Dating the Duke (The Aristocrat Diaries 2)

He tipped an invisible hat. “I’m going to drop this off and take Olympia for a treat at Maggie’s when she’s cleaned up. Would you like me to bring you anything back?”

“Those eclairs were nice. I can give you the money for them.”

“Absolutely not.” He winked and turned away. “See you later.”

I watched as he walked down the hall and turned away, rolling his case along the floor after him. Slowly, I let out a deep breath and leaned against the doorframe, then closed my eyes.

I was not going to make another four weeks.

Someone cleared their throat from behind me, and I jerked around to look at them.

“Elizabeth.” I pressed my hand against my chest. “You startled me.”

“Sorry about that, dear. Were you taking a nap standing up?” Her eyebrows shot up in question.

“No. Just… decompressing after a busy night.” I smiled at her. “How was your time with Olympia?”

“As insane as one would expect when a child has infinite energy.” Her eyes twinkled, belying the weariness in her voice. “And that didn’t change when I saw this.” She held out a newspaper that was folded lengthways.

“I don’t—I don’t need to… look at that,” I admitted warily. “They printed that fast.”

“Hmm.” She tucked the paper against her body, and I grimaced when I saw the photo of me and Alexander.

Not because it was a bad one.

It wasn’t. Not by any means. As far as paparazzi photos went, it was rather good, actually.

I just didn’t want to be the one who had to have this conversation with her.

“Twenty minutes,” Elizabeth said. “That should be enough time for you to handle your dirty laundry and meet me in the library for a pot of tea, don’t you think?”

I nodded. “Absolutely. I will see you there.”

Bollocks.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN – ADELAIDE

ME: Help me your mother is about to hold me hostage in the library

ME: NOT A DRILL SHE HAD A NEWSPAPER HELP

ME: Call 999 this is an emergency

I quickly sent those to Alex in the hope he’d see it and rescue me, then sent another to Gabi asking when she’d get here. Eva had decided to go home instead of coming here and having to drive home later, but Gabi wanted to stay the night to evaluate a portion of the gardens Alex wanted to make public.

His gardens were no Arrowwood Estate gardens, I could say that much.

Gabriella would take care of that rather swiftly.

I just needed someone to help me right now.

Someone.

Anyone.

I’d even take Boris.

The butler, not the politician.

Just to make that clear.

By the time I got to the library from my room, nobody had ridden in on a white horse in a suit of armour to save me.

Awfully rude, if you considered the fact there were several suits of armour in this place. The horse might have been tough to come by, but the armour was not.

What did a girl have to do to live out that age old fantasy, huh?

I hovered in the doorway and peered into the library. Elizabeth was sitting with her back to me on the sofa with her shoulders slightly hunched, and I hesitated even now.

I did not want to have this conversation.

“I know you’re there, Adelaide,” Elizabeth said without turning around. “You may as well come and sit down.”

Bugger it.

I shuffled in.

“Do pick up your feet, dear. You’ll scuff the floors.”

Well, that told me, didn’t it?

I really did do as I was told and picked up my feet. It felt somewhat as though I’d been scolded by my own mother—even my grandmother. I’d always shuffled along and scuffed my feet against the ground when I’d been uncomfortable, and apparently, I still did that now.

Oops.

I was going to have to work on being more conscious about that.

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. “Much better.”

I hoped my face didn’t betray me by letting her know how much I detested being told about my little nervous habit. “You wanted to talk.”

“Yes. Please take a seat.”

It didn’t matter who I was—it didn’t matter that my mum had been best friends with Elizabeth for as long as I could remember, or that I was entirely at home at her ancestral home of Arrowwood Hall.

Elizabeth Winthrop-Bentley, nee Hastings, would always be terrifying to me.

She really did have that aura about her. One that showed how very regal she was, how put together she was, and how she could rip apart anyone in a second.

And the woman…

Well.

The woman in question had two cats on her lap.

I perched on the arm of the opposite sofa. “They’re new,” I stated.

She ran a hand down each of their backs. “Phoebe is on the bookshelf over there.”

Phoebe? Who named a cat Phoebe?

Wait.

There was another one?

I jerked my head around and stared at the black cat who was lounging happily on a shelf. Her tail hung down over the edge and curled at the end.