She Hid Under a Table to Escape a Matchmaker — The Duke Was Already There
Chapter 13
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They walked back through the house. In the breakfast room, servants were clearing the tables. One of the ferns still obstructed the passage, and Gilbert paused to help move its stand. Daphne held the door.When he straightened, they were close enough that she could see a speck of soil on his cuff. She brushed it away. "There, presentable.""I was hoping for more than presentable."Her hand remained against his arm. "You needn't prepare a speech.""I had begun rejecting several."He looked at her mouth. She moved nearer, and he kissed her before either could find another sensible remark. For a few seconds, the sounds from the other room became remote. Daphne put her hand at the back of his neck. He drew her closer with a warmth that made her grateful the fern was no longer between them.Then the footman appeared in the doorway. There was a pause."Would your grace wish the remaining stand brought through?"Gilbert looked at the fern. "In a moment.""Very good, your grace." He withdrew.Daphne leaned against Gilbert's coat, laughing. "Does he do that often?""I am beginning to suspect he considers it one of his duties."When she lifted her face, Gilbert was smiling at her with no trace of the expression he used to make people withdraw."May I call on you next week?" he asked."Yes. Without a wedding to arrange, I should prefer it."He kissed her again, briefly this time. They moved the fern before the footman had occasion to return.Daphne went home with her mother on Monday. The Selwoods lived far enough from Lethbury to make a visit deliberate and near enough to make it possible. During the journey, Mrs. Selwood discussed the wedding, the flowers, and the agreeable conduct of various relations. She left the duke untouched until they were almost home."He appears very attentive."Daphne looked out of the carriage. "He is coming on Thursday."Her mother sat a little straighter. "To call?""That is generally what people do when they come to the drawing room.""Daphne, you needn't be absurd. I am pleased."She turned back. Her mother looked pleased in a way that made her feel tender and alarmed together. "You may be," she said, "but please let Thursday remain Thursday for a little while."Mrs. Selwood opened her mouth, considered several possible replies, and chose to adjust her gloves. "I shall order something suitable for tea. He likes sandwiches. Most gentlemen do."Daphne began laughing and could not explain why.On Thursday, Gilbert arrived ten minutes late because a wheel had needed attention on the road. Daphne had spent those ten minutes discovering a number of humiliating things about herself: she could inspect the window repeatedly without seeing anything outside it; she could read one sentence six times and fail to learn what it said; she could become annoyed with a perfectly innocent clock.When he entered, smiling and apologetic, she wanted to embrace him and tell him she had scarcely noticed the delay."I was beginning to become cross," she said instead.