Page 10 of The Duke and the Scarred Bride

“Leave me, Tobias.”

“I will, but I need you to consider this seriously,” Tobias pressed. “If it wasn’t important, you know I wouldn’t insist on it. Lunch will be served in an hour.”

“I do not need it.”

“See to it that I do not need to come up here, Your Grace.”

With that, the butler was gone, leaving Percival with many thoughts racing through his head. He hadn’t told anyone of his suspicions yet and had tried to keep his interrogations of the staff light so as not to arouse suspicion.

He would have asked Tobias to continue investigating the servants discreetly, as they would be more likely to let down their guard around the kind old man, but he thought better. It was not as though he didn’t trust Tobias—he just didn’t want the man’s life to be in danger if his hunch proved correct.

They were not in such dire straits financially, and neither was he involved in any scandal that could have pushed his brother to make the decision they claimed he had, so he couldn’t understand it.

But what would anyone stand to gain from killing his brother?

He thought back to the only marriage candidate he had now and sighed. He couldn’t deny that what Tobias pointed out about the lady had made perfect sense.

She was well dressed and spoke like a gently bred lady, which proved that she might indeed have a large enough dowry. He also considered her aversion to marriage and knew she would give him the privacy he needed to work without demanding his attention.

His openly courting her would cause a stir that would no doubt rock the halls of England’s nobility and earn them more attention and invitations than he needed. There were many benefits to a match with her, but there were inconveniences as well.

He wasn’t blind to her charms. His body, long starved of a woman’s touch, had responded to her in a way that he hadn’t liked. The familiar spark of desire had ignited in his blood as he had touched her and been close enough to smell her rose perfume. Her simple day gown had been cut in a manner that enhanced her curves and teased his eyes with a glimpse of her cleavage.

The scar on her face did nothing to take away from her beauty. In fact, it gave her an air of mystery that he found interesting. She held herself with more confidence than he would expect from someone who had no doubt been the object of many a pitying glance.

It was obvious that she had found him attractive too. He wasn’t blind to the signs of an interested woman, but he had been caught off guard. If she weren’t a noblewoman, he might have engaged in a bit of flirtation and gotten the itch out of his system, but she was a noblewoman, and he would not have dared lest she bind herself to him.

He didn’t need such an attachment, and if he desired the touch of a woman, he could purchase it in one of the brothels in the city.

“I do not call you a beast. I would never,” she had said, looking so angry that anyone would call him that.

He groaned, trying to rid his mind of thoughts of her, but her voice kept ringing in his ears. She carried herself so delicately that he felt a strong urge to protect her, but her spine and words showed a woman with a steely resolve who would not appreciate such a notion.

He wondered what she could have done to deserve such a scar… He could have asked Eli but he wouldn’t even dare or the man would question him endlessly.

He wondered if her lovely brown eyes and sweet, full lips would part in surprise if she saw him again. Worse still, whether she would be happy or reject him if he proposed to her.

He found himself wondering what her reactions would be, as so far, he had failed to predict her. He had thought she would run home when he had called to her from the window, but she hadsurprised him when she had come inside, annoying him even further when she looked amazed by him rather than frightened by his scar. There were many layers to this woman he wanted to unravel, and it annoyed him that he was tempted beyond casual inquiry.

She thought he was hers?

Well, she was just about to find out how true that statement was.

Picking up the invitation to the Franworths’ ball, he placed it on his desk and decided to accept it. He wanted to see more of this intriguing woman and perhaps ruffle her feathers the way she had his, and the ball seemed the perfect place to do it.

First, he would intrude on her privacy as she had his and show her that he intended to take her letterveryseriously. She had ventured into the Beast’s lair, and he would show her that she had gotten more than what she had bargained for.

She might have claimed him as hers in her letter, but she was about to become his in more ways than she could imagine.

Chapter Four

“You don’t think he will come looking for us, do you?” Diana asked, the panic in her voice causing Louisa to look up from the piano and miss a note.

Seeing the look on her sister’s face, Louisa stood up and walked around the pianoforte to sit on one of the sofas that made up the sitting area of the drawing room.

Diana immediately came to sit beside her. “You do not think he might report you to the authorities? I don’t know the law, but I am positive that breaking into a residential building is a punishable offense,” she continued, her voice ringing with anxiety. “I wonder what would be said in the rags about us if he does so. It would ruin us.”

Assuming that the ton believes such a rumour.

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