by Eva Devon
“It’s time I dressed for dinner, Alfred.”
Her wandering mind jolted away from the rights of man and skittered back to his muscled frame. Dress. She’d have to pretend total misunderstanding and hopefully avoid learning that her duties included seeing him naked. Even if she had ventured a brief fantasy, that was something she wanted to avoid at all costs. Yes. All costs. “You’re already dressed, Your Grace.”
“Surely, even you know that the aristocracy dress differently for dinner?”
With those words, the Duke of Roth shrugged off his coat and tossed it at her.
She didn’t move a muscle and that large swath of wool landed with a thud at her feet.
“Not light on your toes, are you, boy?”
She blinked then bent and grabbed the heavy, silk lined coat. Surely this was the only garment he’d shed in her presence. After all, a stable boy hardly made valet material. “Are you dining with guests?” she asked, hoping to distract him from her utter dismay.
“No.”
“Then why change? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable as you are rather than in evening kit?”
“I thought you’d never heard of evening kit.”
Damn and double damn her errant tongue! “Oh, well, I’d forgotten.”
“For a young thing, you’ve quite the dodgy memory, my lad.”
Distract. She had to distract him from her absolute foolishness. Truly, she had to get ahold of herself because she wasn’t at all comfortable with the fact that the Duke of Roth’s nearness seemed to render her an idiot. “But why get all dressed up if you’re dining alone, Your Grace?”
He hesitated, his hand halfway to his cravat. “You know, I’ve never considered it. It’s what one does.”
“And do you always do what is done? I thought no,” she teased, propping her fists on her hips, hoping to look like a smirking youth.
A strange, satisfied, slow smile turned his lips. “How right you are, Alfred. I shall dine in my rooms this evening.”
“It’s good to change things every now and then,” she said, quite pleased with herself. “As you said, without change we wither.”
“How pleased I am to hear you listen when I speak. Now, you urge casual dress?” he asked.
She nodded, surprised at how easy it had been to maneuver him. “Relax, Your Grace. No need to be formal all the time.”
“Then I shall dine in my robe.”
Robe?
Allegra let out a peep of dismay then squashed the high-pitched sound with a cough. “Good. Good. Uh. Have an airing. . . I’ll take your clothes downstairs and. . .”
“You’ll keep me company.”
“And I’ll keep you company,” she agreed, her spirits fluttering with some unfamiliar emotion. Dread. It had to be dread.
Chapter 5
Oh, this was far too much fun. Nicholas could barely contain his mirth. Every look of distress, every moment of frustration was damned delightful. It made him an ass. He knew. But life was so short on surprises, how could he not take advantage of this one?
With each passing comment and undeniable lie, he wondered how on earth Alfred had ever tricked anyone into believe she was a he.
Nicholas took hold of his cravat and gave it a good tug. He kept his grin at bay. He didn’t want Alfred to catch on that he’d guessed.
“Alfred,” he said, overly serious. “You need to get used to seeing me informally. That’s what a boyservant is for. Informal entertainment.”
“Are you sure you don’t mean court jester?” she said, with just a touch of annoyance seething in her words.
Ah. Her disguise was wavering to paper thin. Could he provoke her into revealing herself? He couldn’t help but wonder what would drive a young lady, for he was certain she was a lady what with her vocabulary and warmed tones, to such machinations as pretending to be a lad. In due course, he’d discover her reasons.
Her attempts at lies were so exceptionally poor that he was astonished that anyone had believed them. He might have to give her a lesson in deception if she were determined to keep her ruse alive outside his chamber. Because he wouldn’t allow the ruse to last for long.
Every moment was a delicious lead to that moment of shock upon her elfin features when he called her out on her masquerade. Hmmm. How many days could he extend her torture?
“My, my Alfred,” he said, pulling his cravat free of his neck than dangling it out for her to collect. He wanted her close. Devil that it made him, he wanted to see her blush. “One would think you weren’t excited to be my servant. Or would you rather go back to shoveling remnants?”
She grumbled under her breath.
He laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “Am I, indeed, so offensive? Does horse shit truly seem more preferable than my company? Or is it your taste? Can your taste be that inferior?”
He undid the tie at his throat. “Luckily for you, taste is something that can be altered. You will learn to enjoy my company.”
A mumbled collection of words huffed past her lips.
He could have sworn the words horse and ass were amongst them. “Do you have a fondness for equine buttocks?”
Her cheeks burst with red patches. “No!”
“Then whatever are you muttering? Are your wits wandering?”
“I—I—” her voice rose with each exclamation and her chin jutted out with defiance.
“Yes?” he asked, then pulled the tie at his throat letting his shirt fall open. In one swift yank, he tugged the linen shirt over his head and tossed it at her.
It, like his jacket, fluttered to the floor.
She positively gaped.
Her eyes roved over him, studying the contours of his chest as if she might learn the answer to some secret in his sinew. God, it was a satisfying thing to see. How much she approved of his physique.
But there was something else.
An innocence.
