Page 66 of Wedded to the Ruthless Duke

“How could you?” she cried, her hand on the door.

He didn’t even look back at her. He walked around his desk and reached for a carafe of whisky. He poured out a glass for himself as she shut the door behind her.

“Why did we have to leave? I was having fun.”

He didn’t answer. He knocked the whisky down his throat instead.

“I don’t understand you.” She walked toward his desk, planting her hands down on the surface as he lowered the glass, looking at her at last. “You asked many things of me in your rules. So far, I have fulfilled my side of the bargain.”

“What?” he asked, clearly caught off guard by her words.

“I have behaved as properly as I know how to do. I have tried everything to avoid appearing in the scandal sheets. Tonight, in order not to cause a scene, I even left when you wished us to. I have held up my end of this deal, so why haven’t you held up yours?” She thrust an accusing finger toward him. “You promised me freedom. Yet at the end of our first full day being married, you take that freedom away.”

She couldn’t decipher his look. All she knew was that there was fury behind it.

“All you have done is order me around. You’ve not let me do as I wished to this evening.” She pushed on, determined for him to listen to what she had to say whether he was going to reply or not.

“I hardly thought you’d care.”

“What does that mean?”

“You are so often staring out of the windows at balls, longing to be outside, I hardly thought you’d care leaving an assembly early, did I?” he challenged sharply as he topped up his whisky glass.

Wrongfooted, Grace didn’t reply right away. She shifted her weight between her feet, moving her hands to her hips.

When did Philip even notice that?

It was true. It was often what she did. Yet this meant that Philip had noticed her at balls and assemblies before. When she had thought she was barely like a fly on the wall when beside him, beneath his notice, he had noticed her after all. He had even deduced something of her character.

“You normally look suffocated at such events,” he said, gulping from his whisky again.

“I do.” She nodded tartly. “I don’t pretend they are my favorite things to attend, but I love my friends. I love being with them, and tonight, you took me away from them. Youchoseto take me away from them. How could you do that?”

“For God’s sake, Grace. I can’t have this argument anymore.” He gulped from the whisky and tried to walk away from her. He moved toward the mantelpiece, turning his back to her.

“No. We will continue to have this argument. Order me around as much as you like, but understand this right now — I will not adhere to every single one of your demands, Philip. I am your wife, not your puppet on a string —”

“We had to leave, Grace.” He turned back and threw the words at her. “All right? Just leave it as that. Tonight alone, we had to leave.”

“Why? Why on earth did we have to leave so soon?”

He placed the glass down on the mantelpiece and turned to her with rage.

“Because I could not stand to look at you any longer!”

Grace stepped back. Horrified, she felt trodden on like a mouse. Her hands rose, and she covered her own stomach, as if she could somehow protect her gut, stop that feeling of inadequacy before it could bleed much further outward. She failed, it overtook her body, and before she knew what was happening, her eyes prickled with unshed tears.

“I had no idea I embarrassed you to this great an extent,” she said in challenge. She raised her chin higher, doing her best to hide with her blinking that he had hurt her this much.

“Embarrassed?” He jerked his head around to face her. He actually laughed though it was completely humorless. “I was the one who was in danger of embarrassing us.”

“What?” she asked, certain she had not heard him right.

What can he possibly mean by that?

“For Christ’s sake, Grace.” He was marching toward her. “Another minute at that assembly, and I would have ripped this bloody gown off you in front of everyone.”

CHAPTER22

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