Why would he touch me? I didn’t even notice the hair. Was he watching me? Why was he watching me? What on earth is he thinking?
A soft sigh escaped his lips. “Thank you.”
Then the duke––Westvale. No, Ronan––turned away.
Isla swallowed hard three times to remove the lump and gather her breath again. He was busy fiddling with the reins for a long moment, long enough that she wondered if he was collecting himself as well.
Then the gentleman was turning back to face her, offering his arm.
Neither of them said a word as they resumed the walk and slowly made their return to her home. As he promised, there were no more questions. He hardly murmured a word as he bowed whilst taking his leave. The entire counter left Isla wishing she could ask a question of her own.
What on earth just happened?
CHAPTER 9
He needed to tell Isla about Oliver.
Whilst Ronan had known this complicated fact since he met her, he hadn’t known how to explain himself. He didn’t like talking about it. Or thinking about it.
Just the memory had his skin itching and his eyes stinging.
The past haunted him, hunting him through his dreams and unraveling him most mornings. All he wanted was to move on. But how could he? Even seeing Oliver, his own nephew, brought back too much for him to bear.
“Take care of him, won’t you? Should something happen to me––”
