Page 88 of The Duke and the Scarred Bride

He groaned, giving in to her.

He was sure the entire manor would hear her cries, but if this was the only way he could comfort her, then he would.

When she screamed out her pleasure and finally fell asleep, he slipped out of her bed to head to his study.

The dynamics of their marriage had changed, and now that his feelings had been laid bare, he feared the future.

What if he couldn’t be the man she needed him to be?

“Are you having trouble sleeping, Your Grace?” Tobias asked, stepping into the study.

Percival nodded, pouring himself a drink.

“Why? Are you still having nightmares?”

“No. Well, yes, but not this time,” he answered. “That is not why I’m still awake. I… I told her I loved her, and now I do not know what to do.”

“You love her,” Tobias stated, as though it were an obvious thing.

“I don’t know how.”

“Have you tried asking her?”

Percival stared blankly at the butler, wondering why he hadn’t thought of it when it was clearly the most simple thing to do.

“I… I haven’t,” he answered honestly.

“There’s no way you will be able to love the Duchess the way she needs to be loved if you do not ask her.”

“You’re correct, Tobias.” Percival nodded, rising. “I will see you in the morning.”

The butler nodded and smiled before leaving.

Percival had spent so long ignoring all the little things his wife had said and done to show him her heart. He would start by doing the one thing she had asked for, and then he would spend the rest of his life loving her the way she wanted him to.

“It is a shame that a peer would stoop so low as to kill his own brother,” one of the constables leading Eli to the carriage said.

Eli struggled against his bonds. How dare they treat him like some criminal when it was he who had been wronged? It was Percival who should have been arrested for denying him his birthright.

He struggled again, hitting one of the constables and pushing the other down as he attempted to escape. If he ran into those useless cutthroats he had hired, then perhaps he would still be able to get his revenge.

“Stop, My Lord,” the constable warned, brandishing a gun.

Eli laughed to himself because he knew there was no way they would shoot him. Not if they didn’t want to lose their heads.

“Stop, or I’ll shoot,” the constable warned again.

Eli heard the sound before he felt a burning sensation in his abdomen and fell to his knees. They had dared to shoot him?

“Damn, you shot him.”

As the world faded into pain and nothingness, the last thing he heard was, “Send word to the Duke. His brother is dead.”

Epilogue

“Ithink we need a bath,” Louisa announced as she felt Percival trail kisses down her neck.

She had finally fallen asleep after Percival hadcomfortedher in the way he deemed most appropriate, but it seemed her husband’s desire for her wouldn’t let him leave her to rest even though they both needed it.

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