Page 92 of The Phantom Duke

“I would not bring him into a house with a stranger of whom I am not certain,” Damien said.

Maria nodded, smiling. She was enjoying the walk and the conversation. She was enjoying the growing trust that shesensed from Damien. In the past, when something had made him suspicious, she might not see him for days. In the oak tree, he had overcome his paranoia quickly enough to catch her as she was about to fall. That was progress.

“That is wise. I hope that the need to entertain our houseguest will mean that we spend more time together?”

“You say that as if you are starved of my company.”

“That is a good way to describe it.”

“You exaggerate.”

“I assure you, I do not. A breakfast, a luncheon, a dinner or even an afternoon’s walk in the park. I would enjoy any and all immensely.”

Damien stopped for a moment, looking at her critically, head lowered and eyes narrowed. He resembled nothing so much as a feral animal, only just learning to feed from a human hand. She looked back at him patiently.

It is worth it. I believe that he is worth it. He will be. But I must be patient. Push too hard and he is likely to bolt in the opposite direction.

“They seem like simple things to enjoy. Most women seem to pursue jewelry, fine gowns, and society balls. That…sort of thing.”

Damien’s tone made it clear what he thought of that…sort of thing. Maria smiled.

“I do not miss what I have never had. Father was not very social and did not encourage me to be. My friends are that way inclined, however, and I am occasionally carried along with their enthusiasm. I will choose muddy shoes and the hem of my dress damp from trailing in long grass to a tiara and a ball.”

Damien’s lips twitched. “Grass stains on the clothes, but an afternoon of peace beneath the shade of an oak and a thrush to provide the musical accompaniment?”

“Heaven,” Maria said, simply.

She was not trying to ingratiate herself but responding honestly. She hoped he could sense that.

“I, too, have never known anything else but solitude and simplicity. Very well, I will give orders that the three of us will dine together. And when Ezekiel is gone, you and I will continue the arrangement.”

Maria knew she was beaming but did not care. Damien replied with a smile of his own. Feeling bold, Maria decided to broach the subject she had been discussing with her friends.

“My friends are keen to arrange a ball. I think Anna is going to sponsor it as she is a duchess,” Maria said.

“No,” Damien said, smile sloughing from his face as though it had never been there.

Maria stopped midstride. Her arm stretched as Damien kept walking without letting go of her hand. Then he stopped and looked back.

“I will not be stared at,” he said. “Besides, we have just been discussing simplicity.”

“I am not talking about social obligations but of pleasure. Dancing is pleasurable, and for myself, I would do it in a sackcloth for all I care about clothes. As for your face, people will get over it in moments. It will be no more interesting than what dress I am wearing or how well we perform our dance steps,” Maria protested.

“I said no. I will not stop you attending, but I will not be with you. Did you think that because I no longer wear the mask that I would simply walk into a public arena? With this face?”

He pointed to the red mark.

“Are you proposing to continue living as a hermit then?”

“Yes.”

He walked on, actually shaking his head. Maria hurried to keep up. They descended a staircase, then another.

“I think it is time we both retired. Tomorrow I will show Ezekiel the house and our mother’s gallery.”

“And this conversation?” Maria demanded.

“What conversation? You asked, and I refused. It is over.”