Page 17 of Wedded to the Ruthless Duke

What the bloody hell am I going to do now?

He crumpled the scandal sheet in his hand, balling it up until it was a tiny ball that he could press between his forefinger and thumb. In his concentration on the paper, he didn’t even pay attention to what the maid said to him.

“What was that?” He jerked his head toward her, listening this time to what she had to say.

She looked nervously between him and Aaron, clearly uncomfortable to be in the room when Philip was plainly so furious.

“You have a visitor, Your Grace,” she said meekly.

“Who?” Philip and Aaron asked in time with one another.

A face cut across his mind. Philip had a wild idea for a second that Grace was the one to come and see him. Did she sit in his drawing room now, a crumpled mess? Had she come to fling herself upon him and demand she remedy her reputation?

Grace would never do that. She wouldn’t ask anything of me; she said as much.

Though strangely, the image of Grace flinging herself in need at him was really rather pleasing.

“It’s your sister.”

CHAPTER6

“Well, you’ve gone and made everyone proud of you now, haven’t you?” Eleanor’s words echoed around the drawing room as she pushed her spectacles further up her nose and flung her rounded body down onto the nearest settee. Her hand rested on her stomach, quivering a little.

“Good morning to you too, sister,” Philip said drily as he and Aaron stepped into the room. Philip was still buttoning up his waistcoat, hiding all signs of his boxing though of course, Eleanor knew of the habit. She had not spoken of it to anyone, even to her friends, at his request.

“Are you proud of yourself?” she said in challenge, her voice surprisingly high pitched and ringing around the room.

Philip glanced back at Aaron, who winced a little at the sharp sounds.

“Drink?” Philip suggested.

“Coffee.” Aaron agreed with a nod.

Philip called for the maid, and coffee was arranged. Aaron sat down calmly in the room as Eleanor continued to seethe, her nostrils flaring, her gaze frenetic, unable to settle on anything around the room.

Philip refused to say anymore though until the coffee had arrived. He pulled the crumpled-up scandal sheet out of his pocket and read it again.

When the coffee did eventually arrive, he dropped the crumpled page on the table and snatched up his coffee cup. Aaron coolly picked up the scandal sheet as they waited for the door to close behind the maid.

The moment the door was shut, it was like the stopper had been taken off a champagne bottle.

“What the bloody hell did you think you were doing, Philip?” Eleanor raged, leaning forward.

“Careful, Eleanor,” Philip pleaded. “I doubt becoming this irate is good for your child.”

“I’ll decide what is right for my child.” She placed her hands protectively over her swollen stomach. “Based on your behavior last night, you can no longer tell me what to do in any regard. What a fine example my elder brother has set for me! Scandal!” She thrust a finger at the paper in Aaron’s clutches.

“You speak as if you haven’t had your own fair share of scandal,” Philip reminded her.

Aaron frowned a little more but said nothing. Eleanor looked angrier than ever, her jaw falling slack, her eyes narrowing to slits.

“Philip, you have compromised one of my dearest friends.” The tone broke him.

He turned away, the resilience he’d felt mere seconds before crumpling as that paper had done. He looked at Aaron, waiting to hear his thoughts.

“You don’t want to hear my thoughts,” Aaron said in a low tone, clearly reading Philip’s expression. “You know what I’d do at once.”

Philip grunted in acknowledgement.

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