Page 11 of A Virgin for the Cruel Duke

“Deuced awkward this morning!” Herbert said loudly, flinging himself into the chair in Stephen’s office without a further word of explanation and tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. “I say, are you going to be encouraging the lady Rapunzel to join us for breakfast or will she continue to cloister herself away from our dirty Wilkins eyes?”

It took Stephen a moment to catch up with what his brother was saying. This was not unusual. Herbert was an impetuous young man, always rushing into things head first, including conversations. It could be quite difficult to follow what he was saying. “I beg your pardon?”

“Your wife,” Herbert said, tipping forwards with a frown on his brow. “You must have noted she was not at the breakfasting table? We had a place set for her special or Diana would have been sat at your right like she usually is.”

Stephen raised an eyebrow at Herbert. He had been aware of Elizabeth’s absence like it burned him. Throughout breakfast hehad been able to think of little else, of the fire in her eyes the last time they had spoken and the way they had left things. He had spent his night thinking on the feeling of her warm soft breasts under his hands and the way she had sounded when he kissed her - that soft breathless moan that had seemed to be torn from her lips.

However he did not see what business it was of his little brother.

God willing this would not become a habit. His business with his wife wasnotto become debated by his siblings at every turn. He would not stand for it.

“Perhaps she has no appetite in the morning,” he suggested calmly, frowning a little as Herbert spun to his feet and started to pace the room.

“That’s no excuse, Stephen, and you must know it. It’s a time for the family to gather together and make friendly, to talk through our day ahead and if my new lady sister will not be friendly with us then what are we to do with the matter?”

“I hardly think that one missed breakfast is proof that my wife intends no civility towards you -” Stephen was cut off as Selina swept into the room and sat in the chair that Herbert had just vacated.

“What are we talking about?” she asked briskly. “Elizabeth’s absence at breakfast? Good. I feel there is a lot to say about it.”

“See? Selina agrees with me!”

Herbert said this as if the two of them did not frequently agree with each other in ways that Stephen felt wereintentionally engineeredto bring him grey hairs and grief.

“If you are saying that we must do something about our new sister avoiding us, then yes I do!”

“Exactly, how are we to keep an eye on her and ensure that she is not plotting against the family if she’s always hiding in her room?”

“It is plain good manners to join the family at mealtimes,” Selina huffed, ignoring Herbert’s dramatics as Diana slipped into the room and patted him on the arm.

“I don’t know if a Barnes can manage good manners,” Herbert added. “I haven’t seen any evidence of them in the rest of the family.”

“I think the Duchess might be made of nothing but good manners,” Diana said thoughtfully, her soft gentle voice making the statement less sharp and more amusing.

Selina smiled a little. “That’s certainly true. However the rest of them are as bad as each other. I am sure I am going to have to box young Lord Barnes around the ears one of these days, he is always talking such incredible rubbish.”

“Quite,” Herbert said. “And now we don’t just have to deal with it outside of the home but within it as well!”

Stephen wondered if his wife was indeed avoiding the family or if she were simply tired after their exciting evening the previous day.

He had thought that maybe the moment might have been soured by what happened afterwards, but in the light of day he was surprised to find that he held nothing in his heart but respect for Elizabeth. Whatever had happened that she had not been pleased by, she had been bold and brave enough to defend herself. He liked that.

He would be happy to wait until she wanted him to touch her again and he had a suspicion that it might not take too long for that to happen.

“Well, Stephen? What are you going to do about it? Or shall I do something?” Selina made a movement as if to get up and Diana looked alarmed while Herbert looked delighted.

“I think not,” Stephen said quickly. He loved Selina dearly, she was an intelligent young woman who had long held that the feud between the families was foolishness. It was a position that Stephen suspected was used to cover up how deathly afraid she was for their safety. She was fierce and strong and loyal but she was not tactful and anything she said to Elizabeth would become a war. “I do not see why you are both so concerned over one missed breakfast. If it were to become a pattern then maybethere would be cause to worry, but as it is I believe there is no harm in a lady lying abed on the day after her wedding.”

Selina frowned, unconvinced and Herbert folded his arms. Only Diana looked open to his words.

“We have her under our roof here, Stephen,” Herbert said earnestly. “We don’t know anything about her, no one has ever even heard of her and she’s a Barnes! She hates us just like her family does. I don’t like having her here, especially if she’s not going to even pretend at friendship.”

“I feel the same,” Selina said firmly. “I will not forget the harm her family has done to ours. There’s a peace, and I respect that. But all that history is not simply washed away because she has changed her name.”

“Enough of this,” Stephen said severely, his tone stern. “I will not have you speaking like this about my wife. Elizabeth is the Duchess of Westall now, she is my spouse and you must all remember this and respect it. I will listen to reasonable concerns and objections but this speculation and gossip has no place in our home. Do you understand me?”

When Stephen had been barely seven and ten, just finished with university and full of all the passion of youth he had been forced to return home in a rush to a dead father and dying mother. Since then he had raised his siblings, run his estate and built a reputation that protected them all.

When he spoke, they listened. Now was no different. Herbert nodded mulishly and Selina frowned but didn’t argue which was as good as he was going to achieve with her.

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