Page 50 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride

“Now...” Ophelia clapped her hands together. “Enough melodrama for the day, don’t you think? I saw you looking at wall of green. See anything you like?”

“Oh, yes...” Diana turned back. “Only about a dozen.”

Ophelia laughed. “Let us call for some help and see which one’s fit best. The gown you must wear to the Truscott Ball needs to turn heads and drop jaws. And most of all, it needs to make my grandson understand how lucky he is.”

“But he will not be joining me,” Diana said.

To that, Ophelia smiled coyly. “He says he will not, but we shall see. As I said, I know my grandson. Even better than he knows himself.”

ChapterEighteen

Diana arrived home later than she had intended. The sun had set a good hour earlier, she was physically exhausted from a full day spent with Ophelia, and she limped inside the manor, her purchased wares in a box tucked under her arm, half-hoping to make it to her bedroom without being noticed because she was just about ready to collapse.

I need a warm bed and a soft pillow, my only fear being that my legs might give out before I am granted both.

The manor was silent as she slunk inside. The lights had been extinguished, save for those leading up the staircase which she planned to follow.

And she did too, taking it one step at a time, wishing not to make a noise. Her mind still raced with all she had learned today of her husband, but she endeavored that for now, she would keep what she knew to herself., hoping that when the time came, Magnus would tell her himself.

It was as she crept down the hallway that she spied a light coming from around the corner, toward the end, past her room. She frowned at the sight of it, recognizing it to be Magnus’ study. A smile crept across her lips as she pictured him hard at work, and she thought it best to leave him to it. Although...

Would it be so bad if I saw him? Even just for a moment. I know it has only been a day, but I find myself missing my husband. What a thought!

As if it was subconscious, she passed her room and made her way toward the study instead. The doorway was open, and she was careful to remain silent as she peeked her head inside.

Typically, Magnus was at his workbench, head bent over, unaware of her snooping. The single lantern on the edge of the desk provided light, and she could have stood there all night watching him. The way the shadows fell across his face made his features even sharper than usual, adding to his rugged facade, pronouncing the dark and menacing exterior that he worked so hard to promulgate.

There was also something different about him. Not the mean, closed off, often temperamental, and quick to anger duke she had always thought of him as. There was a sadness to him now, a softer side, one that seemed to beg for her comfort.

She smiled and was about to turn and leave him when she noticed in the corner of the room, asleep on the settee, were Josephine and Adeline. They were curled together, having clearly asked to sit with their uncle while he worked, despite how boring it was.

This made her smile further. She liked to think that part of it was her doing, but no doubt the two girls were growing closer to their uncle than they had been. Not as scared of him. Not as wary. And he too, letting them grow closer in a way that suggested one big happy family.

“Diana?” Magnus spoke suddenly.

Diana started and snapped her head back around to find Magnus watching her. “Oh... Magnus... I did not...” She blushed furiously as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

“I did not hear you come home.”

“I did not wish to disturb you.”

“And you didn’t,” he assured her as he rose from his chair behind the desk. “Although lurking in the doorway watching me does make me wonder what your intent may have been.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just passing through.”

“Is your bedroom not before my study?” he frowned but the smile in his eyes told her he knew that she had come to check on him. “How curious.”

“Would you believe that I got lost?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“Diana!” Josephine cried out, having woken from their bantering. “You’re home.”

“Look who it is,” Diana said with a huge smile. “The two terrors. What are you both doing here?”

Adeline yawned and stretched herself out beside her sister.

“We were helping uncle,” Josephine said.

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