Page 27 of Duke in Darkness

“What are you doing in here? You’re supposed to be in my library. For the meeting.”

Lilian’s insides clenched. She was tardy?

“I am sorry, Exton. I must have lost track of time. I will come with you at once,” she replied, hurrying across the more sparsely furnished parlor to him. For heaven’s sake. He’d granted her a boon, and she’d embarrassed him.

“To my library, then,” Exton said, offering his arm.

She took it immediately, shivering when his other hand reached around to clamp her fingers to his sleeve. His skin felt warm, and his arm so powerfully unyielding, it made her want to lean against him and absorb the heat and fresh scent of herbs and soap surrounding him. But she wouldn’t. Not when she knew the reason he had recently bathed. “Of course.”

“Why were you leaning on the window?” Exton asked abruptly. “Are you unwell?”

“No, no,” she hastily assured him with a forced smile. “Just people watching. It’s finally stopped raining out there.”

Exton scowled. “Of course.”

Determined to remain cheerful, she added, “There were quite a few out and about in the square. Couples. Children and governesses, a group of young lads…”

“Young lads all need a damned kick…in the backside.”

Lilian’s heart sank. Obviously, the visit to his mistress hadn’t left him in a good enough temper to forgive her mistake. In fact, he seemed particularly irritable. Deciding it would be prudent not to annoy him any further with meaningless small talk, she remained silent as they continued on to his library.

Suddenly, she wasn’t looking forward to this meeting with Mr. Fairlie one bit.

DAMN HIS TOO-BEAUTIFUL WIFE.

Gabriel slid into the padded chair behind his library desk with a sigh of relief. At least now he could better hide the erection tenting his trousers. He was already on edge after his bloody awful morning, but then Lilian hadn’t appeared for their meeting, and he’d had to instruct bloody Norris to have Fairlie cool his heels in the entrance hall until she could be found.

He’d been worried, thinking her injured or unwell. And then he’d found her, casually leaning against the parlor window looking like a painting of Venus, her rounded backside arched toward him, and those lush, full breasts he still hadn’t seen lovingly outlined by a gown bodice that actually fit her for once. But worst of all, the gown in question revealed her neck and shoulders. Slender, elegant, and made to display an expensive necklace.

The perfect taunts to the day he’d had, all wrapped up in one delectable and innocently erotic package. If he had his way, Lilian would be naked, spread across his desk, and stuffed full with his cock right now. They certainly wouldn’t be talking to a steward.

“Good afternoon, sir,” said Fairlie with a friendly grin, as Norris escorted him into the library.

“Fairlie,” he replied, nodding in return. “Come and meet Her Grace. Lilian, may I present Mr. Fairlie, ex-army sergeant and steward of the Rutland county estate.”

Lilian rose to her feet and held out her hand, and the steward clasped it gently. “A great pleasure to meet you, Duchess.”

She regally inclined her head. “And you, Mr. Fairlie. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.”

“Would you like to see the ledgers first, sir?”

Gabriel nodded. “I’ll take this one. Lilian, you take the other. We’ll read then ask questions.”

His wife stared at him, surprise plain on her face. Yet there was keen interest there, too. “Are you sure? I am not familiar with estate ledgers.”

“Good time to learn.”

A smile lit up her face, like a child given sweets. Hell, she really was a curious little kitten if the chance to read a damned estate ledger was a boon. But he wanted to please her, especially when he’d been such a lackluster husband so far.

Fairlie handed over the two leather-bound ledgers, and for the next several hours Lilian studied hers closely, asking crisp, thoughtful questions. That led to a spirited debate between the three of them regarding possible new crops for the rich, fertile soils enjoyed in the county, modern farming techniques, and the pros and cons of dairy against beef cattle, and for the first time, the ledgers began to make sense. At eight o’clock they stopped for supper trays with roasted chicken, sliced green beans, asparagus in butter sauce, wine, brandy, and berry tarts with clotted cream.

Admiration surged through him at Lilian’s efforts, and it seemed Fairlie was more than a little in awe of her. As Gabriel already knew and the steward would soon learn, the Duchess of Exton was an intelligent and articulate woman. Somehow that made his cock even harder, even when she asked her hundredth question about crop diversity.

“Getting back to our last discussion, what do you think, sir?” asked Fairlie as he set aside his empty dessert plate. Rather endearing, how much the ex-sergeant genuinely enjoyed his work. “One kind of crop, or many? Her Grace favors many.”

Gabriel took a sip of brandy and nodded slowly. “I would have to agree. Not in equal measure, one main then several depending on demand. Cost. Return on investment. Ease of harvest. Farmhands available. That sort of thing.”

“Precisely, Exton,” said Lilian, smiling approvingly, and suddenly he felt like some sort of agricultural crop managing king.