The Duke Jokingly Asked Her to Find Him a Wife — “You May Be Looking at Her, Your Grace!”
Chapter 9
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Cecily looked up again. There was no teasing in his expression now, only a quiet sincerity that made his words linger in the room. For the first time since meeting him, she was uncertain how to answer.At last, she smiled. "Then I hope, Your Grace, that you are a patient gentleman."His eyes warmed. "I am learning to be."Edmund Bennett returned 20 minutes later to find his daughter completing a certified copy of an old boundary agreement while the Duke of Westhaven stood beside the desk discussing the condition of the village bridge. It was not a scene he had expected."Your Grace," Edmund said, bowing. "An honor.""Mr. Bennett, I am pleased to meet you. And I am pleased to see that Cecily has not frightened you away.""Quite the contrary. Your daughter has been of considerable assistance.""She usually is.""Papa!""What? I am merely stating a fact."Maximilian smiled. "I have been told that you are an excellent keeper of records, sir.""By whom? Miss Bennett?" Edmund turned toward Cecily. "Then she has been unusually generous.""Papa, if you intend to embarrass me, I shall leave you both to discuss the drainage ditch.""A subject of considerable importance," Maximilian observed."Especially when it floods," Edmund added.The two gentlemen exchanged an approving glance. Cecily sighed. "I see you are going to get along famously."And they did. For the next quarter of an hour, Maximilian and Edmund discussed the mill road, the old bridge, and the difficulty of maintaining historical records when damp weather threatened the paper. Maximilian asked thoughtful questions; Edmund answered with obvious pleasure; Cecily listened, occasionally contributing a detail or correcting a date. It was a surprisingly comfortable conversation: there was no stiffness, no excessive deference.And when Maximilian finally prepared to leave, Edmund accompanied him to the door."You are welcome here whenever you require assistance, Your Grace.""Thank you, Mr. Bennett. I suspect I shall have occasion to return."Cecily looked up from her papers. "More troublesome boundaries, possibly?""Then I shall prepare myself."Maximilian bowed. "Until we meet again, Miss Bennett.""Good day, Your Grace."He left. Cecily watched the door close; her father watched Cecily."Well," Edmund said.She turned. "Well, what?""A very agreeable gentleman.""Yes.""And remarkably interested in our old records.""He had a perfectly legitimate reason to visit.""Of course, Papa.""I said nothing.""You are thinking something, my dear.""I have been thinking things for 55 years. It is a habit I am unlikely to abandon."She laughed despite herself. Edmund returned to his desk, but when Cecily resumed her copying, she found herself smiling at a particularly uninteresting line concerning drainage rights, and that, she decided, was rather foolish.Over the next fortnight, Maximilian Ashcombe discovered that there were more reasons to visit the village than he had previously appreciated. Some were entirely practical: he consulted Edmund about an old lease; he purchased a book from the shop opposite the records office; he attended a meeting concerning improvements to the village bridge.