Page 24 of My Blind Duke
“No!” Melanie shook her head. “He wants me to be perfect and I keep trying but I am not getting anything right and I always disappoint him. All I want is for him to play with me like he used to.”
Hearing the little girl’s sniffles made Prudence gently embrace her, hoping that she could wrap the child in enough warmth to keep all the bad thoughts and feelings at bay.
It was disheartening to watch both Melanie and her father misunderstand each other so greatly. She knew where their intentions came from and the motivations behind their actions, but it was difficult to get them to see eye to eye.
“He does not hate you, Melanie. He wants you to be a perfect lady because he believes that is the only way you will live a good life. And I know that is not true, but he does not. He is only worried, dear. Do not think harshly of him. I give you my word, you, and I will teach him how to accept you, in all the wonderfulways that you exist. All right? Please, do not think so little of yourself,” Prudence told her softly.
Melanie nodded gently, pressing her face against Prudence’s stomach.
“All right,” the girl sniffed, pulling back slightly.
Prudence smiled down at her and wiped the tears off her cheek.
“Come along now,” she urged gently, steering the girl in the direction of the front door. “Let us return that little caterpillar to where it belongs.”
Chapter 8
“Goddamn it, not again.”
William sighed as he made yet another wrong turn down a hallway, recognizing that he was lost due to the blurry shapes he could discern to be a table and a vase filled with flowers on his left.
This was not supposed to be there and its presence only meant one thing; he was in the wrong part of the house. With a sigh, he turned around and began making his way in the opposite direction of where he had come from, irritated to be late for a meeting he had.
It was meant to be convenient, scheduling it to take place in his home, but thanks to his wandering thoughts, he could not seem to focus on where he was going. And he had told Robert he would meet him there, fully confident in his ability to make his way through the house after weeks of practice.
“All because of one mouthy woman,” he grumbled under his breath as he passed by two maids who tried to hurriedly bow at him, their presence going completely ignored.
To William, it seemed as though his mind and body had begun to yearn for the warmth of Prudence’s body. He longed to explore the dips and curves of her, to taste the sounds of her pleasure and to hear his name being gasped from her lips. She took away his ability to focus on his duties because once he imagined her in his embrace, there was nothing else he would want more and it was growing infuriatingly frustrating.
It seemed as though he was being haunted, followed by her scent whenever he was outside his chambers, unable to shake off the growing desire within him. He had never hated and wanted a woman the way he hated and wanted this duchess.
Does she bathe in her perfume?
He wished she would simply leave and give him back his clarity, but it was as though she had been put in his path to make his life difficult. Every conversation they had always ended up boiling into an argument. She was so sure she knew so much about his daughter and it infuriated him to no end.
And he still had his doubts about her character. Their first meeting might have painted her as a bashful woman, but the reproachful way she spoke to him told him that there was a fire within her. Whether or not it was capable of growing out of control in a fit of rage, and burning others was something he was still unsure of, but he knew that he did not trust her.
Yet… he spent countless hours thinking about claiming her, recalling how pliant she had been when he kissed her.
It had been remarkable, how soft she felt beneath his fingertips, how sweet she had tasted, and the pleasant sound of her breathless gasp. It made him ache with want, hungry for as much of her as he could consume whenever he could.
It was driving him insane and he despised it.
Finally, he arrived at the drawing room, walking in with a rushed apology.
“Forgive me for my late arrival. I was… preoccupied with other affairs,” he said, quickly, ignoring Robert’s sigh of relief.
“It is no problem at all, Your Grace,” the man before him replied, rising to his feet quickly.
William blinked his eyes and squinted them at the man before him, taking in the burly form and dark colors the man wore, eyeing what looked like a hat sitting on his head.
The man quickly took it off as he noticed William’s gaze was focused on it and muttered a quick apology. Robert stepped forward and made the necessary introductions.
“Your Grace, this is Inspector Hosea Burns. Inspector Burns, allow me to introduce His Grace, The Duke of Pemberly.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace,” the inspector said.
“Likewise, Inspector. I assume you know why I have called you here,” William stated as he took a seat.
