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Bewitching the Duke

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He’d returned to this house to take back control of his life. And he would start with that blasted wise woman.

“Roberts!” he shouted. Without waiting for an answer, he trudged downstairs. “Roberts!”

“I am here, Your Grace,” he said from the salon.

“Did you allow that woman entrance to my home?”

Red tinged the older man’s cheeks. “What woman do you mean, Your Grace?”

“That bloody wise woman!”

Roberts furrowed his brow as if in thought. “I did, Your Grace. Should I not have?”

Colin clenched his fists. “No, you shouldn’t have let her inside my home without my permission.”

“I do apologize, Your Grace. I assure you I shall endeavor never to let a woman like her in your home again.”

Colin paused for a moment at the butler’s odd choice of words. He shook his head. “Very well, then. Where is she now?”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. Did she leave?”

“Of course, Your Grace. I believe she was on her way to her home.”

Colin sighed. “And which direction would that be, Roberts?”

“East, Your Grace.”

“Thank you.” Colin rushed out the door, intent on catching her. He walked quickly down the worn path toward the tenants’ homes. A figure up ahead caught his eyes. She maintained a slow, easy gait as if she hadn’t a care. She glanced around and then paused for a moment to breathe in the fragrance of a flower. Once she resumed her walk, her long, curly, blond hair blew in the breeze. He couldn’t help but notice the way her hips swayed under her blue muslin skirts. God, he shouldn’t be noticing that. Especially not with her.

“Miss White!” he yelled out.

She turned her head and then quickly walked inside one of the cottages.

Colin stopped for a moment. She’d heard him and yet continued on as if she hadn’t. The nerve of that insolent girl! No man or woman ignored him. He strode ahead until he came to the cottage she’d walked into. Without a thought, he entered the house.

“Miss . . .” his voice trailed off as he realized his mistake. Seeing the multitude of dishes on the table and the children playing on the floor, he knew this was not Miss White’s home.

“Yer Grace,” a large woman said with a quick curtsy. She walked toward him with a deep frown and her lips pressed into a thin line. “W-Welcome to my home.”

Oh, good God. He had no idea who this woman was. “Thank you, Mrs. . . .”

“Godwin, Yer Grace. My husband works the land for ye.”

He wondered briefly at the cold tone of her voice. “Of course.”

Glancing about the room, he wondered where Miss White had disappeared. “Pray excuse me, madam. I was looking for Miss White. I thought I saw her enter this cottage. I must admit, I thought this was her home.”

The woman laughed soundly. “She is tending my five-year-old, Yer Grace. He got a nasty bee sting yesterday.”

Why would the wise woman care about a child’s bee sting? He’d been stung a few times as a child and nothing happened. A long silence stretched out.

“Very good, then. I shall wait outside,” Colin final

ly said. He walked outside and waited for Miss White to emerge. As he leaned against a tree, he had to admit that Mrs. Godwin’s attitude seemed quite odd. She hadn’t even offered him tea, or the chance to wait for Miss White inside. Perhaps she was preoccupied with the children.

After almost an hour, Miss White finally opened the door.



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