12 The duke's return (3)

Even though they had to walk quite a bit to get to the duke's room they did not encounter a single servant on the way. Perhaps everyone had been told to keep away from the second floor.

No matter what the reason Amelia was glad. She did not want anyone to see her in such lewd attire. How she wished that her hair had not been braided so that she could cover her upper body with it.

Gordon had not spared her a single glance since he had come to get her which she was so very thankful for. He was truly a good man, acting as if she did not look out of the ordinary. It made her less feel embarrassed.

It turned out that Dario resided on the opposite wing from Amelia. It was an area that she had not been shown during her lengthy tour with Gordon and she understood why; while most parts of the manor were luxurious and looked to be newly renovated that was not the case here. The floors and wallpaper seemed a bit more worn and old-fashioned, although no one with a sane mind could ever say that it looked shabby.

The butler led her all the way down a long corridor to the furthest end of it. Here he finally stopped and knocked one of the doors. It was not a double door like one would usually expect for a master suite and similar to the rest of the wing it looked a bit worn.

"Your Grace, I've brought miss Ainsworth like you requested."

Amelia who had been getting more and more nauseous during her walk through the manor now felt like she was about to throw up. She tried to find comfort in the words that her maid had told her before she left her room but they could not calm her when Gordon pressed down the handle of door to the Duke's chamber.

As the room behind the wooden door was revealed bit by bit it felt as though time suddenly slowed down. All she could hear was the sound of her own rapid heartbeat.

Amelia lowered her gaze so that she would not accidentaly make eye contact with the man inside the room, because she felt like she would be unable to maintain her composure if she did. Despite this she had been able to see that the room was much darker compared to the hallway, the only lightsource seeming to come from a fire.

She had also managed to see the contrast of Him.

In the corner of her eye she noticed Gordon gesturing, indicating that it was time for her to go inside. Amelia grasped the nightgown tightly with clammy hands and took a shallow breath through her nose.

She forced her body to move forward before she had any time to hesitate.

She had only taken a few steps when Gordon closed the door behind her and it bacame darker as the light from the hallway was cut off.