Page 42 of The Insufferable Duke
“It is as if you take pleasure in it,” she muttered. “We began a discussion about books and reading.”
“A surprisingly pleasurable conversation it was,” he agreed with a nod.
“Then how did we end up here?” she asked, holding her hands out. “You and I are bickering like… like…”
“An old married couple?” he smirked.
“No, no, not that!”
“How else would you describe it?” He laughed and made to walk past her before hesitating. “Perhaps it’s just rather fun to argue with you. Somehow, based on the smile you keep fighting, I’d suggest you like it at times too.” He walked on, leaving Helena to stare after him, her jaw slack.
What did he mean by that?
Helena walked after him, her pace slower this time. She pulled at the shawl around her shoulders, heated, and it slipped, dropping away. The Duke turned back to her, but he wasn’t in time. The shawl dropped to the ground. He collected it and wrapped it around her shoulders before she could.
“Then you do things, like that,” she whispered.
“Like what?” He held her gaze as his fingers fussed with the shawl, laying it flat.
“Kindnesses as if they are commonplace to you.”
He smiled, a gentle thing that transformed his features. Helena could not stop staring at that expression, for it was not one of the mischievous smirks he had shown her before, but instead, it was something that seemed much more genuine and heartfelt.
“I am no Manfred, Lady Helena.”
She flinched at the words. Manfred was a character fromThe Castle of Otranto,the ultimate enemy and twisted monster.
“Come, let us find our siblings.” He released her shawl and walked on. She followed behind him, her walk a little shaky this time. “Ah, maybe we did not have to worry after all.” He abruptly froze, and Helena walked around him, eager to see what he could see.
A short distance away, Lord Robert and Lady Julia were sitting together on a marble bench. They were surrounded by families and groups that wandered to and fro. They were far from alone, and there was no connection between them, not even the touch of a hand. They smiled broadly and laughed in conversation, talking about something that must have delighted them both.
“God’s wounds,” Helena whispered. “Thank goodness, I feared more scandal.”
“As did I.” The Duke of Bridstone’s voice was deep. There was a huskiness to his voice that made Helena look at him. He was not staring at their siblings, but he was looking directly at her.
“What is it?” she asked, touching her cheek. “Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” He shook his head. “That was quite a smile at seeing your sister again. I was wondering what it meant.”
Helena shifted where she stood and nodded at their siblings together.
“I love my sister,” she whispered. “I must admit, I have never seen her as happy as she is in your brother’s company.”
Julia tipped her head back and laughed joyously at something Lord Robert had said, confirming the very words Helena had uttered. That smile took up a place on Helena’s cheeks again, and it was one she couldn’t fight.
Despite all the difficulties between the families, the rift, the hatred, and even the frustration that Helena felt in the Duke of Bridstone’s company, there was something worth fighting for here. If there was a chance that Julia could be this happy forever, then Helena would fight tooth and nail to keep her that way.
“You found them,” Helena whispered to the Duke. “Well done.” She walked away from him, heading toward her sister. She sat down on the bench beside Julia, who looked toward her.
“Where have you two been?” Julia sked.
“Us? I was about to ask you two the same thing.”
“We thought you rather dallied with your steps,” Lord Robert said with a chuckle. “We presumed you may have been having an argument.”
“You would not be entirely wrong,” the Duke of Bridstone said as he crossed toward them and leaned against the trunk of a tree. “We thought you two had run off again. You worried us. Do us a favor, and try to at least stay in sight of one of your chaperones.” He shook his head at his brother. “You are making this difficult.”
“We didn’t mean to walk off,” Lord Robert said in a rush.
