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“I Helped a Duke Find His Lost Dog,” She Told Her Mother — Then the Garden Gate Opened

“I Helped a Duke Find His Lost Dog,” She Told Her Mother — Then the Garden Gate Opened

Chapter 8

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"Bracken left this near your rose bushes yesterday," Alderwick said. His voice was steady, but his gaze did not quite meet hers. "I thought it best to return it."Eleanor looked at the small, worn toy resting on the table. She reached out, her gloved fingers brushing the stitched leather. A small, knowing smile touched her lips, though her eyes remained entirely serious. She picked up the ball, turning it slowly in her hands."I see," she said, her voice quiet. "And if you had not found it, Your Grace, would you have come today? Even knowing that Bracken could easily have waited until his next visit to retrieve it?"Alderwick remained silent for a long moment. He looked at the ball in her hands, then finally met her eyes. The formal mask he usually wore was entirely absent, replaced by a raw, uncomfortable honesty."I wanted to see you," he admitted, the words spoken quietly, as if they cost him a great deal.Eleanor held his gaze. She felt a profound warmth at his admission, a vindication of the quiet hope that had been building over the past weeks. She carefully placed the small leather ball back onto the table."I appreciate your honesty, Your Grace," she said softly. "I enjoy it when you come here. I look forward to it." She paused, drawing a steadying breath. The air between them felt suddenly heavy, charged with the weight of the unspoken. "But I must confess, I no longer know whether I should receive you as a friend of the house, or as a man who wishes to court me."The question hung in the quiet garden. Alderwick froze. The admission had clearly caught him off guard. Eleanor watched as the realization settled over him that his careful, practical excuses had ceased to be a comfort and had instead become a source of ambiguity.He opened his mouth, then closed it. He did not immediately offer a sweeping declaration or a sudden proposal of marriage. His expression was tight, his mind clearly racing to find the correct, honorable response to a question he was entirely unprepared to answer aloud. He had used the dog, the ribbon, the book, and now the ball as shields against the vulnerability of asking for her time. Stripped of those pretexts, he was suddenly adrift.Eleanor did not push him. She did not raise her voice or offer an accusation. The silence stretched, defined by the quiet hum of the garden and the small leather ball resting between them."I have not intended to cause you any discomfort, Miss Vale," he said finally, his voice harsh with a sudden, rigid constraint.
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“I Helped a Duke Find His Lost Dog,” She Told Her Mother — Then the Garden Gate Opened

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