Page 33 of Once Upon a Devilish Duke

“Chin up, Dunstan. Women are fickle creatures. Persistence is the key.”

Dunstan looked down at his feet in stark contrast to what Edward had just told him to do. “Persistence. Right.”

“We are attending Camden’s ball tomorrow night. I expect to see you there?”

Dunstan nodded.

“I will facilitate a few minutes of solitude on the terrace. Keep it respectable. If she tries to slap you…duck. The last thing we need this season is another scandal.”

He let out a breath and smiled. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

Edward nodded and left the hallway, turning right and continuing down the hallway to the stairs and down to his carriage.

Edward walked into the parlor a half hour later to find his mother entertaining a dozen women. He made eye contact with Rose, who gave him a tentative smile. He made his greetings and made for the safety of his study. Would she come to his study again tonight? Part of him longed for her to give him a respite from his work, and part of him resented her for making him long for her to come to him.

*

Rose stood outside his study, contemplating what excuse she could use this time just to be in his presence. It was strange to admit that she needed to see him. Needed to see him. They were to attend a ball tonight and he would be there, but she didn’t want the stoic duke that chaperoned them. She wanted the man who softened when they were alone. She wanted to hear her name on his lips.

When she knocked on his door, she was met with silence. She opened the door and saw that the desk was absent of its usual occupant. Rose had to resist the urge to go in anyway. To have a look at the piles on his desk and see what it was that kept him so busy. Instead, she went downstairs and waited in the parlor. Marianne and her mother were already there, but Marianne seemed nervous.

“What’s wrong, Marianne? You look flushed,” Rose said, sitting next to her.

“Do I?”

“Are you worried about seeing Lord Dunstan?”

“No! Well, maybe. I am not sure how I feel about seeing him.”

When Rose saw tears in her friend’s eyes, she said, “Edward will not force you to marry him, you know.” Rose patted her hand in reassurance.

Marianne looked shocked for a moment, then laughed. “I would never marry a man my brother had chosen. He would never force me either. Edward is many things, Rose, but he is not your brother.”

Oh, that burned, mostly because it was true. Edward was not Cecil. Where Edward’s decisions were made out of duty, Cecil’s were made out of greed.

“My concern is more that my head tells me one thing, but my heart says another. Which should I trust?”

“Oh, my dear girl, your heart,” her mother said, clutching her emerald necklace. “Always your heart. Why did you not tell me about this?”

“I’m sorry, Mother, I was still trying to figure it out myself.”

“Perhaps you should talk to him, hear what he has to say, then you may have a better idea about how you feel,” Rose suggested.

“Yes, you are right. I have been so silly about all this.”

“No, you most certainly have not,” Rose said. “Matters of the heart must always be contemplated with patience and are never silly.”

The three women hugged and then went into the hall to don their cloaks. The duke descended the stairs, pulling on his cuffs. He looked magnificent. He always did. Rose had a moment to admire the broad shoulders, his slim waist and long legs. Everything about him seemed so…controlled. Like the man never did anything that was not deliberate.

He looked up at them all, just standing there, and frowned. “Are we ready?” The duke motioned the butler, and the door was opened. Rose followed Marianne and her mother down the steps, conscious of the man behind her. When she got to the carriage, the duke offered his hand to help her in. She took it, glancing up at him, and for a moment she saw his eyes widen when she smiled at him. “Thank you, Your Grace.”

“My pleasure, Lady Rose.”

He piled in behind her, sitting next to his mother opposite her. She could feel him watching her, but she dared not look up at him. She still felt terrible about what happened at their last meeting. To be honest, she didn’t know why she was acting this way with him. She was meant to hate him. Her allegiance was with Max. Nothing could excuse what he had done to his daughter. Somewhere she had forgotten that. He had made her forget.

When they arrived, he stepped out and handed them all down but held on to her hand a little longer than necessary. “You seem out of sorts. It is not like you to be quiet for a whole carriage ride.”

“I’m fine.”