Page 23 of A Duchess for the Mysterious Duke
“You’re blushing,” he added. She reached up and felt her burning cheeks to check that it was true. “You have no idea how happy it makes me that I can bring such beautiful color to those cheeks.”
“Phillip,” Marina breathed, her voice faint but a warning. As if to tell him to be sure that this is what he wanted. The Duke ignored her, pressing forward until their toes might have touched had they gone out without shoes. A tenderness she had not seen from him softened his features and made her heart pound.
“Marina,” was his response, lifting a hand so he could tuck a stray curl back into place behind her ear. She felt that same hand rest upon her waist just as he pressed his lips to hers, and the Duchess fell rapidly into the kiss. It was sweet but not timid. She couldfeelhis longing fall in line with the tempo of her own yearning, and they each had the same realization.
They had been, unknowingly and despite their best efforts, each waiting for this moment.
Marina felt that the kiss lasted both an eternity and less than a second before Phillip pulled away from her, but she was mortified to find that his expression had changed—his emotions once again shut away from her where she could not find them beneath his steely gaze.
“This was not appropriate,” he gasped, clasping a hand to his mouth as he hurried to put some distance between the two of them.
“Not appropriate?” Marina begged. She felt that she had had quite enough of this push and pull from Phillip, but he either did not care or did not notice the change in her tone.
“No. Not at all, Marina. Please accept my apologies.”
Phillip seemed entirely earnest, but Marina could not fathom what for.
“Phillip, we are husband and wife. There is nothing inappropriate about a kiss.” Phillip shook his head, and made his way into the study, forcing Marina to follow behind him.
“There is more to it than that,” he hissed. “You cannot understand.”
“Iwantto understand.”
“Leave me, Marina. I will find some way to atone for my poor behavior, but you must take your leave at once.”
“I will not. I?—”
“Youwill.” Marina backed away toward the door as if physically pushed in that direction by the tone and volume of his voice. “I have given you an instruction, Marina. Now follow it. We will not speak of this anymore.”
CHAPTER 17
The Duke was unfathomable.
Marina was able to retain her composure just long enough to hurry out of the office and around the corner where she would not be seen. She pressed her hands to her cheeks and sucked in a deep breath, flustered by their proximity to one another, embarrassed by his reaction, and angry at having been thrown out so callously. More than how she felt towards him, Marina was upset with herself. She was a woman of two and twenty who should have known better.
After all, she had married perhaps London’s most well-known rake. It panicked her to think of what other families of high esteem now thought of her—the poor duchess whose husband was no doubt going around town and entertaining other young ladies en masse. Who was she to think that she had somehow crept into his heart? They hardly knew one another, and now, she had gone and shown her weakness to him. Now he knew what she felt for him before she herself had been able to admit it.
The new duchess calmed herself then made her way downstairs to prepare for calling hours, her heart thudding painfully against her chest as if it would burst forth from her at any moment. She did not want to think her husband was capable of infidelity. More than that, Marina wascertainthat she had seen in Phillip’s eyes a reflection of her own compassion toward him. He might not feel as she did, but he felt something, surely. Still, someone like that may be capable of growing affection, but Marina knew that she would do well to put all delusions of something more out of her mind.
As she made her way to the drawing room, Marina found herself face-to-face with Emmanuel Hayward. She remembered him from the ball at Glastonbury. Her first instinct was to turn around and fetch Phillip from his study to introduce them until she remembered what she’d overheard. He did not want her to meet his family, but this might be her only chance to find out more about her elusive husband. She choked down the lump in her throat that told her that this was too bold, and she kept walking forward. He saw her and spoke first.
“Ah, you must be the lady of the house,” he chirped, smiling warmly. It struck Marina as odd that Lord Glastonbury did not look at all surprised to have caught her alone. There was something about the way he gazed at her that made her feel as though he, too, wished to defy Phillip thoughwhyshe could not fathom.
“Yes. I am Marina Hayward.” Her new full name felt foreign on her tongue, and Marina realized she had not yet said it aloud. She was the Duchess of Peterborough, Marina Hayward, and yet in her home, she was merely Marina, a name so fondly utteredby her husband in these last few days. She wondered, with a pang, if she would hear him speak to her that way again or if she had erred such that their friendship was beyond repair.
“Pleased to meet you, Marina. I did so hope that we might be formally introduced by my nephew however he has made it quite clear that you are inundated by your new work.” Emmanuel’s smile was friendly and teasing, but Marina felt as though he were being disingenuous. The saccharine tone of his voice seemed almost fabricated.
“My husband is a kind man to consider my adjustment in his planning,” she breathed, glancing down for a moment before giving him a practiced smile. “I shall go and fetch him.” The Duchess turned her back, but Lord Glastonbury’s voice stopped her.
“Perhaps we should let him be.” There was a tone of finality despite his neutral language, and Marina took a moment to compose her face before turning back to look at him. Her emerald eyes searched his, her expression neutral and controlled. Her curiosity was at war with her duty to her husband—she knew how he felt about this meeting though she did not know the reason, and she felt that she may somehow be betraying him in entertaining it. His uncle’s behavior reinforced her suspicions. On the other hand, it was possible that she could learn something about the man who seemed to keep her at once in his pocket and at arms’ length.
“I beg your pardon, My Lord?”
“It is just that my nephew is quite…busy these days.” Lord Glastonbury drew closer to her, bending his head as if their proximity could ward off the presence of prying eyes. “Are you quite aware of his business outside the home? I know that some modern young women?—”
“Marina, there you are, I wanted to say that?—”
Lord Glastonbury snapped up and stepped back just as Marina whirled around to face Phillip. Husband and wife exchanged a glance—we’ll speak later. There was a pause as all parties regained their footing from the mild shock, and when the Duke did not attempt to formally introduce his wife to his uncle, Marina took the hint and politely made her exit to the gardens. Her mind raced, struggling to understand what any of this meant. Phillip watched her go, and when at last he heard the door to the gardens swing shut, his gaze hardened, and he gave his uncle a cold, calculating look.
