Page 12 of His Ruined Duchess

“You do not have siblings, then?”

Selina’s voice rang out as all other noise in the room fell away just when she opened her mouth, and embarrassment flared through her.

To his credit, the Duke didn’t gape at her or comment about her volume. He only nodded, a smile that did not reach his eyes worn on his face.

“I do not. I was the only child my parents conceived.”

“Quite fortunate, I’d say.” Myra had spoken quietly, but they all heard her, and Lydia glared all the harder at her sister.

A light chuckle left the Duke, and he turned to Myra. “And what is it that you enjoy if it is not gossiping alongside your sister?”

From beneath the table, Myra held up a book which she’d snuck into the room with her and hid out of sight so that her mother would not notice.

“I enjoy reading,” she said a bit sheepishly. “But it gets me in trouble occasionally.”

Selina smiled at her sister as Myra glanced back at her. It was a silent moment of connection between the two of them. Still, as her gaze shifted from her sibling to the Duke, Selina’s smile died on her face, replaced by a furious burn in her cheeks, the result of how the man looked at her.

A tension sparked through the air, so taut that Selina was convinced that she would be able to reach out and pluck it like a harp string.

The Duke continued to stare at her until, abruptly, he cleared his throat, seeming to refocus on the previous conversation.

“I enjoy reading quite a bit myself, and the estate has a wonderful library.” His eyes met Selina’s again, holding them captive. “Such a quiet space to enjoy a good book in peace.”

“Exactly!” Myra exclaimed happily. “I love it in there. The previous Duke, dear Easton, had such a wonderful collection. I shall do my best to work my way through each tome.”

God save her, Selina was going to throttle the new Duke. He was blatantly eyeing her, the intensity causing her blood to catch fire, and Selina couldn’t believe that no one else there noticed it.

“Will you now? That shall take some time. Are you certain you can complete a trip through all those books?”

There was something ominous about the way the Duke asked the question. Myra didn’t seem to notice, and besides, she was a quick reader, so Selina could already guess what her response might be.

“It shall be no issue at all. I read at an exemplary speed. I should think that it will only take me a few months.”

“Ahh,” the Duke nodded, smiling neutrally at Myra as he gave a single nod, “thatisgood then.”

And there it was again, that odd feeling of foreboding beneath the Duke’s tone. It was as if he already believed that Myra’s time was not plentiful. What would make him think such a thing?

He’s up to something.

But conversation continued quietly. The Duke inquired about her sister’s hobbies a bit more, even asking about what they might see for their lives in the future. Both Myra and Lydia informed the man that their debut would be coming soon. Lydia was first, hers in less than a year, and Myra was next, sixteen months from today in fact.

Lydia, of course, held her usual air of excitement over the coming debut while Myra remained less than enthusiastic about it. She wouldn’t marry if she had her way, determined to send their mother to an early grave by becoming a bluestocking spinster.

Selina would never tell how much she wished the same for Myra.

“Mmm,” the Duke wiped his mouth with a smooth napkin, smiling appreciatively as he laid the fabric across his plate and looked across the table at all of them, “that was indeed delicious. Now, if you all do not mind…”

He let the words drift there in the air, perched on the edge of some invisible cliff. As he did, the Duke stood from his seat, reclosing the halves of his jacket before eyeing each of the women in the room in turn.

“…would you please come with me to the parlor? I have something important I wish to discuss with you all.”

Selina’s stomach clenched, the heavy weight of her dinner settling uncomfortably. The Duke was up to something, and they were all about to find out what.

Chapter Five

The light in the parlor was absurdly bright compared to the subtle illumination of the dining room, and Hugh allowed himself to squint for only a moment. The women were clearly all quite nervous about what was to follow. Despite the fact that he was sure they would wish to get the discussion moving, Hugh took the time to pour himself a glass of whiskey from the collection of liquors available.

Silence hung through the room, and as he turned from pouring his glass, Hugh cast a skeptical glance across the faces assembled. Selina’s mother put on her usual abrasive grin, doing her best to hide her apprehension. In contrast, her two younger daughters did nothing to keep the anxious tension from their faces.

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