Page 26 of A Bride for the Sinful Duke

Hector grimaced, and Juliet wanted to reach out and hold his face in her hands, so he would hear every word she was saying.

“I am not asking for the world, Your Grace,” she said softly, feeling oddly drained, “but could we not simply try to make this marriage thrive instead of simply survive?”

“You do not know what you are asking of me, Juliet,” he replied, as his gaze lowered to her lips for a brief moment.

They were so close to one another, near enough for Juliet to become slightly intoxicated by his manly musk. She could almost feel the warmth of his body and wished that she could touch him.

“Enlighten me then,” she muttered, her eyes unable to keep themselves from wandering down to his own stubborn mouth.

For a moment, Hector appeared conflicted. He then stepped back and cleared the space they had been sharing.

“You do not know what you are asking of me. I advise you to never suggest such a thing again,” Hector warned as he turned and walked out of the sitting room.

CHAPTER 8

“Your Grace!” The raspy voice of the butler called out in surprise. “You’re up rather early.”

Hector nodded curtly as he walked past and headed outside.

“I thought it might be a good idea to go for a ride.”

“Ah,” Worthington nodded. “An excellent idea, Your Grace.”

Hector continued his stroll to the stables and pulled on his riding gloves along the way.

He had felt restless all night long and had barely slept a wink because his thoughts had been plagued by visions of Juliet.

She seemed intent on ruining him and was determined to have her own way, no matter the cost. Hector wished he could givein and make her understand that no matter how certain she felt about herself and her needs, she really did not know what she was asking of him, but he had meant it when he told her he had no interest in deriving anything from their marriage.

He had kept his word. He had married his late sister’s friend, and that was all that had been asked of him. Allowing anything more than that was wholly unnecessary.

The stable boy walked his favorite horse, Blueberry, out of the stable, and he quickly mounted her, a smile reaching his lips as she broke into a trot.

“I shan’t be gone very long,” Hector told the boy. He only needed to create some distance between himself and his wife.

“Of course, Your Grace.” The boy bowed, and Hector nudged his horse into a canter.

He had not ridden in a few weeks, but it had only taken him five minutes on Blueberry to bring back all of the reasons why he loved to ride so much, especially with his sister.

Lydia had been a proper lady, graceful and demure in every way. But the only time she lost her poised demeanor was when she was racing against him in the fields near their home.

She had loved to ride, and he had loved riding with her.

Lydia had been the one who’d named his favorite horse. She was the only one who was allowed to ride Blueberry whenever Hector could not; this morning in particular, he missed her terribly. “Let’s go, Blueberry,” he mumbled and urged the horse into a gallop.

Galloping through the wide expanse of fields was as freeing as it had always felt, without much thought directed towards his problems, and with nothing but the wind around him and the animal that carried him for company.

Eventually, he returned to Islington Hall, feeling much lighter than when he had left.

Worthington seemed to be awaiting his arrival and looked relieved the moment Hector came into view.

“Your Grace, Mr. Aiden is here to see you.” he informed Hector.

The Duke’s face darkened in distaste, and he sighed loudly.

Colin Aiden was a shrewd solicitor, but Hector disliked him and tried to keep their meetings to a minimum, even though he required his services to support the upkeep of his properties. Men like Colin wouldn’t tolerate being ignored for very long. Hector cringed at the thought of being accosted by him in public at a later date and trudged towards the house to complete their business.

“Bring him to my study along with a fresh pot of coffee. I need something strong to deal with him. It is either that or brandy.”

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