Page 62 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

Christian frowned, waiting for him to say more, but Marcus fell silent.

“So, no one else was involved in your accident?” Christian asked suspiciously.

“If you’re implying, again, that my father would do something like this,” Louise said sharply, “I will repeat that he is not like that. He may be a gambler, but he is not a criminal.”

Christian seethed at the apologetic look she gave Marcus.

“And where were you going?” he demanded. “Why were you so far from London?”

Marcus rubbed a hand over his face as the kitten started mewing incessantly in his mother’s arms. Christian watched as his mother passed the kitten back to his brother, as though she could not think of what else to do. As soon as the tiny creature was in Marcus’s arms, it settled instantly.

Christian saw the change in his brother too. His shoulders relaxed as he stroked the cat, and the hard lines around his mouth softened.

“I am surprised you did not receive my letter,” Marcus said finally. “It should have arrived a few days ago.”

Christian and Louise exchanged confused glances.

“A letter?” Louise asked, sounding just as surprised as Christian was. “What letter?”

Marcus shook his head, stroking the kitten as it settled happily in the crook of his arm and went to sleep.

“It does not matter now,” he insisted, looking up at them, a wan smile on his face. “Tell me about your marriage! I still cannot believe it. Are you happy, my sweet?” he asked Louise.

Christian’s blood boiled as his brother held out a hand, which Louise took without hesitation.

How dare he call her his ‘sweet’ when she is mywife.

He ground his teeth, trying to focus on the fact that Marcus was finally home, instead of the rabid jealousy burning through him.

It was one thing to worry about the nature of their friendship when he had never seen them together, but now he could see the easiness between them—the gentleness of their manners when they addressed each other.

It is infuriating. I can hardly bear to be in the same room!

“You should rest,” Louise urged, moving her hand to Marcus’s arm, and Christian had to hold himself back from wrenching it away and banishing his brother from the room. “We have so much to discuss, but it is very late, and you must be exhausted from your journey.”

“I shall instruct the cook to prepare double the amount of breakfast tomorrow,” the Dowager Duchess said with concern. “My boy is all skin and bones.” She paused suddenly, looking at Louise as her cheeks pinkened slightly. “My apologies, Louise. The household is yours. It is merely a force of habit.”

Louise shook her head. “We are entirely in agreement, Sabine. I would also ensure that we have plenty of food so Marcus can regain his strength.” She looked down at him. “I am so pleasedthat you have returned to us. I was certain something terrible had befallen you.”

Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and in any other circumstance, Christian would have been touched to see them. Heshouldhave been touched that his brother had a friend who cared so much about him, but he could not bring himself to feel anything but rage.

Straightening his spine and pulling in a long breath to cool down his ire, Christian stared at Marcus until his younger brother turned to face him.

Where were you going? Why was your carriage so far outside the city?

“Tomorrow,” he uttered ominously, watching Marcus recoil a little before he nodded in resignation.

They both had much to discuss, and Christian would be able to find out the truth from his brother quicker when hiswifewas not fawning all over him.

CHAPTER 25

After breakfast the following morning, Marcus was looking much better. Christian was still concerned by the pallor of his skin, however, which seemed grayer than it had been.

The atmosphere at breakfast was joyful but charged with emotion. Christian wanted to know what had happened to his brother and could barely stand the small talk during breakfast. He wanted to drag the man into a room and find out the truth.

He had awoken with a deep sense of unease in his gut and a terrible anger toward his brother that he could not place. He was unsure whether he was angry with Marcus for disappearing and leaving him worried sick for months or for having a bond with Louise that he could only dream of.

He rather suspected it was the latter, and that was the most irritating thing of all.

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