Page 46 of No Duke of Mine

Maggie glanced at the duke and noticed he was shaking his head slowly. He peeled himself off the counter, sending the proprietor away with the flick of his hand. “We have the shop to ourselves to peruse for the afternoon. No one will see or distract you from your heart’s desire. Consider it a belated birthday present, years of them, delivered all at once.”

She rushed to him. “I don’t need⁠—”

Algernon put a finger over her lips. “Will you never tire of arguing with me?”

“Probably not,” she admitted around the press of his finger.

His finger disappeared. “Then you will need to find a home with someone who will accept that habit of yours.”

“So far as I know, that only describes you.”

He pursed his lips. “You could work for me.”

“I do not think that’s…”

“Why not work for me? I pay well, and would allow you time for study.”

“What position could you possibly offer me?”

“Right now, I need a secretary,” he said slowly. “Sims has acted in the role for some time.”

“Then you should promote him,” she countered.

“I would, but then I would have to hire a new valet. I would rather do both after I marry.”

“After I’m gone,” she whispered.

“Two things I don’t wish to discuss today,” he said, and Maggie nodded, agreeing that the less said about the future, the better. It would only make the day sad.

She did not want to be sad.

She wanted to forget.

Maggie inhaled deeply and spun about, admiring the bookshelves. “I’ve no idea where to start.”

His hands settled on the tops of her shoulders, and he pushed. “Anywhere.”

She ran into a section, letting her fingers walk across the spines, reading as she went. She pulled out the first book that caught her eye and read the first few pages before putting it back. She continued that way around the large vaulted chamber, after noticing that Algernon was similarly engrossed across the room.

The bookseller came toward her, carrying a steaming cup of tea, and set it down on top of a stack of large books. “Have you found anything you want yet?”

“Everything,” she said with a soft laugh. “But nothing I cannot live without yet.”

Eventually, she did find a book that fascinated her, and she hugged it against her chest. Suddenly, Algernon was there, and he gently pulled it out of her hands before carrying it to the proprietor. She noticed him add hers to the other books that littered the countertop.

The duke had made a great number of selections. Curious about his choices, she went to see what Algernon had picked out for himself. She found they were all books that interested her, too, and she smiled.

“I should love to read these one day,” she called out to him.

“You may read them first, since you are faster at it than I. Perhaps you will read some to me before bed.”

Maggie noticed the proprietor glancing between them and smiling.

“It always gladdens my heart to see young people together who share a common interest in books,” the man said with a wink.

“He’s generous with everyone,” she assured him, blushing as she returned to her perusal of the shelves around her. She and Algernon had many things in common, but none that did her any real good, and because of that, sadness crept up on her again, and remained with her for the rest of the day.