Page 39 of Three Nights with the Beastly Duke

Another round of laughter went around the room, and the evening continued.

After dinner, they all gathered in the parlor for a small digestif, and then Lavinia’s father announced that it was time to go home. Soon, Lavinia found herself wrapped up in her sisters’ arms once more, and she held them close. Part of her wanted to go with them, but she knew she was where she belonged.

“Lavinia,” Timothy called, his voice low and full of regret.

With a sigh, Lavinia let go of her sisters and turned to her old friend. To her surprise, though, Arthur suddenly appeared beside her, placing a hand on her waist.

“Yes, Timothy?” Lavinia asked, subtly leaning into her husband’s touch.

“Please forgive my behavior from earlier today,” Timothy pleaded. “The both of you. It was incredibly untoward of me, I know. But I promise you that it is only because I have cared for you since we were small children.”

“I am caring for her now,” Arthur stated, meeting Timothy’s eyes with a steady gaze. “I assure you that she is in no danger here.”

“He is right, Timothy,” Lavinia affirmed. “I appreciate all you have done for me, but I believe that it is time you turn those concerns toward the safety of your own wife.”

“Indeed,” Arthur agreed. “In fact, I would request that she be in attendance any time you visit henceforth.”

For a moment, Lavinia was sure she saw annoyance rise up in Timothy’s expression, but if it did, he quickly controlled it and tucked it away.

“Yes, Your Graces,” Timothy replied in a stiff, tight-lipped fashion.

Once Timothy left to go join Lavinia’s sisters and father in their carriage, they bid goodnight to Joshua and then were left alone with Susan and Marianne in the foyer.

“Well, that was fun! Was it not?” Susan asked, clapping her hands together happily.

Marianne gave her daughter an exhausted look. “You and I shall speak tomorrow about your gentleman friend, Susan,” she warned. “Your antics are becoming tiresome.”

“Yes, I would have appreciated some sort of warning that this fellow was coming,” Arthur interjected.

A cross look came over Susan’s face as she folded her arms across her chest and huffed. “I would have told you if you were here, Brother,” she all but hissed. “Butsomeonekeeps running away in the middle of the night.”

Beside her, Lavinia felt Arthur stiffen. Not wanting to risk the talk she’d been hoping to have with him for days, she gently put a hand on his chest and smiled up at him. “Perhaps we could discuss this at breakfast tomorrow, husband?” she offered. “If you’d be so kind to join us. The four of us have yet to share a meal together alone, and it would be good to have a topic of conversation.”

“For once, a good idea from your bride,” Marianne stated dryly, turning her gaze to her son. “You will be joining us for breakfast tomorrow, won’t you? With your sudden disappearances, we can’t be too sure.”

Arthur felt annoyance stir inside of him at his mother’s snide comment toward Lavinia. “Yes, Mother,” he replied calmly, choosing to push the emotion away. “I will. Very well then.”

Though the day had gone well for the most part, Lavinia could feel the ropes of tension strung around her new family. She wanted to intervene and try to help, but she wasn’t sure if her efforts would be appreciated. Instead, she joined Arthur in bidding Marianne and Susan goodnight and let him lead her up the stairs.

The moment they were alone in her room, Arthur locked the door behind them. He turned to her with an intense gaze, and she watched his jaw tick. Suddenly, she sensed that the conversation was going to be much more tense than she’d hoped and took a deep breath to steady herself.

“Timothy may seem a little too involved,” she began, “but it is only because he cares—”

“For you, obviously,” Arthur finished, cutting her off.

Lavinia gave him a look.

“For ourfamily,”she continued. “He has grown up helping me care for my sisters and knows the struggles I’ve gone through. I admit that his actions were out of line, but he has always had the best intentions.”

“And what were these ‘best intentions’ that he spoke of today, hmm?” Arthur asked quickly, beginning to pace the floor. “Was he planning on running out of here with you by dragging you by the hand? Because from what I saw, that man was not going to let go of you if I had not intervened.”

“He told me about Grace,” Lavinia replied, her voice low and soft.

Arthur froze as he heard his ex-fiancée’s name and turned to Lavinia with an intimidating gaze. “Did he now?” he asked, anger lacing his voice. “What else did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lavinia replied quickly, taking a step toward him. “Because all I heard was that you were betrayed by the woman you loved simply because of a scar.”

Pain shone in Arthur’s gaze, but he didn’t respond.

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