Before She Ruled (Before Series, Book 1)

Chapter Four

Mrs. Combs had given her Tuesday evenings off. Addie quickly found the housekeeper to be a commanding but fair presence. After all, at the Bennett household, she had no time off.

In the past week, Addie's duties consisted mostly of menial household tasks: changing the linens, tending to the fires, polishing the banisters, and so forth. For the first few days while her foot had healed, Mrs. Combs gave her duties she could do reasonably while sitting, such as folding linens, cutting vegetables, and writing the daily shopping lists.

It'd been deemed that a physician was not needed for her foot, and Addie was grateful for that. She barely felt the pain at all now.

In general, there had not been much reprieve, but Addie did not mind. Kingfield House was much more comfortable than she was used to, and though she missed Liza, the other staff were amiable.

Addie was sure that she must have scurried through nearly every part of the mansion, but she had yet to see a library. And oh, how she loved the libraries in these grand homes; the books were old ones, passed down through the generations, along with everything else in the entailment.

With her free evening, Addie had resolved to find the library. Kingfield House had to have one. It involved a certain amount of poking and prodding of closed doorways, but eventually, she pushed open a set of gleaming oak doors that led the way to the room she had wanted to find. Addie entered and smiled as she saw row upon row of books. The volumes spread from floor to ceiling in a spectacular show for a private collection. It was exactly as she was hoping it would be.

Walking to the nearest shelf, she perused the titles on the rough spines. She breathed in, appreciating the scent of parchment, old and new. Books were simply a type of love that need not be returned to be fostered deeper.

Addie reached up to take a particularly worn book off the shelf before pausing, hearing a rustling behind her. She stiffened with awareness.

"A fan of Latin, are we?" a voice drawled.

Addie quickly dropped her hand and twirled around to give a quick curtsy.

"I am so sorry to have disturbed you, Your Grace. I did not realize that you were here. Mrs. Combs gave me tonight off—"

"No need to apologize," the duke interrupted, waving aside her words. Tonight, his dress was impeccable. Gone was the drab top coat and itchy-looking breeches, and in their place he wore a finely pressed, double breasted waistcoat that paired nicely with his form-fitting trousers. She had to keep herself from gawking.

He sauntered across the room and picked up the title that Addie's hand had been hovering over just moments before, which she inwardly translated to Echo and Handsome Narcissus.

"Do you read Latin, Addie?" His Grace asked again, stepping closer. She pressed herself further against the bookshelf. Not daring to meet his probing gaze, she quickly developed a keen interest in his intricately tied cravat. He was close enough to her now that she could smell a faint mix of liquor and musk about him.

"No, of course not," she rushed to say. "I merely found its appearance intriguing. I should excuse myself so as not to disturb you."

And then as she was about to move away, Addie's eyes betrayed her and quickly flitted to his face. He flashed a bright smile that nearly made her light-headed. She had rarely seen him since that night he picked her up off the streets and brought her here. To her shame, whenever Addie passed his study, she found herself searching for him. She would hardly ever catch a glimpse, however, and then would have to spend the rest of the day contending with her disappointment.

"Nonsense. The company is welcome. It is interesting that you should pick this tale, however, as I happen to be doing some research on the royal family," Kingfield responded.