invitation.’
He shrugged. ‘I’ve never had a problem in the past with people thinking I’m rude.’
‘I can personally vouch for that,’ Lexie muttered disgustedly.
‘And it isn’t a problem for me now, either,’ Lucan continued dryly. ‘But if it bothers you…’
‘It doesn’t,’ she assured him quickly.
‘Then I’ll telephone and make our excuses.’
She gave an impatient shake of her head. ‘That isn’t very fair, when Cathy has probably already started cooking for you.’
‘For
us,’
he corrected pointedly.
‘You’re the one that’s important,’ Lexie reasoned derisively. ‘After all, I’m just an insignificant PA—a temporary one at that. Whereas you’re the local celebrity. The illustrious Duke of Stourbridge,’ she added tauntingly.
He gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘Temporary PA or otherwise, there’s nothing in the least insignificant about
you,
Lexie,’ he said dryly.
‘You know exactly what I meant!’ she snapped impatiently.
Yes, Lucan knew exactly what Lexie was up to.
‘Neither is there anything in the least illustrious about the title of Duke of Stourbridge! ‘ he added bitterly.
‘Oh?’
‘Oh,’
he echoed unhelpfully, having no intention of satisfying her obvious curiosity by opening up that particular can of worms. ‘As I’ve already told you, the title doesn’t interest me.’
‘Whether you choose to use the title or not, that’s obviously how the people of Stourbridge think of you,’ she came back dismissively.
Lucan’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how would
you
know how the people of Stourbridge think of me…?’
Yet another slip, Lexie realised with a self-disgusted wince. She really wasn’t very good at this.
Damn it—it was a little late for her to realise that she should have just refused to come here and invited Lucan to do his worst where Premier Personnel was concerned!
‘It’s pretty obvious that John Barton is slightly in awe of you.’ She shrugged. ‘Besides, all small villages function on gossip, don’t they?’
‘Do they?’
‘Oh, stop being difficult, Lucan! If you had bothered to consult me before accepting John’s invitation then you would have known that I’m not in the mood to play lowly servant to your arrogant duke in public!’
Lucan’s eyes narrowed on Lexie as he drew in a long, slow, calming breath, knowing that by referring to his title again she was deliberately trying to annoy him. He had no intention of giving her that satisfaction.
He knew that something was slightly off about Lexie’s behaviour. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on but nevertheless could sense was there.
Perhaps it was her avoidance of telling him where she had gone on her walk this morning? Or her reluctance to go to the Bartons’ for dinner? Or perhaps the fact that she’d seemed just as reluctant to eat at the pub in the village, both last night and again today?
At the moment, all Lucan was sure of was that there had been something different about Lexie’s behaviour, something guarded, since they’d arrived at Mulberry Hall yesterday.
He regarded her consideringly. ‘What
are
you in the mood for?’
Lexie gave a start even as she eyed him warily. ‘I told you—an early night.’
Lucan shrugged. ‘And I’ve already agreed that sounds like a good idea.’
As far as Lexie could tell Lucan hadn’t moved from his stance near the cooker, and yet she still found herself taking a defensive step backwards. Away from him. Away from the danger Lucan suddenly represented. The physical danger.
Her tongue moved nervously, moistly, across her suddenly dry lips. ‘I have no idea what your usual arrangement is with your PA, Lucan, but I can assure you—’
‘Oh, I think my “usual arrangement” with my PA has been made more than obvious by the fact that the last one walked out on me before Christmas, without giving notice, and that I didn’t even get her name right yesterday,’ Lucan drawled. ‘Don’t you?
He shrugged. ‘I’ve never had a problem in the past with people thinking I’m rude.’
‘I can personally vouch for that,’ Lexie muttered disgustedly.
‘And it isn’t a problem for me now, either,’ Lucan continued dryly. ‘But if it bothers you…’
‘It doesn’t,’ she assured him quickly.
‘Then I’ll telephone and make our excuses.’
She gave an impatient shake of her head. ‘That isn’t very fair, when Cathy has probably already started cooking for you.’
‘For
us,’
he corrected pointedly.
‘You’re the one that’s important,’ Lexie reasoned derisively. ‘After all, I’m just an insignificant PA—a temporary one at that. Whereas you’re the local celebrity. The illustrious Duke of Stourbridge,’ she added tauntingly.
He gave a rueful shake of his head. ‘Temporary PA or otherwise, there’s nothing in the least insignificant about
you,
Lexie,’ he said dryly.
‘You know exactly what I meant!’ she snapped impatiently.
Yes, Lucan knew exactly what Lexie was up to.
‘Neither is there anything in the least illustrious about the title of Duke of Stourbridge! ‘ he added bitterly.
‘Oh?’
‘Oh,’
he echoed unhelpfully, having no intention of satisfying her obvious curiosity by opening up that particular can of worms. ‘As I’ve already told you, the title doesn’t interest me.’
‘Whether you choose to use the title or not, that’s obviously how the people of Stourbridge think of you,’ she came back dismissively.
Lucan’s eyes narrowed. ‘And how would
you
know how the people of Stourbridge think of me…?’
Yet another slip, Lexie realised with a self-disgusted wince. She really wasn’t very good at this.
Damn it—it was a little late for her to realise that she should have just refused to come here and invited Lucan to do his worst where Premier Personnel was concerned!
‘It’s pretty obvious that John Barton is slightly in awe of you.’ She shrugged. ‘Besides, all small villages function on gossip, don’t they?’
‘Do they?’
‘Oh, stop being difficult, Lucan! If you had bothered to consult me before accepting John’s invitation then you would have known that I’m not in the mood to play lowly servant to your arrogant duke in public!’
Lucan’s eyes narrowed on Lexie as he drew in a long, slow, calming breath, knowing that by referring to his title again she was deliberately trying to annoy him. He had no intention of giving her that satisfaction.
He knew that something was slightly off about Lexie’s behaviour. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on but nevertheless could sense was there.
Perhaps it was her avoidance of telling him where she had gone on her walk this morning? Or her reluctance to go to the Bartons’ for dinner? Or perhaps the fact that she’d seemed just as reluctant to eat at the pub in the village, both last night and again today?
At the moment, all Lucan was sure of was that there had been something different about Lexie’s behaviour, something guarded, since they’d arrived at Mulberry Hall yesterday.
He regarded her consideringly. ‘What
are
you in the mood for?’
Lexie gave a start even as she eyed him warily. ‘I told you—an early night.’
Lucan shrugged. ‘And I’ve already agreed that sounds like a good idea.’
As far as Lexie could tell Lucan hadn’t moved from his stance near the cooker, and yet she still found herself taking a defensive step backwards. Away from him. Away from the danger Lucan suddenly represented. The physical danger.
Her tongue moved nervously, moistly, across her suddenly dry lips. ‘I have no idea what your usual arrangement is with your PA, Lucan, but I can assure you—’
‘Oh, I think my “usual arrangement” with my PA has been made more than obvious by the fact that the last one walked out on me before Christmas, without giving notice, and that I didn’t even get her name right yesterday,’ Lucan drawled. ‘Don’t you?
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