The Duke Meets His Match (The Infamous Somertons #3)(36)

Emily tentatively reached out. Her tiny fingers were pale and ridiculously fragile in his big hand. “You’re the tallest and biggest person I’ve ever seen.”

He smiled. “You’re the smallest person I’ve seen in a long time.”

Emily’s lips curled in a hint of a smile. “Are you Miss Chloe’s friend?”

Dark eyes gazed up at Chloe before returning to Emily. “I am.”

He’d called her his friend when there was so much more between them. She no longer considered him a cold, distant man who wanted to keep her away from his ward.

“It’s nice to have a friend,” Emily said. “I’m no longer allowed to play with the other girls.”

“That must be hard.”

Emily shrugged a slight shoulder. “Miss Chloe brings me pretty pictures of the outdoors.” She motioned to Chloe’s lithographs displayed on a wood shelf above the bed.

Michael stood to study the artwork. “They’re lovely. I confess that I didn’t know she was an artist.” He looked at Chloe, and her skin tingled beneath his stare.

“Her father was a great painter,” Emily said with pride.

“So I’ve heard.”

Chloe held her breath. She expected a disapproving retort or piercing stare, but instead he continued to look at her with renewed interest…as if her family’s past wasn’t scandalous, but her artwork was to be admired.

“Miss Chloe also reads to me. Do you like stories about princesses and princes?” Emily asked.

Michael nodded. “When I was a boy my favorite story was about a prince fighting a dragon.”

“A fire-breathing dragon?” Emily asked.

The corner of Michael’s lips tilted in a charming grin. “Is there any other kind?”

Emily’s eyes widened in her oval face. “What did they fight over?”

“The princess.”

“Did the prince win?”

“Always. He killed the dragon and saved the princess.”

“How did he do it?” Emily asked.

“It’s quite a story. Do you want to hear it?”

“Oh yes,” Emily said.

Michael spotted a second wooden chair, placed it by Chloe’s chair, and sat.

Chloe watched, amazed, as he took his time with the child. His voice was animated, his tale entertaining, and when he acted out the part where the prince killed the dragon, both Emily and Chloe hung on his every word. Never in Chloe’s wildest dreams would she have thought the Duke of Cameron would have taken the time to tell a sick, orphaned child a fairy tale. But then, she never anticipated he’d show up here in the first place. Which led her to another question: there were dozens of orphanages in London, so how had he found her here?

An emotion tugged Chloe’s chest. She fought it, knowing her feelings were treading on dangerous ground. Her physical attraction to him was understandable. But an emotional attraction was perilous.

Sunlight from an overhead window glinted off his dark hair and emphasized his handsome profile. He exuded power and dominance that beckoned to a woman’s secret desires. But it was more than a physical pull that frightened her—it was his strength of character that tugged at her chest, and his empathy for a sick child. He was a danger to her heart.

When Emily’s eyelids began to flutter, Chloe placed a hand on the child’s sleeve. “You should rest now.”

“But I like Mr. Michael’s stories. Will he come back to visit?” Emily implored.

“I don’t think—”

“Yes,” Michael interrupted. “Not even a fire-breathing dragon could keep me away, Miss Emily.”

Emily beamed. “Then it’s safe to sleep.”

Her eyelids fluttered, and moments later the child was sleeping soundly.

Chloe stood, and Michael followed her out of the room into the dim hall. “What’s wrong with Emily?” he asked.

“She suffers from an unexplainable apathy and has difficulty breathing during the slightest activity. The doctor who visits the orphanage has no explanation, but believes her health is slowly declining.”

His brows drew downward. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s unfair to give Emily a promise you don’t intend to keep. She’s suffered too much disappointment at an early age.”

“Who says I plan to break my promise?”

She looked at him in surprise. “You are a duke. Surely you have more pressing matters to attend to than to visit a sick orphan.”

“I can’t think of a single one.”

His words chipped away at her defenses and awoke something deep and profound within her. It was almost as if he knew how important Emily was to her, and he’d taken the utmost care with the child. “How did you find me here?” she asked.

“The day at the museum, your sister mentioned you visited an orphanage on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I also overheard you tell Henry in Lady Webster’s conservatory.”

Had he listened that closely and taken note of her schedule?

“I had no idea which orphanage. This is the third establishment I’ve been to today,” he said.

She stared at him in astonishment. He was a duke, for heavens sake. Had he truly gone through the effort to visit orphanages just to find her? “Why go to the trouble?”