Page 28 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

Louise closed her eyes briefly at her stupidity, biting her lip so hard she almost broke the skin.

What an idiotic thing to ask him when I know full well that he and Marcus were born out of wedlock.

She nodded, unsure what else she could say without apologizing profusely for her ignorance. As she moved to the door, feeling embarrassed, he raised his hand, stopping her again. This time, when she looked at him, his face was devoid of emotion.

“Tell me,” he asked quietly, “did Marcus ever tell you that he had a lover? Or a lady that he admired and was close to?”

Louise thought back to the last few occasions she had seen Marcus at her home. He tended to be in high spirits as a rule, but she did recall that he had not been so cheerful during his final visit to the house before his disappearance. But he had never mentioned anything about a woman he cared for. They had never even broached that subject.

“No,” she said finally. “No, he never mentioned anything of that sort. I remember him saying that he wished tofallin love, but not that he had done so.” Hope bloomed in her chest. “Do you think he could be alive?”

Christian was all hard lines once more, the softness of the moment he had held her in his arms quite gone.

“That is what I wish to find out, and I intend to do it.” He fixed her with a forceful gaze. “When I am no longer distracted, that is.”

Louise understood that he was dismissing her, and with a new blush staining her cheeks, she left the room and made her way back to her bedchamber.

She reached the top of the steps and closed the door behind her, before leaning against it, feeling off balance and astounded by her body’s reaction.

She never would have believed that any man could make her feel that way. And with such brief touches, he had lit a fire beneath her skin.

She looked down at the ribbon in her hand and smoothed her fingers over it, fooling herself that she could still feel the warmth of his skin against hers.

She rang the bell for her maid and then went to sit at her dressing table, wondering what Christian’s investigation into his brother’s disappearance had uncovered.

I wonder whether he will tell me what he finds out.After all, he did call this marriage a partnership, a means to finding Marcus—Surely, I should be privy to his discoveries.

After a short while, her maid entered the room. Her innocent questions about how Louise’s hair had come loose made a blushrise in Louise’s cheeks, and she had to make up some vague excuse before the maid set to work.

Once she was presentable again, Louise went downstairs under the guise of going to the gardens, but, in reality, she was curious about Christian’s whereabouts. When she asked the servants, however, she discovered that he had returned to his club and was not expected to come back until that evening.

Irritated that he had left her to her own devices once again, Louise decided that she would make good use of her time and catalog some of the flowers in the gardens.

March was one of her favorite times of year because all of the best blooms were still to come. She went back to her bedchamber and collected her sketchbook, before heading back down to the gardens, which were lush and green, bathed in gentle spring sunlight.

It truly was a magnificent space, and she felt a fluttery anticipation at the thought of shaping it into her own vision.

She spent a happy few hours drawing some of the roses and speaking to the gardener about what might work at various places among the empty beds—of which there were plenty.

It occurred to her, as she stood looking out at the perfect lawns down the narrow line of the gardens, that a year was going to pass by awfully quickly, and she had a great deal of work left to do.

When she returned to the house and changed for supper, she was surprised to find that it was only herself and the Dowager Duchess in attendance.

“Is the Duke not joining us?” she asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

The Dowager Duchess shook her head as their plates were placed before them. The older woman ate like a bird; she had a very tiny portion before her, but she was eyeing it with obvious relish.

“I do not think so, my dear. He tends to stay at his club more often than not. Although,” she added with a hint of admonishment, “he did not have you to come home to before.”

She gave Louise a small smile as they both picked up their knives and forks and began to eat.

I doubt that my presence will make him hurry home.

Louise sat silently across from her mother-in-law as the fire crackled in the grate, the walls flanked by motionless servants. The silence was oppressively loud.

CHAPTER 12

The following morning, Louise was awake before the rest of the household. Her mind was fixated on the fact that time was slipping away. A year now seemed no time at all to complete her book, and she was more eager than ever to finish it.

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