Had she never seen a naked man before? Such a thing seemed nigh impossible given that she’d been masquerading as a boy. Men, in his experience, didn’t hide their nakedness in the male servant’s quarters.
Unless. . . Where was Alfred staying?
Suddenly, despite all the fun in teasing her, he had a disturbing thought. If someone else had learned of her deceit they might have responded in a very different sort of way.
They might have hurt her.
Anger so intense his entire body burned hit him in the gut.
“Your Grace?” she finally managed. “Are you well? You have the most curious expression on your face.”
“I’m thinking.”
“I despair for whoever has inspired such dark thoughts.”
It was so tempting to keep pushing her but this wasn’t just about his pleasure. He was a man of duty, after all. Had Alfred been running from someone? Someone who had been hurting her? It would certainly explain the strange disguise.
As much as he might enjoy extending this, he couldn’t. Not when her lies put her at risk at almost every moment.
That anger inside him burned hotter. So hot, he let out a hiss of sudden fury. “I think it’s time you stop lying to me.”
She blinked innocently and took a step back. “Lying?”
“Damn it, Alfred.”
“Your Grace, I’ve only told the one lie,” she rushed, her blue eyes wide.
He took a step forward. “How far do you intend to play this out?”
“Play what out?” She licked her bottom lip, a gesture she likely had no idea made her seem like a ripe plum ready for picking.
It only added to his ire. What if someone else had seen it? What if someone else had tried to pick the plum and then crushed it?
What would have happened to his cheeky, defiant Alfred then?
“Don’t push me, Alfred. I am not the sort of man to be pushed.”
She shook her head and widened her eyes in, no doubt, feigned innocence. “I would never, Your Grace.”
“Never?” he scoffed. “You’re doing it right now.”
Alfred backed up, clutching his linen shirt to his chest. “You’re frightening me, Your Grace.”
He closed the gap between them, determined to make her confess. “Good.”
She stepped back. “Good?”
“How on earth could you have obeyed my command this morning?” he challenged, outraged on her behalf. “How could you have come up to this room with me?”
“Y-you’re my master, Your Grace.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “You should have run.”
“Why should I?” she breathed.
“Because, I am not a fool,” he said flatly.
“I never thought you were.”
“No?” he challenged.
“No.”
“Then this won’t surprise you.”
He seized her in his arms, lifting her to the tips of her toes and took her soft lips in a hot, deep kiss.
He could have punished. But only cowards punished. Oh no. He seduced. He offered. He caressed her lips with a thousand promises of the pleasures that the flesh could bestow. Now was the moment Alfred would finally reveal the truth.
*
The kiss stole her breath and every last ounce of sense Allegra possessed. At first, her body tensed against his, shocked, but then she melted. She couldn’t help herself. There was something incredibly masterful about the way his mouth took hers. His lips teased, then stroked, a soft urge for her submission. There was nothing cruel or demanding about it except for his hands, holding her almost off the ground, right against his chest.
Her own palms were placed against his chest, pushing for a moment, then savoring the feel of warm, smooth skin over hard muscle. My God, was this what a kiss was supposed to be like?
His tongue traced over her lips and she moaned as she opened her mouth.
Oh, she would be kissed every hour on the hour if this was what kisses were truly like.
And just as she was about to open her mouth wider, she jolted against him. A horrid thought crossed her mind. Did he know? If he didn’t, what was she going to do?
Horrified, she shoved at his chest.
He allowed her to break the kiss, but kept his mouth hovering over hers and stared down at her with heavy-lidded eyes. “Is something amiss?” he whispered.
“I’m—I’m a boy!”
He snorted and cupped the nape of her neck with large palm. “Alfred, I asked you not to lie.”
“Then. . . Then. . .”
“I am not a buggerer. I have nothing against such individuals, but I’ve known you were a girl since we were in the stables.”
“How?” she exclaimed.
“Does it really matter?” His gaze was hot, like that of a man drugged out of his wits. “Our time could be spent engaged in things far superior to discourse. . . If you wish it.”
“You’ve known,” she said, tracing her eyes over his face, suddenly annoyed by the slight arrogance upon his visage. “This whole time?”
“I did say so,” he murmured.
“But—But—Then why did you ask me to be your servant?”
He shrugged. “Because I’m a bastard.”
She gasped then wanted to kick herself for doing something so clearly innocent. “Was this your intention all along?”
“To kiss you?”
She gave a sharp nod.
“Not exactly. Mostly, I wanted to see how you’d react with me behaving like a bear. But you’re too charming for words and the kiss was quite nice. Don’t you agree?”
“A bear? You’re not a bear! That equine buttock I referred to was you!”
He sighed. “I thought so.”
“How could you do this?”
“Alfred, you were a mystery and I haven’t been around anything remotely like a mystery in a very long time. What is your name, by the way?”
She squared her shoulders, filled with anger toward herself for enjoying the kiss so much and at him for leading her in such a merry dance. “Alfred will do just fine.”
“For now,” he said, his voice growing more serious. “But you will tell me who you are now that your charade is undone.”
“Ha! You’ve proved that you can’t be trusted. What with your nefarious behavior.”
