Page 59 of The Not So Perfect Duke

“Oh, when you look at me like that,” she sighed. “The mask removed, showing the conflicting emotions. I’m not saying we can never be. Not at all. I need—time. Just a little. Please?” She kissed him gently on the lips.

Tempted as he was to take the kiss deeper, this wasn’t the time.

The doorknob rattled. “Althea? Open this door!”

It was Sybil Norton, obviously home from her investigative case. And no doubt Mrs. Bartle filled her in on the doings. “I have a note from Corbett; what’s going on?” Sybil called out in a worried voice.

Althea sighed once again. “The outside world beckons.”

Damon gently grasped her hand. How to say this without sounding so damned needy? “So, I am to have hope?”

“There is always hope, and it is something I need to remember,” she mumbled. Then she gave Damon a wobbly smile. “Just a little time. I promise.”

Althea got to her feet slowly and made her way to the door. Turning the key, she unlocked it and opened it. Damon stood just as Miss Norton peered into the room.

“Is this the note?” Althea pointed to the slip of paper her cousin clasped tightly.

“Oh, yes.” She passed it to Althea.

“Corbett will be bringing Doctor Stevenson tomorrow at one o’clock,” she said, folding the note and placing it in her skirt pocket. “I will need Eleanora and Christian to be here, and you as well, Sybil. It’s to examine my leg. There is a cyst on it that is pressing against nerves, causing me to stumble.”

Althea spoke with a steady voice, keeping her anguish hidden away to not alarm her family. By God, he was proud of her.

“Damon was with me when I fell. He called in to check on me,” she continued. “I am fine, as you see. We shared a little tea and conversation, Sybil, nothing nefarious.” Althea turned toward him. “You will be here tomorrow afternoon at one?”

“Of course, if you wish it,” he replied, his heart soaring that she had asked.

She took his arm, escorting him into the hallway. “I do wish it very much,” Althea said softly enough, only he could hear. “Thank you for coming to comfort me. It meant the world.”

In other words, it was time for him to depart. Damon could take a hint. Miss Norton followed them into the hallway.

“Now, I am exhausted and going to try and sleep for a while.” Althea gave them a shaky smile, entered her room, and closed the door.

Damon turned and trotted down the stairs, Miss Norton hot on his heels.

“What’s going on?” she whispered furiously.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, he turned to face her. “Is Mrs. Bartle still here?”

“Yes, she’s in the kitchen.”

“Please take me to her.”

Miss Norton escorted him to the kitchen area, and Mrs. Bartle started at his presence. “God above!” she exclaimed, wiping her hands on a tea towel.

“Could you make Miss Althea toasted cheese and bacon and a fresh cup of tea? I think she would appreciate it, Mrs. Bartle.”

“At once, Your Grace.”

Miss Norton grabbed his coat sleeve. “I ask again, what is happening here?”

“The cyst on her leg may be serious or not. That is why Buchanan is consulting someone with expertise in growths on bone. Althea is afraid it will impede her walking and thus impede her investigating. She is afraid her dreams will all be for naught.”

Not the complete truth, but enough to placate Althea’s cousin.

Miss Norton deflated. “Oh. No wonder, then. The Galway Agency is Althea’s entire life. Nothing else matters. I can see why she was upset.”

Those words cut through him like a thousand slices from a serrated blade. This was his fear, his particular vulnerability when it came to Althea. That she would choose her career over him. How could he make her understand that he would never stand in the way of her ambitions and dreams?