Page 113 of A Bride for the Duke of Sin

Now, everything made sense.

“We are going home,” he told her in a voice that brooked no argument.

“The best thing you have said all night!” she huffed as she stalked off towards Alice and Colin, who were talking to Evie and Daniel.

“I do apologize, but I fear I might have drunk a bit too much of the celebratory wine,” she told them ruefully.

“Are you sure you are all right, dearest?” Alice asked her in concern.

Ethan watched as his darling wife waved them all off with a slight smile.

“Perfectly. Nothing that a good rest can’t cure,” she said with a bit more cheer.

“If you say so, my dear.”

Alice, however, did not look too convinced. She looked at Ethan, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment.

He would take care of Phoebe and get her home safely.

And then, they were going to talk.

Except that she was havingnoneof that. In fact, Ethan was quite convinced that she was every bit as determined to be as difficult as humanly possible.

“I was looking for you,” he told her softly, once they were inside the carriage. “I could not find you anywhere, and instead, I see you with that bastard. Tell me how I am supposed to feel, Phoebe.”

She did not even bother to look at him, choosing to stare out the window instead. “You could have trusted me.”

“I trust you, but I do not trust that scoundrel around you.”

“No, you do not,” she told him angrily. “You saw one thing and immediately decided to believe the worst of me. How will it be when someone comes at me with an accusation then, Ethan? Will you believe them or me?”

“Who is accusing you?” he demanded.

“It does not matter,” she said coldly, turning back to the window. “Your reaction was all I needed to see tonight.”

“My reaction?” he echoed in disbelief. He sat back, his hands clenching into fists. “You want me to trust you, but you would not afford me the same privilege. Is this your notion of afairand happy marriage, sweetheart?”

She stiffened, looking as if he had just struck her, and he immediately wished he could take it all back.

“I suppose neither you nor I have any right to discuss what a pleasant marriage is,” she sighed as the carriage came to a stop at the front of Sinclair Estate.

She opened the door and stepped out without waiting for his assistance as she usually did.

In the darkness, her eyes seemed to gleam with a cold light.

“I am currently indisposed and will be sleeping in my rooms tonight,” she announced. “Good night, Your Grace.”

Ethan felt the urge to slam the door after her, but he managed to keep a tight rein on his temper.

“To the townhouse,” he barked at the coachman.

Perhaps some sort of distance would allow their tempers to cool down, and they could discuss their differences tomorrow, after they had managed to get a good night’s sleep and the effects of wine had worn off.

But more than that, Ethan wasafraid.

In his current state, he feared that he just might turn into the monster his father had been.

CHAPTER 33

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