Page 78 of Guilty Pleasures
“I will not pursue you any longer,” he told her over his shoulder. “All I ask is that if ... if there is a child after last night, you let me do my duty in that, at least.”
Daphne halted a few feet away from him. She gave a little cough. “Thank you for telling me, for sharing that with me. But I really came because I heard you were looking to fill a position on your estate. What are the qualifications of being a duchess?”
He stiffened, and did not speak for a long moment. Then he drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. He turned around. “Are you applying for the post, Miss Wade?”
“I thought I might, but I have concerns about the position, for I know it is an arduous one. What does a duchess do, exactly?”
He took a step toward her. “Love the duke. Love him with all the passion she hides within her, love him each and every day of her life.”
Daphne nodded with no change in her expression. “I already do that. What else?”
“She would need to rid herself of any fashionable notion of ever sleeping in her own rooms, unless of course he takes to snoring.”
Daphne tilted her head to one side, her heart pounding so hard she believed she could hear it echo off the dome overhead. “I believe I could manage that, even the snoring, for if one can sleep through a sandstorm, one can sleep through anything. What else?”
“She must run his household, at whichever estate they are in residence. She must be discreet, for the duke is a private man, and she would need to always behave with restraint no matter what her inner feelings, for she will be constantly observed by others and gossiped about.”
Daphne tapped her fingertip to her lip several times, then nodded. “I believe I am rather good at that part.”
“However, she must learn not to conceal her true feelings from the duke himself, who only wants to make her happy. She must give many fetes and country house parties, run a vast number of charities, be able to entertain dignitaries—kings and such—and try to look down her nose at everyone else and convince them she is far better than they are. She might have difficulty with that part.”
“I can learn.”
“She would need to treat servants with all her diplomatic kindness, smoothing over any feathers ruffled by the duke, who is known to be an impatient man, difficult to satisfy, and not always thoughtful of the feelings of those who work for him. Pleases and thank yous and things such as that are difficult for dukes to manage, you know.”
He smiled, and her heart began to soar. He took another step toward her. “She has to learn how to spend the duke’s money with absurd extravagance, especially on follies for herself, such as beautiful clothes, jewels, and presents for her friends. She must never, ever, allow herself to run out of gardenia-scented soap, for dukes are known to be quite partial to gardenias. And should she and the duke have children, she has to love them. She has to lavish upon those children all the attention and care that the duke and duchess’s own sets of parents were never able to lavish on them.”
“I could do that,” she whispered.
He took another step, and halted a foot in front of her. He reached out and wiped her tear away with the tip of his finger. Only then did she realize she was crying. “She has to stop being afraid of getting hurt, for the duke will surely hurt her again on many occasions during their long marriage, but he will never do so with deliberate intent, for he loves her more than anything on earth.”
She caught back a sob and started to speak, but he gestured to the flower in her hand, stopping her. “I sent you this because it is the truest expression of my feelings that I am able to give you.” He took a deep breath. “I fell in love with you that day in my gardens, when I saw you standing in the rain. I have loved you since first sight, Daphne, for that moment when I saw you standing in the rain was the first time I ever truly saw you.”
“Oh, Anthony!” She threw her arms around his neck. “I was afraid,” she cried, her voice muffled by his shirtfront. “I could not believe that you were sincere. I kept telling myself I did not love you anymore, but I knew I was deceiving myself and had been for such a long time. I love you. I do not know when I fell in love with you—the real emotion, I mean, and so much stronger and deeper than what I felt before—but I did fall in love with you.”
She sniffed and took his offered handkerchief. “Now, what were those twenty questions you wanted to ask me?”
“Only one.” He cupped her cheeks in his hands, loving her face and all the subtle nuances of feeling conveyed in her expression. “How much time do I get in exchange for that rose?”
“For the rose, a short engagement. For the speech, you get a lifetime.”
“I can live with that,” he said, and kissed her.