Free Athena's Ordeal by Sue London

able to control herself and had flung herself into the duke's arms? She had felt uncharacteristically comforted. Safe. In a way that perhaps she never had before. Her friends had certainly always been a comfort to her. And her brother Charlie. But something always made her push them away. To insist she could do everything on her own. But the duke... he didn't seem bent on telling her what she should do. He wasn't patronizing or judgmental. At least he hadn't been with her. She sniffled. Perhaps she was just being maudlin and reading more into the situation than it warranted. Perhaps the duke didn't care about her at all, making it quite easy to keep from telling her what to do. It seemed a bit more likely that she was just a lonely girl crying in a bathtub, wishing someone cared about her.
    She finally pulled herself together and finished her bath. Returning to her room she found a note that made her heart leap.
     
    If you would care for company we could dine in the north sitting room.
    - Q
     
    Smiling, she rang for her maid and sent a reply for him to read while she dressed.
     
    That sounds lovely, but wouldn't it have been easier if I were still in the adjoining room?
      - S
     
    She was, she thought, even closer to being a duchess than she had realized.
     
    Quince drummed his fingers on the small, round table in the sitting room that would serve as their dining room table this evening. He wasn't usually an impatient man but he could feel that he was on edge now. Too many pressures building up, both large and small. And he imagined Miss Bittlesworth was taking her sweet time arriving just to put a point upon the idea that if she had still been in the duchess's quarters she could have arrived sooner.
    The light outside had gone to dusk but the sitting room was lit up with enough candles to hold a ball. The double doors to the hallway were wide open, the hallway lit as well. When he first saw her she was hurrying, almost running in her haste. Then she saw him and slowed her gait. He felt his heart race at the sight of her. What he thought had been general impatience was clearly just a need to see her, as his attention focused almost acutely. He rose to wait for her.
    For a moment he thought she was wearing that dress again. The red one that had so distracted him when they met. But this one was darker, more modestly cut. If the previous gown had made her look a courtesan, this one made her look, he conceded, like a duchess. And he supposed that was exactly what she wanted it to convey. Women were transparent in their desire to marry up and he couldn't blame her for that. If she weren’t Bittlesworth's daughter he would consider it. He might more than consider it.
    As she entered the room she smiled and held her hands out to him. "Thank you, your grace, for understanding that I would like some company, if not the formality of a meal in the dining room."
    He bowed over her hand and kissed it. "You've had a tiring day."
    She seemed loathe to release his hands and as he enjoyed the feel of her fingers clasped in his own , he did not pull away either.
    Havers' voice gently intruded. "Would you like for me to serve, your grace?"
    "Yes," Quince answered automatically, still not taking his eyes off her. The butler and footmen organized the table and pulled out chairs for the duke and his guest. Quince finally released her after seeing that she was properly seated. He watched her as she settled into her seat, smoothing her skirts and fidgeting with the silverware.
    "What?" she asked, smiling and looking at him from under her lashes.
    "Nothing," he answered, but still didn't look away. She riveted him. Like a living, breathing painting that he couldn't get enough of studying. This evening she had pinned her hair up, highlighting the delicate curve of her neck and jaw. The curls were not in evidence so they must be more artifice than natural. The candlelight softened her features, lending her a gentleness that he hadn't previously