The Perfect Duke by Ruth Ann Nordin

Author:Ruth Ann Nordin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: sex, historical romance, regency romance, manipulation, virgin heroine, marriage of convenience, virgin hero, victorian romance, bankrupt duke, social standing
Publisher: Ruth Ann Nordin

Chapter Twelve

Tara had turned out to be more popular with his mother and sisters than Nick expected. Oh, he knew they were grateful to her and that they would do everything possible to see to her comfort, but from the moment Tara returned to the townhouse, they hadn’t let her out of their sight. And while he was glad they got along so well, he wanted to have some time alone with her. He supposed he should be satisfied with the amount of time they’d spent together in the carriage, going to and from Gretna Green. But he wasn’t. In fact, the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to be with her. And he’d spent a good portion of the day away from her.

As much as he tried not to, he kept glancing at the clock above the fireplace mantle in the drawing room. It was after dinner now, and his mother and sisters were still hovering around Tara. If he wasn’t sitting next to her on the settee, he doubted she’d even remember he was in the room since it was hard to get a word in over their constant stream of chatter.

“The last time I saw a rat was when it was in my bedchamber,” Augusta was saying. She shivered. “It ran right across my feet as I was climbing into bed.”

Nick’s mother laughed. “I remember that. Augusta screamed so loud I thought one of the neighbors was going to ask us if something was wrong. Fortunately, the trap we set out got it.”

“You don’t need to worry,” Cress hurried to tell Tara. “We’ve taken measures to make sure no more rats get into this place.”

“That’s a relief,” Tara replied, relaxing. “I don’t like rats.”

“No one does,” Cress said. “That’s why we were diligent about sealing up all of the vulnerable places around here. Nick did most of the work on that, so you can thank him.”

Tara glanced over at him and smiled. “Thank you. I don’t like those things any more than your sisters and mother do.” Then she picked up her cup and drank some of her tea.

Now that he had gotten her attention, he straightened up and asked, “How did your day go?” He would have asked the question sooner, but his family hadn’t given him the chance.

“I think things went all right,” Tara told him. “The most pressing thing, of course, is figuring out a way to get the Ton to think favorably about Ladies of Grace. I visited Lady Blakemoor, and she thinks hosting the ball at her residence will be good. Since she lives so close to Lady Cadwalader, I think she’s right. The location might attract more prominent members of the Ton.”

“Well, I don’t think hosting a ball here would be good,” he slowly replied, not really wanting to point out the dated furnishings, much less tell her that everything in their ballroom was collecting dust. She had seen some of the rooms, but she hadn’t seen that one yet, and he wasn’t sure he wanted her to until he hired more staff to take care of it.

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