CHAPTER FOURTEENAs Cornelia entered the library, the Duke rose from the large writing desk where he was sitting. She felt there was something strange about his appearance and then she realised what it was. He was not wearing the usual clothes she saw him in at Cotillion, riding breeches or a blazer with the engraved buttons of his Regiment, but a dark travelling suit such as he had worn the day before.
He greeted her formally and indicated that she should sit on the sofa by the fireplace. Instead she deliberately crossed the room to a seat by the bow window that overlooked the lake. Here he must face the light while she knew it would be difficult for him to watch her expression.
“I want to speak to you, Cornelia,” he began, one hand playing with the gold and pearl chain of his watch as h
