Page 72 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

The duke did not raise his voice. He did not need to. Something about the way he stood made the air feel suddenly denser.

Jane watched him carefully.

He was dressed for the occasion in a dark coat and immaculate gloves, but there was nothing soft about him. Nothing social. He looked like a man who had stepped into a room only because he had decided it needed to be corrected.

The offending gentleman cleared his throat. “We meant no offense,” he said quickly. “We were only conversing.”

Hector’s gaze did not shift. “You were discussing a lady as though she were not present,” he said. “That is not conversation. It is cowardice.”

Silence fell. Jane felt Lavinia glance at her, but she did not look away from Hector. The gentleman flushed.

“We were merely?—”

“Insulting her circumstances and speculating,” Hector finished flatly.

The man hesitated. “I did not intend?—”

“You did,” Hector said. The simplicity of it landed harder than any raised voice could have.

Jane’s breath caught slightly.

The man swallowed. “I apologize,” he said quickly. “I did not realize that?—”

Hector’s eyes flicked to him. “You did not realize she could hear you?”

The man looked uncomfortable now. “That is not what I meant.”

“No,” Hector said quietly. “It is precisely what you meant. You simply did not expect consequences.”

The silence that followed felt absolute. At that moment, the Marquess of Redforth—and the duke’s friend—appeared; he slid into the space beside Hector as though he had been there all along, although Jane was fairly certain he had not.

“There you are,” Lord Redforth said pleasantly, as if nothing at all unusual was occurring. “I was beginning to think you had abandoned me for the sake of decorum.” His gaze flicked to the group of gentlemen. “Oh,” he added lightly. “Am I interrupting something?”

The tension cracked. The offending man gave a stiff bow. “Your Grace, my lord,” he said quickly. “I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I offer my apologies to Lady Wynten.”

Lord Redforth smiled. “How delightful,” he said. “We do love a misunderstanding that resolves itself before anyone important becomes involved.”

Jane almost laughed. Hector did not move. The man gave another quick bow and retreated with his companion.

Only when they had fully disappeared did Lord Redforth turn slightly toward Hector. “You grow more terrifying in public settings,” he murmured.

Hector said nothing. His gaze shifted, just briefly, to Jane. Then away again, as though he had not looked at her at all.

Jane’s chest tightened in a way she did not fully understand.

Redforth, meanwhile, turned toward her with immediate ease. “Lady Jane,” he said warmly, offering a small bow. “You look remarkably composed considering the quality of company you are being forced to endure.”

Jane blinked. “Lord Redforth,” she replied. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“I go where entertainment is likely,” he said. “Tonight, it appears, I am rewarded.”

Lavinia huffed a quiet laugh beside her. Jane glanced at her friend briefly, then back to Ambrose.

“Thank you,” she said carefully.

Redforth waved a hand. “Oh, do not thank me. I merely arrived in time to prevent an unsavory scene unfolding. You are holding up better than most would,” he said.

Jane hesitated. “I am not certain that is true.”