Page 60 of Deviant Duchess
And why would he not give you such a command? You have already failed so many times. It is clear you cannot avenge your sister’s reputation.
Deborah flinched at the negative thought as she kept her gaze to the ground.
“You do not think I can do this,” she said bitterly.
Cedric’s gentle grasp on her chin had tears itching to spring from her eyes as she allowed herself a moment of misery. As if he would not stand for it, Cedric forced her chin up, and when she met his eyes again, she was immediately annoyed at how his gaze had those tight knots in her stomach uncurling and transforming into butterflies.
“I think that we should do this together,” he stated calmly, “And I mean that literally. I do not want you near that man alone again. You stay by my side, where I can see you at all times.”
Deborah huffed in annoyance. Everything was becoming too jumbled. Too messy. She began to wonder if it was because she was trying to take on so much alone, and she had to find out if that was true.
“I feel as if these parties we are attending are leading us nowhere,” she said at last when her anger had cooled, “All they seem to do is provide me opportunities to make things worse. Besides, Sylvester will not do anything nefarious in public. He acts like the perfect gentlemen.”
“I do not necessarily believe that you are making things worse,” Cedric replied, “But I do agree about the parties. I had thought that we would catch him slipping, but we this is our fourth party in a month we’ve watched him at, and he has not mis-stepped once.”
Deborah pressed her lips together and nodded, her mind whirring for a solution. Through the glass pane on the balcony door, she caught sight of the women Cedric had been talking to, chatting and giggling. Her annoyance with them began to rise once again- then suddenly it stopped as an idea dawned on her.
“We need to go to one of his auctions,” she said, turning back to Cedric.
He looked at her as if she had gone mad, shaking his head vehemently.
“One, I would never put you in a situation to be sold again,” he stated firmly, holding up one finger.
“Two, as I said, you are to stay by side at all times now,” he went on, holding up a second.
“And three, we do not know the locations of his auctions. They move frequently and are invitation only. The only we are aware of is the one where we met,” he finished, holding up a third finger.
“Then we do not put me in a situation to be sold again,” she answered, holding up a finger of her own.
“We go together,” she added, holding up a second finger.
“And we go back to the auction where we met,” she said, holding up the third finger.
She then waved them near his face, causing him to wrinkle his nose and bat her hand away.
“See! All problems solved!” She went on, pestering him some more with her hand.
“Stop that,” he scolded, snatching her hand and sending jolts of lightning through her fingers as she smirked, “And how do you suppose we get you in if we are not posing you as a woman to be sold?”
Deborah’s smirk widened into a grin.
“Simple. I will not be going as a woman.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“What do you think?” Deborah asked.
She stepped out from behind her dressing partition, her hands splayed out by her sides.
Cedric looked up from where he sat hunched over on the edge of her bed and groaned before he plopped his head back into his hands.
“That this is a terrible,terribleidea,” he croaked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
Deborah frowned and walked to her full-length mirror. Cedric’s suits had been far too big on her, so they’d had to have one made for her. The tailor had nearly gone into a fit of apoplexy when they revealed the suit was to be made from her measurements, but Cedric had quickly lied, stating that the suit was a surprise for his nephew, who was much shorter and lither, much likeDeborah. The story seemed to put the tailor at ease, if only a little, and he had put the suit together as Cedric requested.
Black, expensive material made up the trousers, cravat, and jacket, and white silk was used for the collared, long-sleeve shirt. Shoes were acquired in her size from the cordwainer, and a black top hat not only completed the ensemble but hid the bun Deborah had fastened her long locks into.
“I think it will do,” Deborah murmured, tugging the jacket down in an attempt to hide the curve of her breasts.
