Page 18 of The Earl's Scarred Bride

The barb struck home, and Luke's face flushed. Before he could respond, the butler appeared in the doorway.

"My lady, Miss Barnes's maid has arrived with a package she forgot in their carriage. Shall I have it brought in?"

Elizabeth seized the excuse for escape. "I'll help Dinah retrieve it myself. Father, please excuse us for a moment."

She practically pulled Dinah from the room, desperate for a moment away from Luke's critical gaze and barely veiled disappointment.

Once safely away from Luke's earshot, Dinah pulled Elizabeth into a nearby parlor, closing the door behind them. "Now then, tell me everything. Harriet's letter arrived at my house yesterday—she still doesn't know about the change in brides, does she?"

Elizabeth sank into a chair, her composure finally cracking. "No, she doesn't. I haven't known how to tell her. She'll be devastated, thinking she forced me into this match."

"Didn't she?" Dinah asked gently, producing a sealed letter from her reticule. "This came for you. She's still at your aunt's estate, wondering why she hasn't heard from either of you."

Taking the letter with trembling fingers, Elizabeth broke the seal. "I should have written to her immediately, but everything happened so fast. The wedding, moving here, learning to navigate Cecil's moods?—"

"Cecil, is it?" Dinah's eyebrows rose. "Not 'my lord' or 'the earl'? Do tell, dearest. What exactly has transpired between you and your rakish husband?"

Elizabeth felt her face heat as she remembered their encounter in his study, the challenge he'd issued, the way he'd almost—but hadn't quite—touched her. "He's...not what I expected."

"Meaning?"

"He's infuriating," Elizabeth burst out. "One moment he's issuing commands about forbidden rooms, the next he's..." She trailed off, her blush deepening.

"He's what?" Dinah leaned forward eagerly.

"He passes me in corridors and his hand brushes mine, as if by accident. He stands too close when we speak, his voice dropping to this maddening whisper. He looks at me as if..." Elizabeth shook her head. "As if he can see right through every defense I've built."

"Good heavens," Dinah breathed. "And you don't welcome these attentions?"

"I don't know what I want," Elizabeth admitted. "He proposed a challenge—said he wouldn't touch me unless I begged for it. Called it a game, but sometimes I think..." She twisted her handkerchief nervously. "Sometimes I think he's trying to drive me mad."

"Or perhaps," Dinah suggested with a knowing smile, "he's genuinely attracted to you, and this game is his way of showing it without frightening you away."

"Attracted? To me?" Elizabeth's hand unconsciously rose to her scar. "Don't be absurd. He's Cecil Gillet, the most notorious rake in London. He could have any woman he wants."

"And yet," Dinah pointed out, "he seems rather focused on having you."

"He doesn't want me," Elizabeth insisted, though something in her chest tightened at the thought. "He wants an heir, nothing more. He said as much himself."

"Did he?" Dinah tilted her head thoughtfully. "Then why waste time with these games? Why not simply exercise his husbandly rights and be done with it?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again. She'd wondered the same thing during her sleepless nights. Why would a man known for his direct pursuit of pleasure suddenly turn to such subtle tactics?

"And these forbidden rooms you mentioned," Dinah pressed. "What?—"

The door swung open, and Elizabeth's heart leaped into her throat as Cecil himself appeared in the doorway. His tall framefilled the entrance, and his eyes immediately found hers with an intensity that made her pulse quicken.

"My apologies for interrupting," he said smoothly, though his gaze remained fixed on Elizabeth. "I returned early from my business in town and heard we had visitors."

"My lord," Dinah curtsied prettily, and Elizabeth didn't miss how Cecil's charm immediately surfaced as he turned to her friend.

"Miss Barnes, isn't it?" His smile was devastating. "I remember you from Lady Morrison's ball last season. You were wearing blue, if I'm not mistaken."

Dinah blushed becomingly. "I'm flattered you remember, my lord."

"How could I forget? You were the only lady who dared to critique my waltz technique." He winked, and Dinah actually giggled.

Elizabeth felt an unexpected surge of something that definitelywasn'tjealousy tighten her chest. She'd seen Cecil deploy his charm before, but watching him use it on her dearest friend made her want to?—

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