Regency Romance: A Duchess in Disguise (Historical 19th Century Victorian Romance) (Duke Fantasy Billionaire Romance) (60 page)

“Aww, now why would you want to do that, Kara?  I thought our love
was written
in the stars,” Henry said dramatically. 

He threw his arm around Kara, and oddly to
her,
she didn’t mind.  It had been a long time since she’d
been held
in any manner. 

She looked around and caught more than a few envious glares and began to feel uncomfortable.  She pried herself from his grasp and stepped back.

“Okay, I’ve made an appearance at your stupid party, I’m going home.”

“Kara, what are you going to do at home,” Henry asked, “shall I take a guess?  I think you’ll lie down in bed, pull out a book and read for a few minutes while missing me.”

“Nothing of the sort,” she replied, “I’m going to go home and sleep.  I have a lot to do tomorrow.  I’m taking on some new students that need tutoring, and I’ll need to decide who will be on that list.  Thus, I have to sleep tonight.”

Henry finished his drink and casually tossed the plastic cup aside. 

“Alright, alright, I won’t bother you anymore.  Get out of here.”

Henry waved Kara away in an overt gesture, and she
actually
felt a bit down that he was pushing her away already. 
She, at least,
expected him to put up more of a fight.

“Have a good evening,” Kara replied curtly before walking towards the front door.

Henry watched her leave; his chest
was wracked
with a tightness he hadn’t
really
felt before. 
He
felt that the first time he saw her, as well.  It seemed to
be lessened
every time he had the chance to talk to her, so he enjoyed every second they spent together; even though their time was spent arguing with each other.

He wanted to do something more about it; then he saw George.

3.

George was in the middle of a conversation with a
couple of
other girls.  He was a good guy, even though he was a little slow.  Still,
he
had the opening that Henry needed, and he’d even been so kind as to share Kara’s number.  Perhaps there was one more thing he’d be willing to do.

“George, my man,” started Henry, “you’re being tutored by Kara, right?”

George turned to
speak,
and the girls walked away.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he asked.

“Listen, how did you get her as a tutor,” Henry asked.

“It was easy, there’s a website on the campus that you use to apply for
tutelage,
and they match you up with people that
best suit
your needs,” replied George.

“It’s that easy?”

“Yep, just like that.  It costs a
bit,
but it’s worth it.  Kara’s helped me bump my grade up a
couple of
points in the last couple
months;
it’s helped keep me on the team,” George said.

Henry scratched his chin.

“Do you still have your application somewhere,” Henry asked.

“Yeah, probably, why?”

“I want to apply for a tutor, just give me your information,” Henry prodded.

“I think I have it in my room, I’ll email it to you,” George replied, and then went back to filling his glass. 

Henry stood there a moment watching him drink, wishing that he’d take the hint.

“Now, please,” Henry said, taking the glass from George’s hand and setting it on the table. 

George raised an eyebrow at him and left
for
his room in the house.  Henry followed
close by
.

“How about you just bring up the
application,
and I’ll fill out the rest before sending it in,” Henry said.

George nodded.

“You’ll probably end up with the girl that ditched you tonight,” George said. 

“You don’t say, wouldn’t that be something,” Henry said.

With a few taps on his laptop, George pulled up his old application.  Henry pushed George from his chair and started changing a few of the fields. 

“Hmm, maybe Albert Conrad,” Henry said.

“Albert, Who?”  George asked.

“Nothing, George, can you answer me a question, what does Kara like?”

George looked at Henry with drunken eyes and tried to understand what he was
being asked
.

“Reading, I guess,” George replied.

“You’re no help, George,” said Henry.

“I know.”

“I’ll turn off your computer when
I’m done
, just get back to the party for me.”

“Okay, Henry.”

George stumbled out of his room, slamming the door behind him unexpectedly. 

Henry continued to fill in the fields of the application.  Some of the details he made up on the fly, while others he used from his
own
record to help his case.  When he thought the application was perfect, he submitted it. 

Henry felt butterflies in his stomach.  He wanted to spend more time with Kara, and this seemed the only way to do it.

4.

The usual people were on the list, and Kara didn’t mind who she had to tutor, so long as they were willing to learn and able to pay. 

Living on campus was becoming more expensive every quarter that
passed,
and she had to take
on even more
students to handle the load. 

One applicant stood out to her on the list.  Albert Conrad.  He needed help in areas that she was quite proficient in; though he did sound like he might be a little slow to learn.  It didn’t
really
matter,
though; everyone deserved a fair shot at good grades.

Kara signed the waiver and took on two more students; the first she decided to call was Albert. 

“Hello?” replied the speaker.

“Albert Conrad,” she asked.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“This is Kara, and I’ve decided to take you on as a student that I’ll be tutoring.  Do you have time to meet me later today?”

“Of course; the library at
2 pm
would be perfect,” he replied.

