A Fake Courtship with the Duke: A Historical Regency Romance Novel by Sally Forbes

Author:Sally Forbes [Forbes, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

For a moment, Anne was swept in the way of the magic of playing the pianoforte. The tension in her family’s home, Mischief’s close call with her mother’s vase, and even the duke didn’t exist. It was just her and the music, and she was happy to get swept up in the joy and passion of it all. It felt like the music was caressing all her raw nerves and soothing the parts of her mind that remained constantly anxious since her parents had started to try to pressure her to marry her cousin. Mischief was healing to her soul, and music settled her most troublesome thoughts.

She was only brought back to reality when her Beethoven piece concluded, and the drawing room fell into complete silence as the final notes lingered around her. She glanced around to see that her sister’s mouth had fallen open and her mother’s gaze was fixed firmly onto the duke, who was staring intently at Anne. She held her breath, knowing that whatever he said would determine her own mother’s words and mood.

“I am in awe, Miss Anne,” the Duke finally said, his words and eyes full of genuine admiration. “Your musical skills rival those of professional musicians. I have never heard such talent apart from on a stage.”

Anne’s cheeks flushed hot, but for the first time in as long as she could remember, it wasn’t because she felt ashamed or embarrassed. The duke was giving her sincere praise, and it both humbled and elated her. Even her mother seemed pleased, giving her a small smile. Perhaps, the rest of the day wouldn’t be filled with the weight of her parents’ silent admonishment, as was so often the case.

“Would you consider staying for lunch?” the viscountess asked, once more directing her attention to the duke.

The delight Anne had taken in the praise from the duke dissolved instantly in the face of the desperation in her mother’s voice. She glanced over at the Duke, who was giving an indulgent smile to the viscountess as he rose, shaking his head.

“I regret being forced to say no,” he said. “But I do have that meeting.” He paused, turning back to Anne, his expression warming as soon as their eyes met, and he gave her a wink. “However, I shall be looking forward to promenade hour tomorrow.”

Anne nodded, giving the duke what she was sure must have been her hundred thousandth grateful look. As he bowed, his cheeks turned pink, and only then did she realize that he had repeated himself when talking about taking her to the park during promenade hour. She bit her lip, hiding an amused smile. He seemed as awkward with their interactions as she was sometimes. And there was something endearing to her about that.

“As will I, Your Grace,” she said shyly, with a great deal more sincerity than she’d felt after her mother had accepted the outing before she could reject it. She reminded herself that he was good company. And he seemed to feel the same way about her.

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.