Free Regency Romance: A Duchess in Disguise (Historical 19th Century Victorian Romance) (Duke Fantasy Billionaire Romance) by Sarah Thorn

it so that she could see the face was trimmed with gold and had tiny gold hands inside it. There were even a few small diamonds encrusted inside at the very middle where the hands met.
    “This was my father’s,” He said, leaning forward to whisper loudly, as if what he was saying was top secret. Margaret instinctively leaned forward, as well, scanning the watch a little closer. “He gave it to me before I left New York. I’ve taken this watch almost all over the country now. All I have to do is reach the ocean on the West coast and I will have traveled every single mile with this watch telling me the time.”
    Margaret lifted her eyebrows, not sure how to respond to that. It seemed like a senseless trip if it was only to bring a watch from one side of the country to the other.
    He noticed the look on her face and smiled. Suddenly, he seemed more attractive to her and she smiled back.
    “I see you are wondering why I would do something so foolish as to travel all over the country just for a watch.”
    Margaret sat back without a word, still smiling.
    He chuckled. “Well, I’ll tell you why. I’m not just carrying this watch around the country. I’m making records of the time differences. You see, I developed this watch.”
    She began to listen to him more closely, interested in his watch and the recordings he was doing of time changes. He told her his watch was special because it went by the shadow of the sun, similar to a sun dial. He seemed pleased that she knew what a sun dial was. She thought everyone knew what a sun dial was.
    When he went to a different climate, he would record the hours his watch gave him until the sun dial said it was a different time. Then he would calculate the distance between where he had been and when the time change occurred.
    “What do you hope to gain from all of this?” Margaret asked in a curious voice, her head tilted.
    “I hope that someday we will be more accurately counting time and days when communicating with each other from across the country.”
    “How in the world do you think that is going to happen? Are you also developing faster horses?” Margaret gave him a smile to let him know she was teasing him. He smiled back.
    “No, but think about it…” He hesitated and she said,
    “Margaret.”
    “Yes, think about it, Margaret. It’s John, by the way. If you think about how fast this locomotive is going, that steam engine is taking us all the way across the country with the power of hundreds of horses.”
    “So you don’t need horses to take letters across the country? It still takes a very long time to travel.”
    John nodded. “I believe that someday we will develop and have the knowledge to create faster communications and travel.”
    “I really can’t imagine, John. I must be a grounded thinker. I’ve never been much of a day dreamer.”
    “Oh, it’s not a daydream, Margaret,” John responded in an excited tone. He scooted to the edge of the bench he was sitting on and pulled at his bow tie subconsciously. “I’ve been developing these time tables and records for a year, really more than a year. I’m not going to stop until I have a complete list of analysis. I want everyone to have one of my watches eventually. Then they will know what time it is all over the world!”
    Margaret had to laugh, the thought of the entire world being able to communicate with each other in a short time was amusing. John smiled at her, not at all disappointed by her frivolity. He was used to people laughing at his plan for everyone to know what time it was no matter where they traveled or resided.
    “I try not to think about the time,” Margaret said. “It never seems I have enough to do all the things I need to do in a day, much less the time to do what I want. And I never get to do what I want, as it is.”
    “And what is it you want to do?” John asked.
    “Sleep in every morning.”
    They both laughed.
    “Why are you traveling by yourself across the country?”