The Iron Duke's Flaming Christmas: A Historical Regency Romance Novel by Henrietta Harding

Author:Henrietta Harding [Harding, Henrietta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regal Quill Publishing
Published: 2024-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

“My dress itches,” complained Lady Lenore, frowning, wriggling as she walked beside Selene down the hallway. “And I do not like the color of the ribbons in my hair!”

Selene glanced at the little girl. Lenore was trussed up like a roasted goose, in a starched, frilly pink gown, with matching ribbons in her hair. They had received summons half an hour ago to go to the drawing room to greet the houseguests who had arrived that afternoon, and Mrs. Kittles had been in a tizzy to get Lenore properly dressed in time.

“You look very pretty,” said Selene, in a low voice, trying to calm her pupil. “Lord Mastiff and Lady Gwen will be entranced by you, my lady.”

Lenore pouted, sticking out her bottom lip. She didn’t look particularly impressed to greet the houseguests, and Selene didn’t blame her. She didn’t want to greet them either, even if she was just on hand to control Lenore, and nothing else. No one would take notice of the governess, after all.

She could barely breathe thinking about the duke. She hadn’t seen him at all today. Her heart had leapt every time she heard footsteps along the hallway, when she had been teaching Lenore, but it was never him.

Perhaps last night in the library never happened. Perhaps I dreamt it…perhaps it was a continuation of my first dream…

But she knew that wasn’t true. The tenderness between her legs today testified to that—as did her skin, which was still tingling from his touch.

She still couldn’t believe it had happened. She simply had no idea how she felt about it yet. A part of her was still glorying in the wonder of the most incredible experience of her life—while another part was filled with angst and regret.

They reached the drawing room, which looked quite wonderful and festive with the decorations they had hung yesterday. Her heart trembled when she saw the duke, leaning against the mantelpiece, looking devilishly handsome in a smart green jacket, his dark hair still as tousled as the night before.

An older gentleman with steel gray hair and a bushy gray twirling moustache stood next to him. A young lady, probably around her own age, was seated in an armchair, sipping a cup of tea.

Selene studied her quickly. Lady Gwen was beautiful, just as Mrs. Kittles had said, and very elegant. She had golden hair, with tight curls framing her face, and was wearing a fashionable blue checkered silk gown, with a very high waistline, and cream-colored lace along the bodice. When she turned to look at them, Selene saw that her eyes were cornflower blue, but very cold.

“Ah, here she is,” said the older gentleman, beaming at Lenore. “My, you have grown, my lady!”

Lenore executed a clumsy curtsy, looking embarrassed. “My lord,” she said. “My lady.”

“Oh, what a doll,” cried Lady Gwen, smiling at her. “Come here and talk to me, Miss Lenore.”

Lenore hesitated, gazing up at Selene, who nodded, gently pushing her toward the lady. As Lenore slowly walked toward

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.