Free The Way to a Duke's Heart: The Truth About the Duke by Caroline Linden Page A

concerned. It was so unlike Eugenie to be silent, she began to fear her companion had taken ill.
    “Eugenie, are you feeling well?” she finally asked.
    “Yes, dear, I’m very well.” The older woman summoned a rueful smile. “I shall miss Bath, though.”
    “Of course. But we will be in London within the month, and that must cheer you,” Tessa cajoled her.
    “It does! Most certainly.” She sighed, flicking at the fringe of her shawl. “I do hope I shan’t be a bother to you until then.”
    “What nonsense,” said Tessa in surprise. “You’re not a bother to me. I’m delighted to have your company.” Which was generally true; the moments when Eugenie made her want to tear out her own hair were infrequent and brief. But it was very uncharacteristic for Eugenie to be so melancholy. “If anything, I’m sorry I cannot offer you a more diverting trip than through the backways of Somerset. I know you would rather have remained in Bath.”
    Eugenie’s face lightened a bit. “Indeed,” she said wistfully. “But it was not to be.” She looked at Tessa’s face and blushed. “Don’t worry, dear, about me. I’ll be cheerful, I promise.”
    Tessa suspected her companion was still mourning the loss of Lord Gresham’s company more than anything else. She felt sorry for depriving Eugenie of something so wonderful and thrilling, but at the same time, she couldn’t shake her relief to be away from the earl. It seemed odd for a dazzlingly handsome, wealthy nobleman to pay attention to any woman unless he wanted something from her, and there was precious little an earl could hope to gain from Eugenie, who had neither money nor rank nor influence. She was simply a sweet, kindhearted older lady who liked her novels and gossip about the latest fashion.
    So why was he interested in her? Eugenie declared Lord Gresham didn’t care a whit for Tessa’s impertinent remark about him, which only doubled the mystery. What other connection was there between them that he would care about? Tessa hadn’t been to London in years, and she was sure she would have remembered if she’d ever met Lord Gresham. Heaven knew she hadn’t been able to get his face out of her mind, nor forget how his voice sounded, which was almost as unnerving as the mere fact of his interest in her. She told herself she should be more concerned about that than about whatever he might want from her or Eugenie. And now that they’d left him behind in Bath, it was highly unlikely she even needed to worry about it. Chances were, he wouldn’t remember her even if they came face-to-face in London.
    Frome was barely a dozen miles from Bath, but the countryside underwent a complete change as they drove south. The rolling verdant hills around Bath degenerated into a harsher, wilder landscape punctured by rocky outcrops that gave a forbidding look to the land. The elegant cream stone of Bath’s buildings gave way to small towns garbed in brick and thatch, the houses smaller and meaner. At times the workings of the coal seams could be glimpsed from the road, the shouts and calls of the miners audible over the rattle of the carriage wheels. The roads were terrible, hardly more than rutted tracks; no wonder there was keen interest in a canal to bring the coal to market. It took almost the entire day to reach Frome, and Tessa stepped down from the carriage feeling as battered and tired as if they’d traveled forty miles or more.
    As promised in the letter he’d left her in Bath, Mr. Scott had arranged lodging for them at a small inn. After the luxury of the York Hotel, it seemed rather plain and almost shabby. Tessa saw Eugenie’s face fall at the sight of their small rooms, and tried not to sigh. First she had to disappoint Eugenie’s hopes regarding Lord Gresham, and now she would feel guilty for having dragged the poor lady away from the comfortable York for this lodging. Curse Louise for making such a fuss over this trip. Tessa couldn’t think of anyone