“Excellent, I will see you then,” Kara said before hanging up the phone. 

Something seemed very familiar about the voice on the other line, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Time passed, and the clock eventually read
2 pm
.  It was raining again
outside,
and Kara sat and watched out the window again with a book in hand. 

She felt a tap on her shoulder and swiveled to see Henry standing there. 

“Why are you here,” she asked.

“Albert said he couldn’t make it, and I should take his spot,” he replied while plopping down in the overstuffed chair nearby.

“How do you know Albert,” Kara wondered.

“Well, funny story, that,” Henry said, “I made him up.”

Kara wasn’t laughing.

“Henry, why are you torturing me like this,” she asked.

“I
really
don’t know,” he replied.

There was sincerity in his reply that Kara hadn’t heard before.  Henry appeared genuine for the first time since Kara had met him.

“Okay, Henry, you’ve had your fun, I need to get back to real work now.”

Henry didn’t budge from his seat.

“Kara, why do we
constantly
fight?” he asked.

Kara knew what she wanted to say, but wondered if she was just parroting what she had
said
in the past.  The only reason she could honestly come up with is that she didn’t want to feel like she was just another face.  She wanted to be more than just another passing fancy.

“We fight because you’re super annoying,” she said.

Henry smirked.

“I guess you’ll never let down your guard,” Henry said while standing up to leave.

Kara stood as well.

“Is this some
kind of
joke,” she asked, “you make someone up so that you can
come see
me after
you
said that you wouldn’t bother me anymore.  Now you’re walking away with your tail between your legs.”

Henry paused and lingered for a moment before answer, trying to think of a reply.  Nothing
really
came to
him,
so he just said what was on his mind.

“Kara, I don’t like many people, but I like you,” he said.

Kara let out a brash laugh that left Henry feeling a little silly.

“Henry, I don’t think you know what it means to like someone.”

“Kara, I mean it when I ask you out, I
really
do want to try to take you out
for
a date and see if we could be something more than acquaintances.”

She was feeling incredibly frustrated. 
This was
a new tactic, for sure, and Kara couldn’t figure it out.

“Okay Henry, let’s try it,” she said, surprising herself. 

She hadn’t meant to
accept,
but the words escaped her mouth before she’d
really
thought about them.

Henry’s eyes lit up, his usual
serious
gaze disappeared.

“I don’t suppose you’d want to go out right now, would you?”

Kara shook her head.

“No, I’m busy today,” she couldn’t backpedal this time. “Just call me, maybe we can get together later or tomorrow.  I’m usually free on Sunday’s.”

“It’s a date,” he said, bouncing out from the library. 

The rain let
up,
and small jets of sunlight streamed in through the glass.  Kara already missed the rain, but the rainbow was a welcome change. 

“Great,” she said to herself with an exhausted sigh.

5.

Sunday began with a phone call.

“Hello,” Kara said, answering the call with her eyes full of sleep

“I think I have an idea of what we can do today, dress warm and meet me downstairs,” Henry replied then ended the call.

Kara wanted to stay in bed for another hour or two.  She rarely had the chance to sleep
in,
and this was the first day in more than a few months that she’d had the time.

Still, she found herself interested in seeing what he meant by ‘dress
warm.'

Kara raided her closet and put on the warmest things she could find.  Sadly they didn’t look that great together.  Kara was a curvier girl, and it was always hard to find things that fit just right.  Her
large
bosom barely fit into regular bras from the store, and her curvier hips made buying jeans a nightmare. 

She usually ended up in comfy
leggings
and a knee length dress.  Today, she put on a pair of ill-fitting jeans and a sweater than made her look just a little bit wider than usual.  Kara hated
it
but went with it
anyway
.

Downstairs, in the walkway leading up to her apartment, stood Henry.  A small bundle of wildflowers perched in his
hand
and his hair was combed just a little bit to one side.  Kara suppressed a giggle at his new hairdo.

“Alright, what’s the plan then,” she said.

“Today is a special day,” Henry replied.

“Oh yeah, and what’s that mean,” questioned Kara.

“It means that you’re in for quite a treat.”

Then he thrust the small band of flowers towards her. 

“These are for you,” he said.

She took the mangy flowers from him.

“Thanks,” she said unenthusiastically.

Henry offered an arm, and Kara reluctantly
took
it.

Although, now that she was there, she liked it.  She knew that she’d get a lot of looks from any other girl that walked along the sidewalk.

Kara’s curiosity was going a bit wild.  She wondered what it was that he’d planned for the day.  He made no mention nor did he have anything that gave away his plan.  Henry just continued to walk with purpose down the lane. 

A small band of people
was gathered
up ahead.  Kara recognized the
area
but didn’t understand why people were gathering in
the space.

“What are we doing here,” Kara asked.

“You’ll see in about five more minutes,” Henry replied after checking his phone.