Page 31 of A Duchess for the Mysterious Duke
“Surely all of London speaks of your bravery nightly at their dinner tables. I hear talk of a statue.”
“Your Grace?”
“Yes, Marina?”
“Why do you feel that you must keep us at such a distance from one another? Perhaps if you could draw some clear lines between what it is you believe to be friendly behavior and non, we might have somewhere to start.”
“I would not know how to go about it.”
“Simply—if you feel as though I am acting untoward, say so. And say why. I shall correct my behavior accordingly.”
Phillip looked at her, and she recognized that emotion again. The one she had seen just a few times before. Her heart began to beat quickly. Could it be, she thought, that that particular shadeof Phillip was colored with longing for her? Was he perhaps more the problem than she?
The Duke, for his part, was thinking the same. He did not trust himself to be around Marina and did not allow her to be affectionate towards him. Hewantedher affection and at times felt that he needed it. She made him feel as if none of it mattered—not his title, his fortune, or his reputation. He felt as though he were special to her and could not fathom a reason why. He knew that it would be too easy altogether for his resolve to dwindle if she were too near.
However, neither of them would get to hear the end of this conversation.
CHAPTER 23
Marina’s eyes grew wide, and suddenly, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around Phillip’s wrist. She pointed, silent, to the road before them where a man chased after a riderless horse that was headed directly toward a group of young ladies. They had not yet heard the horse coming. Marina and Phillip got to their feet together.
“Stay here,” he instructed her.
“Hurry, Phillip! They will be injured!”
The horse galloped full speed from where his frantic handler chased him, heading in the direction of the girls and Marina and Phillip’s hiding spot. The Duke, without a riding crop or whip in his possession and thinking quickly, approached the horse with his arm held aloft and his hand balled up into a fist. As the horse came closer, he brought his arm down swiftly and precisely as if to strike the animal on the head but stopped short. It scared the horse, who reared back onto its hind legs and turned to go theother way where his owner, equipped with the proper tools, was waiting to calm the animal.
Marina rushed to the girls, who had turned just in time and witnessed the whole thing, and she made sure that they were all right. Phillip followed the horse to his owner to ensure that both parties were safe. In the end, they saw everyone off to town and met back at their blanket to clean up. Marina, though, seemed pale and shaken.
They worked together in silence to pick up their things. Phillip could not help but notice how pale Marina looked. She had seemed so calm and together when she was speaking with the girls, but now, she seemed frail.
“Shall we make our way to town, then?” Phillip asked her.
“Ah. I forgot that we were meant to go shopping,” she admitted, looking down at the ground as she spoke. “Perhaps another day.”
Phillip took a step closer to her, but she did not look at him. Something was clearly wrong. “Why not today? The weather is lovely. We’ve become town heroes in the space of a few minutes. I would very much like to get you something for your bravery.”
It was only then that he noticed she was trembling and immediately put their things down to step forward and hold her shoulders. He tried to get her to look up at him, but she would not.
“Marina, I would like to help you, but you must tell me what the matter is.”
She shook her head, wiping away at tears he couldn’t see. “There is nothing to tell. I am tired. The horse gave me quite a fright. I would like to go home.”
“You have told me many times before, Marina, that you are my wife, and if I were to merely open up to you, then?—”
“Phillip,please.”
The tone of her voice pushed him away from her, and he finally conceded. For the moment. They walked back to the estate together, and Marina avoided looking at him all the way. When they at last reached their home, he turned to speak to her, but she hurried inside so quickly that he barely had time to open his mouth and start a conversation with her. They did not see one another again until dinner.
Phillip arrived late, and Marina looked surprised to see him. He sat down after a quick, awkward hello then could not bring himself to speak about what had happened earlier in the day. Marina hurried through her courses and then announced that she was retiring to bed. Phillip stood in her way, gently grabbing her arms, so he could look at her closely.
“Would it be very much to ask to spend some time together tonight before you do?”
She blinked, surprised. “What did you have in mind?”
“I would happily do whatever you like.” The corner of Marina’s mouth lifted.
“You have asked me to spend time with you but did not prepare an activity?”
