Page 8 of The Dark Duke's Virgin

“Oh, I don’t care about him,” Esther said, waving the butler down as she strode toward the manor. “Where is my great-granddaughter?”

“She is in her bedroom of the moment, but I will let her know that you are?—”

“You will let her know nothing,” Esther cut him off. “Take me too her.” She reached the front door and spun about, raising a single eyebrow at the butler that warranted no argument. “Now, thank you.”

“Ah… yes, Madam.” He swallowed as he hurried for her. “And shall your friend be joining you?”

“No, no.” Esther looked past Mr. White to where Caroline was still standing by the carriage, not entirely certain what she should be doing. “Make yourself at home, dear. If you take a left inside, you should find the main drawing room. I’ll be there shortly.”

Caroline smiled, and Esther took that as all the agreement she needed, turning back and sweeping inside like a storm. Mr. White hurried after her, calling something out that Caroline could not hear.

Alone now, Caroline took the house in one last time before deciding to head inside. A part of her was worried about walking through this stranger’s home without a proper introduction first, for what if someone thought she had wandered in off the street and did not belong. But she squashed those worries because it must have been known that she was arriving today with the Dowager, so surely there wouldn’t be any problems…

As promised, the inside of the manor was luxurious and lavish in every conceivable facet. Money seemed to pour from the walls, for every piece of artwork looked specifically chosen to impress. Caroline took her time walking through the foyer, taking in the splendor, before she finally found her way to what she had expected to be an empty drawing room.

It was not empty. There was but one person inside, back facing the door, and although Caroline had never seen the man before, she knew immediately that it must be His Grace.

From behind, he was as tall and strapping as she had heard. Well over six feet in height with a broad back and strong shoulders like a bear and a physical stature and presence that was intimidating such that she hovered by the doorway, not sure if she should go in and be alone with him. Not for fear, of course. Just… she couldn’t say exactly what.

Only then, the Duke turned around and saw her lurking. His handsome face, centered by a pair of blue eyes so dark they were nearly black, took her in, wondered about her, and then narrowed into an accusatory glare.

“Who the devil are you?” he asked, his voice a deep growl that Caroline could feel in her stomach.

She opened her mouth to respond but found the words catching in her throat. The Duke’s dark hair was longer than what was normal, sitting messy on his head, which only added to the intimidation that emanated from his presence. She felt like a deer caught in the wild by some sort of predator, cornered and trapped and without a chance of escape.

“Well?” he barked. “What are you doing in my home?”

“I - I am Miss Dowding,” she stammered. “The Honorable Caroline Dowding,” she then corrected.

“And that is supposed to mean something to me?”

“Your grandmother,” Caroline blurted a little too loudly. “I am here with your grandmother.” A beat. “The Dowager. I am her companion.”

His brow furrowed as he looked over her, assessing her from head to toe. His dark blue eyes worked their way down and then back up as he started toward her, and she had to fight the urge not to back out of the room entirely. “My grandmother. Where is she?”

“I…” Caroline baulked. “I do not know.”

“I thought you said that you were her companion.”

“I am.”

“Yet you do not know where your mistress is.” He reached where she still stood in the doorway, stopping less than a foot away. Up this close, he was even bigger than she had realized, and he towered over her like a monster from legend. “Is that not the entire point of being one’s companion?”

“I—”

“Well?” he demanded. “I was aware that my mother had chosen herself a companion to keep company with. I did not realize that she had chosen a mute, also.”

So, the rumors were true. His Grace was as rude and cold and just plain awful as everyone had said. Intimidated at first, now that Caroline had managed to compose herself slightly—while getting more used to his commanding presence—she felt a sudden surge of hostility rise inside of her that wasn’t at all unexpected.

Who was he to talk to her this way? Who was he to behave so rudely? And maybe the Duke was used to living in such a world, but Caroline was not one to stand by and be treated as such. After all that she had been through… no, she did not think she could simply take it.

“I take it that you do not entertain very often, Your Grace?”

He blinked and leaned back. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“If you did, you might care to show me some sense of common decency. As I am a guest in your house, the least you could do is try and not behave like an oafish boar. Unless such a tame request is too much to hope for?” She raised a single eyebrow at him, forcing herself to hold his gaze.

She could see right away that her words were unexpected. His face contorted with surprise, his calm demeanor upended as he blinked and tried to recompose himself. Why, the way he looked at her now, she would not be surprised to learn that nobody in the history of the entire world had spoken to him in that way.

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