When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,43

beasts who pose no threat to people. Unlike crocodiles that would as soon make you their next meal.”

“Crocodiles?”

He leafed through several more pages to the sketch of a lengthy, lizard-like reptile with scaly skin and a set of wickedly sharp teeth. “They thrive in tropical areas all around the world. One must always take care on riverbanks, lest a crocodile snap you up in its jaws. They hide just beneath the surface of the water, and it’s easy to mistake them for a floating log. In Australia, one lunged at me as I was crouching down to fill my canteen.”

The duke had a gleam in his eyes as if he expected a squeal of terror from her. But it wasn’t that faraway incident that caused a shudder in the pit of her stomach. It was the thought that if there really was a Carlin Curse, as Lady Victor believed, he would have died on that riverbank. “It’s remarkable you returned alive, then.”

“There were as many delights as there were dangers.” Carlin related an amusing anecdote about a monkey that had snatched off his hat and then described seeing hundreds of tiny, newly hatched sea turtles scrambling across a sandy beach to the water. His experiences fascinated Tessa, who had never ventured outside the city, let alone crossed oceans to distant lands.

Several pages later, she leaned closer to stare at an amazing sketch. It was a trio of sleek fish leaping out of the sea in formation. Their wild grace captivated Tessa. “Why, I never knew there were fish so large—except for whales, of course.”

“It’s a school of dolphins. They would sometimes swim alongside the ship for hours, as if they were as fascinated by us as we were by them.”

She cast an admiring glance at him. “You’ve a gift for capturing motion and light … the sun glinting on the water, the smooth glide of their bodies, the flow of the waves. And by framing the scene with the rigging of the ship, it makes me feel as if I were right there aboard with you watching the dolphins.”

Her words appeared to please him. “You seem knowledgeable about art. Do you draw?”

“A little, although my skills are limited to more common objects.” She turned her gaze down to the book. “Nothing so exciting as your voyage around the world. I’m anxious to hear more about it.”

His fingers caught her chin and tilted her face back toward him. “Now, don’t play coy, Tessa. Tell me what it is you like to sketch.”

The interest in his eyes mesmerized her, as did the husky vibration of her name on his lips. She decided it would do no harm to make light of the matter. “If you must know, my attempts are mere doodling compared to your subject matter. You see, I enjoy drawing … bonnets.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Bonnets. I might have guessed. On the day you first walked into my study you wore a particularly pretty one.”

“Thank you,” she said, surprised that he’d remembered. “I just had a thought, Carlin. Lady Sophy would enjoy seeing these drawings and hearing your stories. You know how much she adores animals.”

“An excellent notion. Yes, I can certainly do that.”

He gave Tessa an enigmatic look as if wondering at her reluctance to talk about herself. The firelight added a golden tint to his features, and she curled her fingers around the book in her lap to stop the mad impulse to brush back a lock of black hair that had tumbled onto his brow. The air between them seemed to sizzle as the power of his presence engaged all her senses. Did he feel the attraction, too? The dark depths of his eyes seemed to confirm that suspicion, especially when he glanced at her lips.

Lud, what was wrong with her? One look from him could melt her insides into a pool of longing. Never before had she felt so drawn to any man, especially one who was so wrong for her. It would be fatal to her position as governess to fall in love with the Duke of Carlin. Nothing could ever come of it but heartache.

And yet she found it dangerously easy to forget he was a duke.

She blurted out the first neutral topic that came to mind. “May I ask, how many countries did you visit while sailing around the world?”

“I lost count. Come, it would be simpler to show you.”

He set aside his notebook and arose, helping Tessa to her feet. That brief