Page 47 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke
“I cannot keep doing this and being useless,” she said. “If something like that happens again, then…”
“It will not,” he interrupted.
“That is not a promise you can make.”
The carriage slowed slightly as they passed through a quieter street.
Jane’s voice dropped. “Teach me.”
The duke didn’t answer immediately. His jaw tightened. “No.”
Jane stared at him. “No? Why not?”
“This is not the time, nor is it fitting for a lady to?—”
“I needed to know how to protect myself tonight,” Jane argued.
“That is precisely why it is not the time.”
Jane’s hands clenched. “Then when? After I am hurt?”
The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You should not have been put in such a position. You will go home,” he said.
Jane shook her head immediately. “No. I will not be such aliabilityagain.”
That word landed. Something shifted in his expression. The carriage stopped. The duke signaled the driver. “Wait.”
Then he opened the door. The alley was quieter here.
Jane stepped down after him, confused. “What are you doing?”
The duke didn’t answer at first. “You will learn one thing.”
Jane blinked. “One?”
“Enough for tonight.”
He stepped closer. The air between them changed immediately. He reached for her wrist.
“Do not fight me,” he said.
“I wasn’t going to.”
He adjusted her stance slightly, correcting her balance without hesitation. Jane froze, not from fear, but from awareness. They were too close. His hand at her waist was steady.
“Here,” he said quietly. “If someone grabs you like this?—”
He demonstrated. Jane followed.
“Again.”
She tried. Failed. He corrected her again. Her breath caught slightly as his hand steadied her shoulder.
“You’re overthinking it,” he murmured.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
