Page 67 of A Bride for the Devilish Duke
She lay in a hot bath that Elsie had drawn for her after her return from the Regent's Ball. An hour before, Damien had abandoned her in the hallway after setting her heart ablaze and her body thrumming with desire. Elsie sat beside the large bathtub behind a screen in Emma's bedroom. That room was large enough for two, but her husband had made his own quarters on the floor above.
Presently, Emma luxuriated in the hot water and clouds of steam.
“I am glad you allowed yourself to enjoy it, my lady,” Elsie smiled in earnest.
“However, Damien was… a littleodd,” Emma remarked, brows furrowing. “I mentioned his father, and it produced a very defensive reaction. He thawed throughout the course of the evening, but it was decidedly peculiar. I wish I knew what in hispast he is so secretive about. Have you heard anything from the other servants?”
Elsie rose to take up a ladle from a bucket of steaming water beside the bath. She knelt by Emma's head and began to wash her mistress's hair.
“I have not, except for the fact that the staff did not care for the previous Duke. The whispers are that he was feared.”
Emma sighed again. “Perhaps he was a cruel man, though all who knew him in public seem to think otherwise. What of Damien's cousins? There is definitely bad blood there. He does not like them at all, but I cannot see the reason.”
Elsie thought for a moment as she massaged Emma’s scalp. “Other than the fact that—and, mind my words—they are deemed a pair ofblackguardsandrogues, it is generally spoken among the staff that there was some challenge to the Duke being the Duke. Some legal questions about who should inherit. I think they believe that one ofthemdeserves the title.”
Emma closed her eyes as the water sluiced over her head. In her mind's eye, she saw Damien's face as she whirled about the dance floor with him—his blue eyes upon her, his hands on her body.
“When I was dancing with him, for the first time, I was not aware of how close a pair of hands were to my scar,” Emma said quietly.
Elsie clapped suddenly and sent splashes of water everywhere. “Very good! I told you that inhibition would fade with time.”
“No, it is still there… but it is less with him. How odd.”
Elsie scoffed. “Not odd at all, my lady. But love. You wish to be seen as you are with him.”
Now, Emma scoffed. “Love? I will not have that word spoken. I have never sought it and do not want it. This marriage is a transaction. My family's security for his restored reputation.”
“What rot! I have seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you when he believes there is none to see. Love might be premature, perhaps. But lust is certainly in residence and the desire for love.”
“You are mistaken,” Emma said firmly. “Love would be a complication that neither one of us needs.”
“Very well. Deny what is obvious to any with eyes. I will not argue.” Elsie dabbed gently at Emma’s brow, a thoughtful look in her eye. “If you’ll pardon me saying so, my lady, you might consider turning in early tonight.”
Emma cracked an eye open. “Why? Have I somehow exhausted you?”
Elsie gave a dry little chuckle. “Not I. But you’ll want rest if you’re to be strolling through the palace gardens tomorrow.”
Emma sat up slightly. “Palace gardens?”
“Buckingham,” Elsie confirmed, matter-of-fact. “Word came down through the footmen. His Grace made arrangements for a promenade. Heavens, you must tell me all about it when you return.”
Emma blinked. “He didn’t say a word.”
Though there was hardly time with his lips pressed against hers, and his hand pressed elsewhere, for so long earlier that night. The very memory sent a frisson of pleasure through her she did well to conceal.
“Perhaps he meant it as a surprise,” Elsie said with a shrug, already gathering towels. “Or perhaps he knew I’d tell you anyway.”
The never-ending cycle of socials would ordinarily have been mind-numbing. But over the past week, it was the only time Emma so much as glimpsed her husband. So perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.
She settled back into the warm water, heart humming.
“I’ll lay out something proper,” Elsie added from behind the screen. “Understated, but memorable.”
Emma closed her eyes again, steam curling around her. Above her, somewhere on the next floor, Damien’s rooms lay quiet.She wondered if he, too, was lying awake—thinking of the same moment as she.
And wondering what tomorrow might bring.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
