Page 25 of The Scarred Duchess Deal
“To please you? To be alone with you? I absolutely would.”
* * *
“Can you not control thatbeast?!” Anna hissed angrily at her husband.
“Hmm?” Theodore answered as he chewed his food loudly. Nobody else around him had even attempted to eat with all of the ruckus. Cats kept running in and out of the room, looking for shelter. Some had damp heads from dog drool being shaken over them. Colonel Floppy Ears appeared to think that he was in heaven. Chase was his absolute favorite game, and he presently had an endless supply of targets that he felt certain wished to play with him. He did not know that he was frightening them. He woofed and barked happily each time he made his appearance known.
“Oh, him? The Colonel is at battle. You cannot recall the troops until their mission is completed. You know that. Honestly, woman.” Theodore laughed from his belly and downed the contents of his wine cup. He wiped his mouth with the back of his meaty hand and lifted his glass to be refilled. “He is only playing, after all. He will tucker himself out sooner or later. I ought to have been keeping tally somehow so that he would have a war story of his own.”
“You cannot be serious!” Anna interjected. Tessa had seen her reach this level of irritation a couple of times before. There came a point where she no longer cared about decorum or the way that she wassupposedto act. She became so angry with her husband that she was unable to hold her tongue. Usually, this happened when she felt that she was being disrespected. If she was going to lose face anyway, then she might as well go out with a bang. Anything that might take the heat off of her and place it somewhere else was a win in her books. “Can you really claim to be ignorant of the fact that your pet is making everybody at this table deeply uncomfortable? If only you had left your beast at home like I had originally asked you to do – then we would not be in this situation!”
Theodore’s brow furrowed. He looked younger at that moment than Tessa could remember seeing him in a very, very long time. “What are you talking about? Everybody here loves Colonel Floppy Ears–”
“No, they do not! You are making everybody deeply uncomfortable, and I beg of you to take him elsewhere so that we can attempt to salvage the rest of this evening in peace!”
Theodore turned to look at each one of them in turn, hoping that there would be some indication on any of their faces that his wife was wrong and that his beloved dog was a welcome, wanted member of this dinner party. As much as it pained them to see him so forlorn, they could not lie to his face either. They could not pretend that it was appetizing to hear the screams of the poor, frightened cats.
Theodore pushed away from the table so swiftly that his chair scraped awkwardly against the floor. The large man almost looked as if he were on the verge of tears as he fought to remain composed. This war-hardened veteran could not fathom anybody not being deeply in love with his dog. It was an impossible thing as far as he was concerned.
Tessa lowered further into her chair in spite of herself. It did not matter just how many times she witnessed this happening in front of her, she never could fully accept it. She wished that she could simply disappear. She wanted nothing more than to fade into nothingness until this event was over.
“Where are you going? Just because your dog must leave does not mean that you can leave.” Anna stood as well. It was a last-ditch attempt to talk some sense into her husband.
Theodore’s bottom lip nearly quivered. “If Colonel Floppy Ears is not welcome then neither am I!”
At this point, Aurelius stood and lifted his hand in hopes that they might take notice of him and calm down, even just a little bit. “Come now, there is no need to speak to one another in such a way as this. Certainly, we will be able to come to some sort of happy conclusion. I know how novel and exciting it can be for him to see cats for the first time, but we must compromise.”
Amid the chaos, Tessa slipped away from the table. She likely should have given Leo some sort of signal to come and meet her, but after witnessing all of that, she needed a moment to herself. She needed quiet. She needed to collect her thoughts and come up with a new plan moving forward.
Quickly and silently she made her way up to her room and shut the door quickly. Her body leaned against the door and allowed her eyes to close. It was enough to soothe the social anxiety festering inside of her; she needed something more.
When she opened her eyes, she was met by the sight of a very petite woman who had only just finished laying out all of her clothes for sleeping this evening.
“Sorry,” Tessa whispered. She must have frightened the poor servant by bursting into the room as she had just done.
The thin girl shook her head adamantly, took one look at Tessa's face, and firmly affixed her attention to the floor. Tessa supposed she ought to have seen that coming.
“Might I trouble you for a bath? Please?” Tessa asked with a sigh.
“Of course – right away, My Lady,” the servant said and rushed from the room.
Yes, a nice hot bath was exactly what she needed.
ChapterFourteen
“There you are, Your Grace! I was afraid that we might never have a moment alone to speak.”
Leo’s eyes closed as he attempted to mentally prepare himself for whatever horrors he was about to endure. He plastered on a very neutral, polite smile as he turned to face Sophie. She batted her eyes up at him and leaned forward to accentuate the fact that her dress was cut nearly immodestly low in the front. It was certainly not a dress that she would have ever dared to wear somewhere in public. Had it been pulled that low this entire time? It was a cheap ploy to garner his attention, and he did not care for it.
“I cannot imagine a single reason why we should need to speak to one another alone,” Leo answered evenly. It would serve no purpose to offend her. He could not allow himself to do so… even if it would be gratifying. Her ambition was limitless. In another life, before Tessa even, he would have admired the fact that she went after what she wanted. He might have even been flattered by the fact that she had chosen to pursue him so strongly, but he could see now it was superficial. Now that he had seen how she treated her cousin, he would never be able to consider her in such a way – not even to warm his bed for a single evening.
“Oh, Your Grace, I could not disagree more! If you are intending to court or even marry my cousin, then it is up to me to ensure that your intentions are honorable.” Sophie smiled brightly. The expression did not reach her eyes; it was chilling.
“And why would you feel the need to do that? Any intentions that I have would be far better declared to her uncle, I would presume.”
“Do you always speak so curtly, Your Grace? It is nearly rude!” Sophie giggled as if she were teasing, but he knew that she meant every bit of it.
“No, I simply have things that I need to attend to, and I am at a loss as to why you are detaining me.” Leo’s brow rose quizzically as he waited for an explanation. “Do you feel entitled to my time?”
