Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

T hey paused outside a bookseller’s shop and looked in the window.

“Would you like to go in?” the Duke asked Edwina.

She looked at him. “Into the bookseller’s?”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It seemed to me as if you were interested. I thought you were the one who stopped to look in the window first.”

“Well…no, I think you’re right,” Edwina said. “But I wouldn’t have thought you would want to.”

“You don’t think I’m interested in reading books?”

“I don’t think you’re interested in ladies who like to read books.”

“That shows how little you know about me,” the Duke said.

“You’re telling me that you are interested in intellectual ladies?”

“I am interested in all types of lady.”

Edwina laughed. “I should have known it would be something like that,” she said. “Of course, you are.”

“So, would you like to go into the bookseller’s shop? I’ll buy you a gift if you’d like.”

“You don’t need to buy me anything,” Edwina said.

“I’d like to. You deserve it for being willing to put up with me. Besides, it’s not as if I’m buying you fine jewels. It’s a book. I’d imagine a rebel like yourself would have no problem with such a thing.”

It would make her father feel frustrated, Edwina knew—and she couldn’t deny that there was a part of her that enjoyed that thought. And he wouldn’t be able to complain because he was the one who so badly wanted her to forge a connection with the Duke. He would have to accept that it was happening, even if it didn’t look the way he might have liked it to—even if he didn’t think a book was a suitable gift for her to receive from a gentleman.

So, even though she felt some reservations about accepting a gift from the Duke at all, she nodded. “Let’s go inside,” she decided. “I think that might be enjoyable.”

He held the door open for her, and the two of them went into the shop.

The shelves were full of beautiful books. Edwina would never get over how much she enjoyed a good book. She walked up to the closest shelf and touched the spines gently. “What sort do you like?”

“Oh, nothing you would have read, I’m sure.”

“You could give me a try. I might surprise you.”

He laughed. “You rarely do anything else,” he admitted. “All right. Philosophy books are my favorite. But I imagine you would prefer a nice romance?”

“I do like a romance,” Edwina said. “But since you’re offering to buy me a book, maybe it should be one of your favorite type?”

“I want it to be something you’ll enjoy,” the Duke said. “And something you’ll get something out of.”

“I see. You don’t think I can understand philosophy?”

“I don’t imagine you’ve had that much exposure to it.”

“I’ve been sneaking into my father’s library and reading his books since I was old enough to know how to read,” she said evenly. “I’d say I’ve read something from every category he has.”

“Oh? What philosophers have you liked?”

“Plato is my favorite.”

“You’ve read Plato?”

“Could I claim to know anything about philosophy if I hadn’t?”

“All right,” he said, raising his eyebrows. “I was right, then—you’ve caught me by surprise again. A philosophy book it shall be if that’s what you think you would enjoy.”

They made their way down the shelf of books. Occasionally, the Duke would pick one up and show it to Edwina, who would confirm that she hadn’t yet read it. It quickly became apparent that although she had surprised him by being better read than he had expected her to be, there was still plenty in the world of philosophy for her to experience.

“I think we’ll take this one and this one,” the Duke decided at length.

“I thought you were going to buy me one book.”

“I can’t choose between the two. They’re both very good,” he pointed out. “I think you ought to have both of them.”

“You can’t buy me this many gifts,” she protested.

“It’s only two books,” he said. “Does that bother you?”

She felt slightly uneasy. “A little,” she admitted.

“Why?”

“This isn’t a real relationship,” she explained. “We both know that. I don’t want us to forget it.”

“We won’t forget,” he said. “We agreed we were going to enjoy ourselves while we were doing this, though, and it’s a pleasure to discover we have a common interest. Don’t you feel that way?”

“I do,” she admitted. It was certainly preferable to fighting all the time.

He handed her the books he had chosen for her. She looked them over and pretended to consider, but the truth was that although she had impressed him with her interest in and knowledge of the subject, she didn’t know anywhere near enough about philosophy to have an opinion on the books in her hands.

“It’s all right if you don’t read them,” he said, “but I think they’ll be good for you to have, regardless.”

“No, I’m going to read them,” she replied. “I’m interested now.”

He grinned. She wasn’t sure if he believed her or not, and she wasn’t sure he believed that she would understand the books if she did read them—but his doubt made her feel all the more determined. She felt the need to prove that she could keep up with him.

“I’m surprised you’re interested in this sort of thing to tell you the truth,” she said.

“And why is that?”

“I thought you were only interested in having a good time,” she explained. “I know you care about your duty to the dukedom, but I thought your life was all about having as much fun as possible when you are not seeing to your responsibilities.”

