The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1)(20)

Don’t be maudlin, Emma. It was only one night. A bit of awkwardness was to be expected. Surely it would improve with time.

A flurry of odd noises saved her from wallowing in self-pity. Emma rose from the writing desk. The cat had probably found a divan or chaise to claw to shreds. That might be a blessing in disguise if he had. Replacing the upholstery would give her a project to undertake.

As she followed the sounds, however, they sounded less and less likely to be feline. Soft thwacking and muffled grunting emanated from behind a set of imposing double doors.

She approached in soft footsteps and placed her ear to the door.

“Really, Khan.” The duke’s voice. “Try to muster a bit of effort.”

“I am attempting to do so, Your Grace.”

“Then muster harder. It’s your turn to receive.”

Emma pushed the door open a few inches and peered inside. She discovered a grand, open space, floored with inlaid parquet and bordered by walls hung with life-sized portraits. Capping off the opulence, elaborate scrollwork and chandeliers decorated the ceiling.

And across the middle of this majestic ballroom was strung a sort of crude netting. Two men—the duke and his butler—faced off on either side of it.

The duke swung a racquet, sending a plumed cork sailing over the net.

Khan, having caught sight of Emma, paid it no notice—with the result that the shuttlecock bounced directly off his forehead.

“Oh, come on.” The duke shook his racquet in accusation. “I all but sealed and posted you that one.”

Khan ignored his employer, opting to bow in Emma’s direction instead. “Good morning, Your Grace.”

The duke whipped around, still holding his racquet at a threatening angle. He swept a glance over her. “You.”

Be still her heart. What a salutation.

She moved into the room. “I thought you were joking about the badminton.”

“I wasn’t.”

“So I see.”

After a pause, he waved her toward the doors. “Well? You must have things to do. Take breakfast. Confer with the housekeeper, now that you’re mistress of the place. Do something ridiculous with your hair.”

“I’ve accomplished the first and second, and I will politely decline the third. I’m out of occupations at the moment.”

“Wonderful,” Khan interjected, striding toward her. “You can take over this one.” He pressed his racquet into Emma’s hand. Before making for the door, he mouthed two words. Save. Me.

“Where do you think you’re going?” the duke demanded.

The butler turned in the doorway. “I’m not certain, Your Grace. Perhaps I’ll do something ridiculous with my hair.”

He bowed, closed the double doors, and was gone.

The duke bellowed after him. “I’ll dock your wages for this, you milk-livered cullion.”

In the ensuing quiet, Emma regarded the racquet in her hand. “Khan doesn’t seem to enjoy badminton.”

“He enjoys steady employment. We have sport three times a week. A man needs to keep up his stamina somehow.”

Stamina. Yes. Just looking at the duke, it was plain to see that he’d been an active man, long before his injury. Those shoulders and thighs could not have developed overnight. As he bent to retrieve the shuttlecock, she admired the tight contour of his backside. That didn’t come from idleness, either.

He stood, and she quickly averted her gaze.

Drat.

Again, she’d been caught staring. Again, he would misinterpret it entirely.

It wasn’t her fault, Emma told herself, but simply an occupational habit. Knowing fabric and thread was only part of a seamstress’s work. Key to success was understanding the body beneath the garments. How joints fit together; how muscles flexed and stretched. After years of practice, Emma only had to glance at a person to imagine them stripped of all clothing—and when regarding a person so finely formed by God and honed by exertion, the temptation proved difficult to resist.

But how did one say such a thing?

My apologies. I wasn’t staring out of horror. I was merely undressing you in my mind.

Oh, that would go brilliantly. Very duchesslike, that.

When the duke finished setting aside the equipment, he reached for his topcoat.

“We . . .” Emma forced herself to say it. “We could play. The two of us. You and I.”

He stared at her in disbelief.

He respects those who challenge him, she reminded herself. Although, at the moment, the piercing quality of his gaze didn’t strike her as admiration.

But Emma was in for the penny now. She may as well try for the pound.

“I adore badminton.” She attempted to twirl the racquet in a casual, sporty fashion. Instead she dropped it, and it bounced off her toe. She bit her lip, holding back a yelp of pain. “Whoops. How careless of me.”

She picked up the racquet with as much dignity as she could manage and limped to the other side of the ballroom, ducking under the net.

She gave him a game smile. “Shall we?”

“Very well. Let’s wager on it.”

“If you like. What is the forfeit?”

Now Emma’s interest was piqued. Weren’t the forfeits in these wagers typically naughty? A kiss, perhaps, or two minutes locked in the closet.