He came forward as if to take her arm, but Natalie shook her head. “I can’t leave the kitchen looking like this. And the fire needs to be banked.”

“The maids will tidy up in the morning.” He set the plate on the table. “As for the fire, allow me.”

“You know how?”

“Of course. Dukes are not entirely useless creatures.” His mouth quirked in a droll half-smile, he glanced around the hearth. “Although I confess, I don’t see any fire tools.”

She pointed across the kitchen. “Bert threw them over there.”

His smile vanishing, Hadrian gave her a grim look before heading in that direction. Had he guessed at her failed attempt to use one of the tools as a weapon? He couldn’t begin to imagine just how terrified she’d been. Or that the shock had wrenched open the door to a certain hideous memory …

Stifling a shiver, Natalie folded her arms over her midriff and hugged herself. There was no need to dwell on that event from the previous summer. The past was best left buried. In the months since then, she had put it all behind her. She had focused on caring for Leo, comforting him when he suffered nightmares, packing their few belongings, arranging for their travel papers. Hoping the passage of time would help her forget, she had kept herself busy and active so that she’d have no time to reflect …

“Does this pass inspection, milady?”

Natalie blinked, realizing that Hadrian had already shoveled ash over the embers. The flames had died down, leaving only a glow on the grate. The hearth, at least, appeared tidy, if not the rest of the kitchen.

“Perfect, Your Grace.”

“I thought you’d sworn never to call me that,” he said while propping the shovel beside the fire iron.

“That was before I knew you had any useful skills.”

“I’ve a few others, as well.”

The hint of rakishness in his smile ignited a feeling inside her much like the banked fire. There was no denying that she admired his virile handsomeness, the slightly mussed brown hair, the masculine angles of his face. His shirt was open at the throat to reveal a triangle of broad chest, and his gray eyes looked as soft as smoke …

His gaze lingered on her for another moment before he dusted off his hands and went to pick up the tray. “Come, I’ll blow out my candle. Yours should be sufficient to light the way.”

She picked up the pewter lamp, the flickering flame enclosing them in a golden cocoon. As they proceeded out of the kitchen and along the shadowy corridor, Natalie wondered why she felt so safe with Hadrian. After that vicious attack, she ought to be cautious of spending time alone with a man in the middle of the night, especially when she was garbed in her bedclothes.

And especially when the man in question was as tempting as sin.

Chapter 13

As they approached the library, their footsteps echoing in the great hall, Hadrian was aware of the heavy beating of his pulse. He must be mad to prolong their time together. Their lives were poles apart, and besides, she intended to return to America soon. Yet tonight he could not maintain his usual air of cool detachment.