“My nefarious behavior? You are hardly a saint, Alfred, or a font of truth.”
She couldn’t argue with that. “Still, you’re a gentleman. You’re supposed to be above such things.”
“You mustn’t know many gentlemen.”
“I know enough to know I wish nothing to do with your sex. Pretending to be one of you was bad enough.”
“While I’m sure your suffering has been beyond words, that doesn’t change the fact that you lied and wheedled your way onto my estate, and I’m likely going to have to fire Gregory for being a fool.”
“Please don’t!” she cried. She could lie. She could say Gregory knew nothing, but apparently when it came to Nicholas, Duke of Roth, she was a terrible liar and she didn’t wish to get Gregory into any more trouble than she had.
“Why shouldn’t I?”
“He was only trying to help me.”
Roth narrowed his eyes. “Well, he put you at great risk.”
“He let me do what I’d always wished,” she said softly.
“Muck out stables?” he mocked.
She swallowed. “Be left alone.”
The duke snorted. “My God. Is that what this is? Some tantrum because mama and papa made you toe the line? I ought to put a notice in The Times. ‘One willful daughter found. Please claim.’”
“You wouldn’t,” she whispered. He sounded as if he jested but there was enough of an edge to his voice that she wasn’t sure.
“Alfred, right now, I am completely at sea with you. It’s a most unfamiliar sensation.”
“I feel the same.”
“I doubt that. I doubt that very much.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to decide what is to be done with you.”
“Why must anything be done?” she pleaded.
“Are you suggesting that you stay on as my servant?”
She drew in a shaky breath. The Duke of Roth was an ass. But he was a fascinating and compelling ass. What things might she learn and experience in his company? If she went home, it would be back to tea, and piano, and dancing the minuet, oh so properly. And never having another stimulating experience again for the rest of her life. Her sister’s face flashed before her eyes.
She couldn’t let Juliana down. She couldn’t!
Squaring her shoulders, she met his gaze. “That is exactly what I am suggesting.”
Chapter 6
It was a terrible cliché, but Nicholas couldn’t quite believe his ears. She wished to be his servant? He shifted his weight on his booted feet, suddenly feeling a good deal warmer than the heat of the fire could allow. He genuinely had believed she’d not take him up on his offer. Surprise after surprise. A satisfied grin pulled at his mouth.
“Let me be clear,” he growled ever so softly. “You wish to stay on not as a maid in my house but as my servant? My boyservant?”
She nodded, apparently undaunted by his clarification.
“You will be continually be close to me, assist me to dress, clean my chamber, and keep me company?” He wasn’t going to leave any confusion between them. There would be no hurt feelings or protestation of misunderstandings further down the road. If this was what she bloody wanted, he was going to be damned sure.
“And assist with Devil,” she said with a surprising degree of passion. “I should miss him terribly. I’m not truly a house sort of person, beautiful though yours might be.”
House.
She called the massive Roth castle a house? That settled it. A person born to the middle class or even lower aristocracy wouldn’t deign to refer to his abode as a mere house.
That confirmed his concerns. From her education and bearing, she had to be the daughter of a lord or someone fairly highly placed. “You do realize if anyone discovers wh
at you’ve done, what you are doing, you’ll be ruined?”
She wet her lips, a nervous gesture he was certain and not a seductive one. “Will you cast me to the wolves if I’m discovered?”
It was tempting to roll his eyes at her sense of drama but he didn’t. It was, in all actuality, a question of surprising forethought. “Could you be more specific?”
“If someone discovered that I had been in your service, would you cease to assist me as you assist me now? Would you condemn me to begging for my bread just because I had been discovered and our game was up?”
If he did, he’d be the worst of wastrels. But many men chucked spoiled fruit and that would be how her family and society would see her. But to him? Fruit that had been so pressed by experience was fine wine. In his experience, someone who was ruined had the guts to truly live their life, not carry on passively, waiting for life to occur to them. Or worse, hoping nothing ever would shake them from their docile path.
My God, she was astonishing. Damned remarkable actually. And as intelligent as she seemed, possibly a total fool. Then again, foolishness and genius often ran hand in hand.
“I will make sure no wolves gnaw your bones. I’ll see you set up properly.” And he would. When all this was over, when she’d grown tired of her game, and if she was found out, he’d find a cottage for her and give her a thousand pounds a year. Surely such an adventurous sort deserved an award?
She frowned. “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”
“It won’t?”
Alfred shook her head. “It’s thoughtful of you, but I’m a most resourceful person.”
“I’ve no doubts, but I’m not convinced that you are a practical one. Do you realize how cruel this world can be?”
She paled. Paled enough that Nicholas was fairly certain she had seen life’s cruel brush at work first hand.
She lifted her chin. “I have not suffered as many have done, but I am aware of the injustices perpetrated daily in this land.”
At last, he gave a short nod. “All right, then. But you shall sleep here. I’ll have a cot brought in.”
Her pale cheeks flared red and a snap of fire lit her eyes. “I shall not. I’ve not once mentioned being your mistress in our bargain.”
