Always Be My Duchess by Amalie Howard

Author:Amalie Howard [HOWARD, AMALIE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2022-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lysander didn’t understand why Nève was staring at him in such surprise. His request wasn’t that unreasonable. She blinked. “You wish to go to Yorkshire this morning and return this very evening? Back to London?”

He nodded, wondering why she sounded so shocked. The French railway system was just as advanced as the English, and in some cases, even faster. Trains could reach speeds of over seventy-five miles per hour, and the routes that George Leeman had developed for the North Eastern Railway from London into northern England were swift and efficient.

“We’ll leave from King’s Cross. The journey should be less than three hours each way. We’ll have luncheon there and then return. Trust me, you will be in nothing but the best of comfort.” She gave him a dubious look, but nodded. “Be ready in thirty minutes.”

“What shall I wear?” she asked.

He glanced at the pale green muslin dress that brought out the chartreuse in her eyes. “That will do nicely, but wear comfortable shoes.”

Precisely thirty minutes later, they were ensconced in his coach and on the way to the train station. Lysander tapped his fingers nervously on his thighs and caught Nève’s gaze. She smiled. “Did you pick up that bad habit from me? I tend to do that when I’m nervous.”

He stopped drumming and curled his fingers into a fist against his trousers. “Coincidentally, it’s an old quirk of mine as well. I haven’t done it since I was a boy. One of my old tutors who knew of my love for music told me it was a good way to bring me back to the present.” He exhaled, worried he’d revealed too much. The inner workings of his mind were his own business, and considering his own father had ridiculed him often for his faults, Lysander didn’t advertise his shortcomings. “I’d forgotten I used to do it until I saw you do the same.”

“That’s smart. Did you get lost in your imagination during lessons?” She gave him a conspiratorial smile. “I did. When I was a girl, my governess said my head was always in clouds made of marshmallows and spun sugar.”

“That sounds sticky.” Nève burst out laughing, and he couldn’t help smiling back, though it was with some discomfort, as if his own lips were rusty at it. He didn’t understand why it was so easy to talk to her. She was much better with people than he was, making them feel instantly at ease in her company. “My clouds were different. My brain can get confused, and go from slow and steady to hell-bent in a handful of seconds. The drumming helped. Sometimes, a scent can be helpful, too. My mother used to smell like jasmine. If I smell it now, I can picture her so clearly.”

“How wonderful,” she murmured, her face turning melancholy beneath the brim of her bonnet. “I can’t remember what my mama smelled like. She and Papa were so sick at the end… it erased most of the good memories.”

“I’m sorry.

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