The Duke's Runaway Princess (Love By Accident) by Elizabeth Lennox Page B

energized. He was amused that she was trying to hide her eagerness from him, but impressed that she hadn’t run screaming from their table.
    He ordered a Rueben sandwich and smiled to the waitress before turning back to Zarah to answer her question. “I will pay for everything.” He leaned back and waited for her next question. He’d thought this through carefully but he still needed to lure her into the plan and make sure she was capable, and that she wasn’t taking on more than she should. As he watched her eyes light up though, he was reassured that she was both eager and competent. Especially with the questions she started asking.
    Zarah was surprised at his generosity. He was going to pay for the entire event? Why? That was a shocking statement. She’d been expecting him to say that the village had a fund for such projects or that the shop owners should contribute a certain amount. But for this man to pay for the entire event, it was unheard of.
    “Why would you do that? You’re talking about a large outlay of money for an event that you won’t have any benefit from. It doesn’t make sense.”
    He waved that aside. “My reasons are my own but rest assured, I don’t do anything that doesn’t benefit me in some way. Are you in?”
    She watched him, trying to figure out his motivation. It was so out of character with what she had experienced from other aristocrats and powerful people that she knew there had to be a hidden agenda. But as she watched his face, sunglasses hiding his eyes, she suspected that she wouldn’t ever really understand this man and why he was proposing something so outrageous. “Why me?” she finally asked, trying to determine why he’d approached her for this proposition instead of one of the more entrenched villagers, someone who knew more of the contacts and might do things in a different manner than a stranger who didn’t have many contacts outside of their small community.
    “Because you’ve been here six months and already everyone has embraced you. You are capable and intelligent, and I believe you have the skills to accomplish the task with huge success.” He paused to let his words sink in.
    His comments caused a warm glow to burst in her heart. It was a small validation that she was making a difference in someone’s life and that her choice to come here instead of heading back home to a stranger groom was a good one. “There are many people who are helping the villagers.”
    He acknowledged her comment with a slight bow of his head. “Yes, but none that have the same level of skill and creativity married to a strong intellect like you have.”
    Zarah blushed from the compliment and looked away. She wasn’t certain what she would be getting into, but the possibility was too enticing to turn down. “Okay. I’m in, but can we shift the date?”
    A warm sense of satisfaction formed in his stomach. He’d done it, captured this beauty’s interest and created a way for her to stop avoiding him. He didn’t consider himself successful with her yet, but soon.
    “No. It has to happen in two months’ time. Any earlier and the heat of the summer hasn’t abated. Any later and the kids will be starting back to school for the fall term and the shop keepers won’t have the time to dedicate to a festival of this size, nor will the outsiders have the time to visit. It should be three days long, starting on a Friday evening and running through Sunday, late afternoon. You’ll need to report to me on the progress each week and give me a status on any issues and progress the following week will bring. I want to know details on both the business classes as well as the festival. Give me total counts on how many of the shop keepers are attending the classes, talk to the ones that aren’t attending and let me know why they’re skipping them. Get feedback on the classes and make sure they’re up to speed with the villager’s skill level.”
    Their meals arrived at that point and