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She winced. “Well… no. I guess I have not.”

“That is all right.” Caroline reached forward and took Isabella’s hands. “I am sure the next one he hires will be here to stay. And if not…” She winked. “Perhaps next time we can find somewhere higher to climb? Somewhere even your father cannot find you.”

Isabella’s blue eyes lit up excitedly. “All right! Although…” She squeezed Caroline’s hands back. “… I wish you were the governess my father had hired.”

She laughed at that. “Me too, Isabella.”

“Isabella!” the Duke’s voice cried out from around the side of the house. “Isabella! I am not playing with you!”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened with fear. “Oh no!”

“Quicky!” Caroline jumped to her knees. “If we hurry, we can have you back in your room before he finds you. And then when he does, I will attest that you were there the whole time.”

“You will?”

“Of course. But only if we hurry,” she said with a wink.

Isabella’s grin was wicked, and then, as if she was part monkey, she spun about and swung herself down from the roof of the carriage. For Caroline, it took a little longer as she was forced to scramble and clutch at the railing as she slowly lowered herself.

But soon, the two were on their feet on firm ground, and then, Caroline taking Isabella by the hand, they hurried across the drive and back inside the house.

“Where is your room?” Caroline asked.

“Up the stairs—no!” She pulled Caroline back as she made to lead her toward the main staircase. “There is another way around the back. Quickly!” Holding Caroline by the hand, Isabella led them.

The two giggled as they hurried, for this felt like an adventure, fraught with danger as the evil duke chased them. But with any adventure, there is always the chance it will end in tragedy as so taken were the girls with their little game that they rounded the corner without looking, only to come upon the wicked duke.

Isabella was quick to see him, releasing Caroline’s hand and sidestepping her father so as not to charge right into his burly frame. But Caroline, not quite so nimble on her feet, could barely slow herself down, feet tripping, arms flailing, body tumbling at pace, and crashing right into the arms of His Grace.

CHAPTER SIX

She felt his arms wrapping around her, the strength of them so all-encompassing that it was no effort for him to take her falling weight and steady her as he pulled her body into his chest. And as he did, those large arms held her close, tight into him, protecting her and caring for her so that there was no chance she might fall and hurt herself.

It happened in an instant. She stumbled, and the next thing she knew, he had her. But time seemed to slow as she rested in his embrace, and rather than pushing back and trying to force his arms from her, Caroline could not help but succumb for a moment to their feel around her, for it was a level of intimacy and intensity that she had never known and did not wish to end.

“What is going on here?” His Grace growled, still holding Caroline so that she was half-horizontal, one foot on the ground, the other up… dangling by his calf as if she meant to wrap her leg around him.

“Nothing!” Isabella cried. “We were just… nothing!”

He looked down at Caroline as he cradled her, no sense that he meant to let her go. And for a further moment, he simply held her close as his stare bore into her, a feeling that he was trying to see through her as he searched for the truth. And Caroline, her mind gone now as all she could think of was the way she felt in his strong and protective arms, met them and held them and forgot who she was and what she had been doing.

“Do not lie to me, Isabella.”

“I am not!”

“Miss Dowding?” he then asked, still looking at her. “Tell me, is my daughter a liar?”

“I…” Caroline’s mouth was bone dry, her tongue swollen in her mouth. “I… she… we…”

“Well?”

Caroline gave her head a shake. “She is not lying, Your Grace. It is as Isabella said.”

“Is that so?” Still holding her in his arms, he looked down at her, a warning glare that was intended to break her resolve, but she matched it, refusing to give in… even if a small part of her wished to.

“What in the name of all things have I walked in on!” Esther appeared suddenly around the corner. She took in the scene, asmile split her face, and she threw back her head and cackled. “Perhaps I should do another lap of the estate if my timing is inappropriate!”

And just like that, the moment was broken.