the
too- thick texture. Blinking back tears, she swallowed the
muddy- tasting gruel as quick as she could.
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“See that you finish it all.” Mrs. Harper watched her
like a skinny, cotton- headed hawk.
Leah nodded weakly. It was a good thing she could
stand to lose a few pounds. On this diet, she’d be lucky
to keep anything down.
The scraping of a chair near the end of the table
brought her watery gaze upward. Avery nodded politely
as he sat and began eating with refined gusto. Hmph.
Must be an acquired taste.
A swig of lukewarm tea helped clear the gluey taste
from her mouth, and the chatter at the table picked up
shortly thereafter.
“Her Grace’s routs are always such fun,” Sarah was
giggling to Teresa across the table. “All those posh lords
and ladies.”
“And their dresses, blimey,” Teresa said, her pale
face long with dreamy reverie. “I’d love to be puffed
off like that.”
“You?” Henrietta snorted. “A bony figure like yours
would ruin those fancy clothes.”
Teresa looked down into her lap dejectedly.
Leah resisted the urge to kick Henrietta’s shin under
the table. Instead, she opted for a more polite approach.
“I think you have a great complexion, Teresa. What
do you use on your skin?” Leah swallowed another bite
of gruel in the ensuing silence. Apparently they hadn’t
expected her to speak.
“Me mum would mix rosewater and cream, and
apply it to her face. She let me do it too, when I was
older and we could afford it.” Teresa smiled down at
her bowl. “It makes me skin softer. I do it whenever I
can, even now.”
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“Vanity is a sin,” Mrs. Harper admonished. “You’ll
cease this immediately.”
Teresa’s face went bone- white. “Oh no, Mrs. Harper,
I didn’t mean…”
“You’ll do as you’re told in this household.” Mrs.
Harper’s chair scraped back. “The very thought of a maid
taking such pains with her appearance is disgraceful. You
are to be neat, pressed, and present yourself as a servant
of His Grace, but to give yourself such a treatment is well
above your station.”
“Yes, Mrs. Harper,” Teresa whispered.
“You’d all do well to remember that.”
With a glare at Leah, the housekeeper left the table.
The three footmen followed at her direction, leaving
Leah with the maids and Avery. All the females at
the table turned distrustful eyes on Leah, with the
exception of Teresa, who had tears tracking down her
pale cheeks.
“Teresa, I’m so sorry,” Leah said. God, she felt like
shit. “I just wanted to give you a compli— ”
“You’re poison, you are.” Henrietta stood, her lips
pursed in disapproval, much like Mrs. Harper’s had been.
“You intended to cause that trouble for poor Teresa,
hoping that you can replace her as the upper housemaid.
We’ll none of us have aught to do with you.” At her
beckoning gesture, the other girls followed, including the
still- sniffling Teresa.
Leah leaned forward with a groan, plastering her
forehead against the rough top of the dining table. This
was so not going well.
i
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Avery stared down into his bowl, unwilling— no, unable,
if he were to be honest with himself— to look at Leah.
He should have spoken. He should have defended her
against the false accusations that Henrietta had hurled
on her. But how could he, when he knew that casting
himself as her savior would harm her even further?
A movement drew his gaze as she sat up and glared at
him. “Thanks for saving me there, cowboy.”
Leah’s shoved her chair back to stand. He shoved
another bite into his mouth to prevent having to reply.
She left the dining room without another word, and
Avery stared at her
too- thick texture. Blinking back tears, she swallowed the
muddy- tasting gruel as quick as she could.
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“See that you finish it all.” Mrs. Harper watched her
like a skinny, cotton- headed hawk.
Leah nodded weakly. It was a good thing she could
stand to lose a few pounds. On this diet, she’d be lucky
to keep anything down.
The scraping of a chair near the end of the table
brought her watery gaze upward. Avery nodded politely
as he sat and began eating with refined gusto. Hmph.
Must be an acquired taste.
A swig of lukewarm tea helped clear the gluey taste
from her mouth, and the chatter at the table picked up
shortly thereafter.
“Her Grace’s routs are always such fun,” Sarah was
giggling to Teresa across the table. “All those posh lords
and ladies.”
“And their dresses, blimey,” Teresa said, her pale
face long with dreamy reverie. “I’d love to be puffed
off like that.”
“You?” Henrietta snorted. “A bony figure like yours
would ruin those fancy clothes.”
Teresa looked down into her lap dejectedly.
Leah resisted the urge to kick Henrietta’s shin under
the table. Instead, she opted for a more polite approach.
“I think you have a great complexion, Teresa. What
do you use on your skin?” Leah swallowed another bite
of gruel in the ensuing silence. Apparently they hadn’t
expected her to speak.
“Me mum would mix rosewater and cream, and
apply it to her face. She let me do it too, when I was
older and we could afford it.” Teresa smiled down at
her bowl. “It makes me skin softer. I do it whenever I
can, even now.”
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91
“Vanity is a sin,” Mrs. Harper admonished. “You’ll
cease this immediately.”
Teresa’s face went bone- white. “Oh no, Mrs. Harper,
I didn’t mean…”
“You’ll do as you’re told in this household.” Mrs.
Harper’s chair scraped back. “The very thought of a maid
taking such pains with her appearance is disgraceful. You
are to be neat, pressed, and present yourself as a servant
of His Grace, but to give yourself such a treatment is well
above your station.”
“Yes, Mrs. Harper,” Teresa whispered.
“You’d all do well to remember that.”
With a glare at Leah, the housekeeper left the table.
The three footmen followed at her direction, leaving
Leah with the maids and Avery. All the females at
the table turned distrustful eyes on Leah, with the
exception of Teresa, who had tears tracking down her
pale cheeks.
“Teresa, I’m so sorry,” Leah said. God, she felt like
shit. “I just wanted to give you a compli— ”
“You’re poison, you are.” Henrietta stood, her lips
pursed in disapproval, much like Mrs. Harper’s had been.
“You intended to cause that trouble for poor Teresa,
hoping that you can replace her as the upper housemaid.
We’ll none of us have aught to do with you.” At her
beckoning gesture, the other girls followed, including the
still- sniffling Teresa.
Leah leaned forward with a groan, plastering her
forehead against the rough top of the dining table. This
was so not going well.
i
GeekGirlsDontDateDukes.indd 91
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92
Gina Lamm
Geek Girls Don’t Date Dukes
Avery stared down into his bowl, unwilling— no, unable,
if he were to be honest with himself— to look at Leah.
He should have spoken. He should have defended her
against the false accusations that Henrietta had hurled
on her. But how could he, when he knew that casting
himself as her savior would harm her even further?
A movement drew his gaze as she sat up and glared at
him. “Thanks for saving me there, cowboy.”
Leah’s shoved her chair back to stand. He shoved
another bite into his mouth to prevent having to reply.
She left the dining room without another word, and
Avery stared at her
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