Page 47 of An Unfamiliar Duke

“It was my pleasure, Your Grace.” She smiled shyly. “I wish I could be there to see His Grace’s face when he sees you.”

Rosalind pressed her hand to her stomach. It was an ordinary, everyday dinner, she reminded herself. No guests. No special occasion. Just a dinner that she may not be able to eat.

Polly seemed to sense that Rosalind needed a little extra encouragement, because she walked over to the door and opened it. Raising her chin, Rosalind walked out and did not look back.

She saw Sebastian from the entrance hall. He was standing outside the dining room door, dressed in a blue coat with silver trim and matching breeches. The white lace at his neck and sleeves contrasted with his silver-colored vest. It was impossible to deny his handsome appearance, but it was his expression as she approached that set the butterflies loose within her.

“You are stunning, Rosalind.” He took her hand, and a frisson of awareness skittered up her arm.

“As are you,” she said.

He smiled. “Are gentlemen supposed to be stunning?”

She recognized the humor in his eyes, and a little of her tension eased. They may have each spent a little longer preparing for this meal than they did when they ate separately, but that did not mean that they must assume an unnatural formality. “Probably not.” She feigned thoughtfulness. “Passable, then. You are certainly passable.”

He laughed. It was a warm, rich sound that touched the hidden places in her heart.

“I shall be sure to tell James that we need to do better next time.”

“No, indeed. I do not wish to compete with anything higher than this level of passable. And I am quite sure that Polly will not either.”

“Very well,” he said. “Passable it is.”

He waited for her to sit and for Marcus to slide her chair closer to the large table, and then he sat at the head of the table immediately to her left. Moments later, the first course arrived. Marcus set the soup bowls before them, then slipped away on silent feet.

“Tell me about growing up at Langton Manor,” Sebastian said.

“What would you like to know?”

“Anything.” He shrugged. “Start with the things that are most important to you.”

“That would be my family,” she said. “You’ve met my mother. She is one of the most remarkable women I know. My brother, Jonas, recently completed his studies at Cambridge and is currently doing a tour of the Continent. He had to take upon himself the responsibilities associated with being Viscount Langton earlier than any of us had anticipated when my father was killed in a tragic accident.”

“I remember hearing of it,” Sebastian said. “My father was devastated by the news.”

Rosalind nodded. After so many years, the pain associated with losing her father had diminished but not fully disappeared. “When did you lose your parents?”

“My mother died when I was nineteen years old. My father survived for only eight months more.” There was sadness in his smile. “Their marriage was arranged from birth, yet they came to love each other dearly. I do not think my father could countenance living without my mother for very long.”

“A doubly hard loss for you,” she said.

“It was.”

Their plates disappeared, and new ones arrived. Rosalind searched her memories for something that might lighten the somber mood that had fallen upon them.

“Another of my favorite things about Langton Manor is that it is located by the sea. I would spend hours walking the beach with my governess. Somehow, I managed to convince her that I could combine my comportment lessons—because it is remarkably difficult to walk in a ladylike manner on shifting pebbles—with chanting French verbs or memorizing poetry.”

“When in actuality, you simply wanted to be outside counting seagulls,” Sebastian supplied.

“I can see that I have already shared far too much with you. You really must keep my love of counting to yourself. It is not the most ladylike of attributes.”

He chuckled. “Your secret is safe. Although, I respectfully disagree with your assessment: I believe a good head for numbers is a very fine trait.”

“Arithmetic was by far my favorite subject when I was a young girl. I only wish I could have studied it more extensively and learned to apply it to something more than balancing housekeeping books.”

Sebastian eyed her contemplatively. “Are you still interested in seeing my design for a new bridge?”

“Most definitely.” Her response was as emphatic as it was enthusiastic, but as far as Rosalind was concerned, this was no time to be demure. She had desperately hoped that Sebastian would extend this offer again.