“Well, I consider this sort of thing to be fun,” he explained. “I used to read a lot of philosophy at university. I was a part of a few debating societies, and these were the topics we usually discussed. In fact, I’ll bookmark a couple of chapters in each of these books that were of particular interest to me. If you do read them, I would be eager to see whether you and I agree on our opinions about the subjects.”

“It would be a rare thing for you and me to agree about something,” Edwina laughed.

“It certainly would. But I think we’re coming to learn more about one another and finding more things that we agree about. Wouldn’t you say so?”

“It’s odd. I wouldn’t have said that I would agree with you about anything at all before.”

“Which only goes to show that I can surprise you every bit as much as you can surprise me,” he pointed out.

“I suppose you’re right about that.”

He held out his hand for the books. “I’ll go purchase those,” he suggested, “and then I think we had better get back outside. Your poor brother doesn’t appear to have realized that we came into this shop, and he’s supposed to be chaperoning.”

“Oh—you’re right,” Edwina realized. “I don’t think he’s going to be very happy with us.”

“It’s not as if we’re on our own in here, of course,” the Duke observed. “The bookseller is here.”

But the bookseller hadn’t been paying them any attention as they’d looked at the books they were interested in, and there had been several prolonged moments during which he hadn’t been able to see them at all.

Edwina was only now realizing it, but she had been on her own with the Duke for a considerable amount of time. She was rather surprised that she had allowed that to happen and even more surprised that she didn’t find herself regretting it.

Actually, it had been rather nice.

Being alone with the Duke meant that she was able to be herself with him for once. She didn’t have to worry about what any of her family members would think about the time they were spending together. She didn’t have to worry that her father would see them conversing and think a romantic connection was being made or that her brother would assume the Duke was doing something rakish and inappropriate and that Edwina couldn’t fend for herself.

They could simply enjoy one another’s company.

And she found that she did enjoy his company. She hadn’t thought she would, but now that they were here, now that they were spending this time together, she was glad of it.

He paid for the books and handed them to her. “If you do read them, perhaps you can tell me what you think on our next date,” he suggested.

“You’re already thinking about the next date?”

“Of course,” he said. “I have three more to go, after all, and I want to make the most of each and every one of them, so I need to make sure I come up with a good plan—something that will really impress you.”

“You haven’t charmed me yet,” she teased him.

He laughed. “I have no doubt of it. Your resistance is admirable. But rest assured, I will.”

“It’s going to take more than buying me presents.”

He handed her the books. “That isn’t why I bought them for you as a matter of fact.”

“It isn’t?”

“I like these books,” he said. “I think you’ll like them too—I hope you will. Even if you never like me , I want to share these books with you.”

Edwina didn’t know whether she ought to believe him. He would say something like that, of course—it was the perfect way to get her to lower her defenses.

And yet, maybe it was the truth. Maybe he honestly wanted to share the books that had made a difference in his life, and that was as far as it went.

Maybe.

She would give him a chance, she decided. If he was telling the truth about this, if he really just wanted to show her a piece of his life and share something meaningful, maybe there was no risk in that. Maybe they could deepen their friendship.

It surprised her to realize that at some point she had come to think of him as a friend—and yet, she had.

The two of them made their way back out of the shop. Matthew was coming up the street and spotted them right away. He looked positively furious.

“Where have the two of you been?” he demanded. “I didn’t know where you had gone.”

“We stepped into the bookshop,” Edwina explained. She held up her gifts. “The Duke bought me these books as a gift.”

“Oh,” Matthew said, frowning. “You shouldn’t have gone in without me.”

“You’re right, of course,” Edwina agreed, attempting to placate her brother. “We got distracted, that’s all.”

“It won’t happen again,” the Duke said with a smile. “I apologize for my moment of carelessness. I wanted to buy Lady Edwina a gift, that’s all.”

“And you chose a book?”

“That’s right,” the Duke confirmed. “Two books. I believe she’s happy with them.”

“A more appropriate gift for a young lady might be a hat or a pair of gloves.”

“I’ll certainly keep your advice in mind for the next time,” the Duke said with a scoundrelly grin, “but I think Lady Edwina will enjoy her gifts.”

“Oh, I daresay she will,” Matthew agreed, and Edwina knew that he must be thinking of the fact that she had always loved to read. “Edwina, if I were you, I wouldn’t show these to Father. I don’t think he would approve.”

Edwina nodded and tucked the books under her arm. Matthew was likely right—at least, he would have been a few years ago. Now, her father had gotten older, and he was so distracted and foggy-headed that Edwina doubted whether he would mind at all.

After all, he hadn’t registered much objection to the fact that she had turned up her nose at suitor after suitor.

And that was just fine with her.