Page 71 of The Duke's Indecent Match

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and opened the door to the dining room.Four pairs of eyes met hers, two of them turning in their seats to do so.The heat in her cheeks flared even higher.

“Good morning,” she said, doing her best to keep her voice even.

“Good morning,” three voices chorused back immediately.

Her husband’s response was a touch slower.More mumbled.

She was acutely aware of Hereford’s eyes on her as she moved over to the buffet, though when she glanced over at the table, he had already turned his gaze down to his plate.

Her stomach flipped over in disappointment.

Any hope that last night had changed anything between them was gone.Though he’d given her such pleasure, touched her so intimately, fallen asleep wrapped around her…

Even the fact that he’d quit her bed at some point had not necessarily indicated anything.She did not know when he’d left.For all she knew, he’d retreated just before Margaret had come into the room.

Or right after she’d fallen asleep.

Dropping her attention back to the selection of food in front of her, she picked up a plate.Despite the way her stomach was now churning, she was still ravenous.And it was going to be a long day.She needed to eat something.

“I want a rainbow of dresses!”Fiona was saying as Kalina brought her plate to the table.A glass of water had already been set out for her, along with a teacup.The pot of tea sat in the middle of the table.

As she sat down, Julianna picked up the pot and poured Kalina a cup of tea.She could not help but feel grateful.If the sisters were not overly demonstrative in welcoming her, they were at least not cold.

Not like their brother.

The way that he looked at Fiona, the way he smiled, nearly took her breath away with a desire to have him look at her like that again.With warmth.With appreciation.With interest.

“Start with three dresses first,” he told his youngest sister.“I have things I need to attend to today, but soon you will be able to get more.”

“One for each of us?”Fiona asked, glancing at her other two sisters, obviously wanting to be sure she understood what her brother meant.All of them were wearing hand-me-downs again.The dresses were out of fashion, the colors slightly faded, though they’d been well taken care of.They did fit very well, which indicated some sewing ability by at least one person in the household.

“Three for each of you.”

“Each?”Julianna whispered, her eyes wide.Her gaze darted to Kalina, then away again.

It was obvious where the largess was coming from.

“Huzzah!”Fiona threw her hands up in the air, apparently forgetting that she was holding her fork in one of them.Some of the eggs that had been on the tines went flying to the floor behind her.She half-turned to look as she realized her mistake.“Oops.”

Kalina startled as something red and furry darted out from underneath the table, heading directly for the fallen eggs.Her mouth dropped open when it came to a halt.Reddish fur, bushy tail… was that a fox?

“Fiona.”Hereford’s voice was both amused and full of resignation.“You know Telemachus is not allowed in the dining room.How did you even get him in here?”

“I did not!”Fiona said, jumping up and hurrying over to the fox.She picked him up, and he did not protest.The fallen eggs were already gone, and he was licking his chops with satisfaction.“He must have snuck in.He’s very wily, you know.”

“Mmm.”The sound Hereford made was noncommittal.

“What are you going to do about Telemachus once we get dogs?”Julianna asked.

“Oh, they will be the best of friends,” Fiona said cheerfully, carrying Telemachus out of the room.

The three older siblings looked at each other.

Emma sighed.

“You know, the way she is, she might even be right.Telemachus has never bothered Archibald or the hens or any of the other animals she’s brought in.”

“I’m not worried about Telemachus bothering the dogs; I’m worried about the other way around,” Julianna said quietly, glancing at the open doorway.