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Hall boys and maids rushed to pull drapes and shutter windows as the pair headed into the warmer parts of the manor. The moment they entered the drawing room, they could see lightning cascading across the sky and hear the thunder as it reverberated from the heavens.

Gemma jumped.

“Scared of storms?” he asked.

She gave him a half smile as she swatted a loose curl out of her eyes. “I am not very fond of them.”

With an enormous crack, the skies opened up with a jagged fork of blue–white lightning that lit the entirety of the room in which they were standing. After several seconds of thunderous, rumbling sounds, the deluge began to pelt the earth with icy lancets of rain.

“Let us have dinner,” he suggested.

She took another look out of the window, then nodded. Frederick remembered Remus and told Gemma to stay where she was. As fearless as the dog was, he became quite nervousduring thunderstorms and usually hid under Frederick’s bed or under his desk when they made an appearance.

Frederick could not leave him alone in his room to quiver with fear. The moment he opened his door, Remus came to him gratefully and sniffed his hand in thanks.

“Come on, old boy,” he said, and headed back to meet Gemma.

As the pair rounded the corner, Gemma’s eyes widened in surprise as she noticed the dog padding beside him. He anticipated her thoughts. “He is not aggressive.”

Gemma tucked in her skirts and crouched to reach for Remus. The dog sniffed her hands, then cautiously approached her to sniff her face. His tail began to wag with approval and Frederick smiled, pleased that Gemma had passed the test. As she rubbed his head and neck, Remus’s mouth hung open, his tail thumped with joy and his body wriggled with delight.

Remus launched forward, almost knocking Gemma off her feet while nosing at her hands, licking her fingertips and slobbering on her chin. Gemma giggled. “Friendly boy, are you not?”

“Remus, down,” Frederick ordered, and the dog’s rump hit the floor instantly.

The delight on her face; the simple pleasure she experienced from doing something he took for granted, warmed his heart.

She stood, pink-cheeked and brimming with happiness. “I believe I should wash my hands before we sit down for dinner. Where are we eating this time?”

“The same breakfast room,” he replied. “It makes no sense to use the formal dining room when it will only be the two of us, plus Remus of course. Grandmother is taking dinner in her rooms this evening.”

“I will be there shortly.” Gemma promised as she walked away to cleanse her fur-coated fingers.

Fredrick’s eyes followed her until she was out of sight.

CHAPTER 13

After washing her hands, Gemma changed into a clean gown; she did not think a dress covered in grass stains would be appropriate attire during dinner.

She silently sent the Dowager Duchess her thanks as she looked over the embroidered, pale lilac dress. The lady had ordered two dresses for her. They were soft and silky and fitted her perfectly. Gemma hadn’t worn anything so fine in her entire life.

She paused to examine her hands, smiling at the memory of the Duke’s dog. The last time she had touched one was eighteen years ago when her father, the late Earl of Carrington, had bought her a dog for companionship.

Gemma had named the puppy Tilly. She had been a ball of fur with big brown eyes that Gemma had loved like a sibling until her mother had given her away to a neighbor. That very same day she had packed up Gemma and driven her to St. Catherine’s.

She rested her hands against the rim of the washbasin and gazed blindly at the water in the bowl.

Now I know why Mother did not respond to my letters begging her to take me out of the convent.

She’d heard whispers that her mother had remarried, but it was only after she had seen an article years ago announcing that her mother had taken the name Treston, that Gemma realized she’d never come for her. Her mother had started another family and forgotten her.

Shaking her head as if to dislodge her dour thoughts, Gemma walked to the breakfast room, where the Duke was waiting for her with his dog, which sat quietly by his side.

Taking a seat across from him, she reached out to pet the dog. “What did you say his name was?”

“Remus,” he replied. “If you believe the myths, Remus, along with his twin brother Romulus, was one of the men who founded the city of Rome.”

Gemma briefly considered his choice of name.