A maid in black uniform and snowy apron, a mobcap over her brown hair, had just finished plumping the row of feather pillows. She bobbed a respectful curtsy. “’Tis ready, Your Grace. Fresh linens, the room is aired, and the lady’s valise unpacked. There’s only the windows to close again.”

Natalie smiled at her. “I’ll do that in a little while, thank you. You’ll have me feeling entirely too pampered.”

She did feel pampered. After living in a log cabin in the wilderness, the luxurious surroundings made her feel as if she’d tumbled into a dream world.

The fresh, cool air drew her across the room to the bank of windows. She parted the filmy curtains and peered out at an expansive garden below, where pebbled pathways meandered among mature trees and shrubbery. Green shoots in the flower beds heralded springtime, as did the leaf buds on the trees. The scene looked so bucolic that only the distant rooftops confirmed that she was in the midst of a great city.

“I trust the accommodations meet with your approval.”

Hadrian’s voice at her shoulder made her spin around. His nearness caused a fluttering in her bosom. He stood only a scant foot away, his gray eyes smoky in the diffused sunlight. A slight smile tilted his mouth, as if he harbored wicked thoughts that involved kissing … and more.

In the absence of all common sense, she burned to feel his strong arms holding her close, his lips pressed to hers, his hands caressing her bare skin. A tantalizing warmth spread through her body until she scarcely noticed the bracing breeze from the windows. It would be so easy to forget her vow to resist him …

When one of his eyebrows lifted inquiringly, she realized he was waiting for her response. “The room is perfect, and you’re right, it’s close enough to the nursery. In truth, it’s so lovely that I feel as overindulged as Leo.” Edgy in his presence, she glanced past the duke’s broad-shouldered form toward the bed. It was then that she noticed they were alone. “Where is the maid?”

“I sent her away.”

“You know very well it’s improper for us to be alone in a bedchamber. You’ll have to leave at once.”

Hadrian made no move to depart. With his slightly aquiline nose and aristocratic features, his snow-white cravat and tailored blue coat, he looked every inch the English duke, the master of all this luxury and wealth. “Since the door is open, only a stickler would call it an impropriety,” he said reasonably. “As for Leo being overindulged, I don’t wish for that to happen, either. You made an excellent compromise with my mother.”

“Did I?” Aware of a bottled-up tension, Natalie brushed past him to pace the soft carpet, her hem swishing around her ankles. “A gift every week, when he already has more than enough playthings in the nursery. That’s fifty-two presents a year, not counting birthday and Christmas.”

“It’s an improvement over him receiving them all at once.”