Page 16 of My Dangerous Duke

“There is your tea,” Mrs. Gaines announced when a bell went off a short time later. With effort, she rose from her knees and went to collect the tray. After preparing Eleanor’s cup to her liking, she placed it carefully in her hands and gave her a satisfactory nod.

“You look like you are feeling better already, Your Grace.”

“I am,” Eleanor agreed, smiling back at her.

“Happy to hear it,” Mrs. Gaines crowed. “Now, I shall go and draw you a bath while you have your tea, and while you have a good soak. After a good night’s sleep, I promise you, you will feel much improved.”

With as sure as Mrs. Gaines sounded, Eleanor very much wanted to believe her. But as the good-willed woman disappeared into the bath while Eleanor sipped her tea, she wondered just how true that could possibly be.

“Mrs. Gaines, not now,” Xander groaned. He had checked in on his cousin and some other personal matters before finally getting to his study, and just as he had been about to sit down to get a few things off his desk, the housekeeper had stridden in after a polite knock, insisting that she speak with him.

“It is about your bride,” Mrs. Gaines insisted, ignoring him. “You were too harsh with her when you left her quarters.”

“Do not start,” he sighed, rubbing his temples, “My bride is fine. She knows what our arrangement is and that I am certainly the man she needs.”

Mrs. Gaines began to say something else but Xander immediately tuned it out. In addition to the stress of the workload he faced now that he was back, Xander was strugglingwith what he had done in the carriage. He had not meant to keep her in his arms- he was just going to help her sit up and wake. But the moment he wrapped his arm around her, Eleanor sighed and snuggled into him, and before he knew it, his arms had sealed tightly around her and he had pulled her into his lap. Letting go of her in the carriage was difficult but prying him away from the kiss had been borderline painful.

These feelings both bothered and enticed him. On one hand, it was obvious he was attracted to Eleanor. But on the other, he was too disgusted by her father’s blackmail to trust any feelings toward her.

I cannot possibly care for the woman whose family trapped me in this marriage!

“Mrs. Gaines. Leave it be,” Xander stated, using a tone she knew better than to argue with.

The older woman looked at him coolly for a long moment, her jaw working on what was no doubt an impolite response.

“Very well, Your Grace,” Mrs. Gaines stated numbly, at last, curtseying toward him. “My apologies for disturbing you.”

With an annoyed sigh, Xander sat down at his desk and tried to focus on his work. After an hour of failed attempts, however, he pushed himself to his feet in frustration and left the house. Once atop his horse, he made his way back toWhite’s.

“Well, well. What brings you here, Larsen?” Rhysand Patterson, Duke of Huxton, asked Xander, giving him an amused smile as he walked in.

“Going to best you in a boxing match,” Xander quipped back confidently, approaching Rhys and the bar with purposeful strides.

“Well, I would like to see you try,” Rhys mused, motioning toward the bartender. “Would you like a drink first to numb your pain?”

“After,” Xander insisted, nodding toward the back room.

Chapter 8

“Hell, Larsen, what did you do to yourself?” Rhys asked as Xander removed his shirt.

“Lost a little,” Xander mused, wrapping his hands, “Won a lot. Do not look at them if they bother you. They certainly do not bother me.”

“I am not afraid of a little black and blue,” Rhys scoffed, “But you might need a night or two to heal.”

“I will take a night or two to heal tomorrow,” Xander insisted, striding toward Rhys with his gloves up. Rhys followed quickly, seeing the rage in Xander’s eyes, and quickly went to work to block and counter his opponent’s hits. For a while, the two of them fought silently, Xander’s punches landing perfectly almost every time while Rhys only got a few in here and there.

“You are quite riled up,” Rhys said through panted breaths several minutes later. “Is this about you and Eleanor?”

What little anger Xander had been able to release in the last few minutes returned with vengeance upon hearing Rhys call his wife by her name. With a grunt, he released a punch to Rhys’s abdomen that made the man go to his knees.

He did not know Rhys well, and calling him a friend would certainly be a stretch. They matched each other well in boxing, but that was their only connection. What could he possibly know about his wife?

“How do you know my wife so well that you may call her by her name?” Xander asked, a possessive urge sweeping over him as he stood over Rhys.

“Impressive, Larsen. How did you do it?” Rhys panted, keeping his eyes on Xander as he got back up to his feet. “Did you threaten her?”

The two men began to circle one another in a predatory fashion, their eyes locked; their feet moving in time.

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