Page 52 of Duke of Chaos

“I accused of her something,” he replied, swirling the whiskey in his glass. “She took great offense to it.”

“Your hand,” Lydia said, putting the pieces together.

Ezra nodded.

“You thought it was her?”

“Not her, as in the holder of the blade, but I suspected that she was the one who had coordinated the event.”

Another pause, then Lydia asked, “Will you tell me more about her?”

Ezra weighed her request thoughtfully.

“She is cruel and unworthy of your time,” he said at last. “But let us remain on task. I have answered your question. Now you will answer mine. Why did you disobey my orders and follow me to London?”

“I did not follow you,” Lydia answered quickly, her brows drawing together in earnest. “I was invited by Alice and Barbara, who thought a few days out of Frampton might help me ease some of my…confused thoughts.”

“Confused thoughts?” Ezra asked, leaning forward.

Lydia threw him a look that saidyou cannot be serious.When he said nothing, her earnest look drew into a defensive one, and she rose into a seated position.

“Yes,confusedthoughts,” she insisted, “You and I…what we had done in your office, it was…it did things to me, changed me. When I attempted to speak to you about it you pushed me away like an annoying thing. I was hurt and alone and I needed my friends, so yes, when they suggested I join them in London I accepted. But I did not go for the purpose of following you.”

Guilt, relief, annoyance, and understanding all flooded through him, rendering his mind a jumbled mess. He tried to sort through them all, identify them and put them in their proper place. Never had he felt so many confusing emotions because of one woman.

As he sorted through his thoughts Lydia did not pester him. She did not huff or accuse, but instead simply waited as though shesomehow understood what he was experiencing. Recognizing this only made him long to touch her again, and he gripped his hands tightly together in an attempt to focus.

“I made an error,” he said at last, finally raising his eyes back to hers. “When I decided to seek a wife. An arrogant mistake. I did not consider the dangerous position it placed you in if you were married to me. When I was attacked at the ball I was furious at you for not listening to me, but I was even more furious at myself for not preparing for such an incident.

“I have made many enemies, and this is not the first attempt that has been made on my life, but it is the first time I have worried about someone getting hurt because of me. Duncan and the others, we all assumed a shared risk when we became friends. Putting our lives on the line for each other was just what we did.”

A sick, oily feeling coiled in his stomach, and he winced.

“Your life is one I am not willing to risk, so I came to London, where most of my contacts are, to try and find who the assailant was.”

“And it was your mother?” Lydia asked.

Her eyes were shining with sympathy now, and he hated it. His jaw snapped shut as he ground his teeth.

“Apparently not,” he growled, working through the sudden anger that fueled him.

Pity. She was pitying him, and he hated it. Unable to take it, he shot up from his seat.

“Do not look at me like that,” he snarled, heading toward the door. “I do not want your pity.”

Quicker than he realized she ever could, Lydia sprang from the settee, the blanket dropping, and she pressed her naked body against his. She thrust her fingers into his hair and yanked his head down, forcing his eyes to meet hers.

“Do not mistake pity for empathy,” she warned, her tone low and deadly serious. “You are unworthy of such an emotion from me.”

Ezra felt his body react to her stubborn strength, and he felt some of his anger turn into something else. Beneath his briefs, his member stirred, and his hands rose to grip her waist.

“Swear it,” he demanded, looking her dead in the eye.

Lydia looked back at him coolly without a trace of fear.

“I swear it.”

The rest of Ezra’s anger and hurt waned, and his grip on her softened as he stepped back slightly and slowly took inventory of her. His beautiful wife.His.

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