Page 62 of A Duke But No Gentleman
“No, I am no longer your friend because I despise you!”he yelled back.“You twist and corrupt everything that touches your life.”
Norgrave was outraged that his dearest friend was choosing a woman over him.“You will come to regret this decision.Your lady has a secret, one that she will never disclose.Do you hear me, Blackbern?Your lady took my cock with the eagerness of a Covent Garden whore.It was my name she cried out when she found her womanly pleasure within my arms.”He bared his teeth when Tristan froze and slowly looked in his direction.“The next time you coax her onto her back, you will wonder—which one of us will she be thinking of when she closes her eyes.”
Enraged, he slammed his fist into the marquess’s damaged cheek, ruining the surgeon’s handiwork.Norgrave was unconscious before his knees struck the floor.
Tristan turned on his heel and silently walked out of the room.
***
The Duke of Trevett was waiting for him in his uncle’s library.The older man quietly scrutinized the swelling and bruises on Tristan’s face.Without a word, he walked over to Lord Ludsthorpe’s desk and poured brandy into a glass and handed it to him.
“Is he dead?”
Tristan slowly shook his head.“He probably will wish I had killed him when he looks at his face.”
“How much do you know about what happened?”
The duke pinched the flesh between his eyebrows.“Your aunt told me what she could.I gleaned the rest from the physician.”
Tristan thought of the fear he’d seen in her eyes, and the blood on her dress.“It is not my place to ask, but I need to know—were her injuries beyond the physician’s skills?”he gruffly asked.
The older man sighed.“No more than one might expect, but worse than those who love her can bear.However, my daughter is young and healthy.In time, she will heal.”
The knot in his stomach loosened.“Are you planning to pressure the magistrate to bring charges against Norgrave?”
“I have been apprised of my daughter’s concerns,” the duke said tersely.“While I would relish the sight of seeing the scoundrel in iron chains, I do not wish to distress Imogene.If Norgrave courts public opinion to press his suit for marriage, our family is prepared to weather the scandal.My daughter is beyond his reach.”
The two gentlemen sipped their brandies.
It was the older duke who broke the companionable silence.“Tell me, is there any chance that Norgrave will die from his wounds?”
Tristan would have thought it impossible, but his mouth curved into a brief grin.“There is always a possibility.”
The duke nodded.“If you do not mind me saying so, you look as if you could use the services of a physician.”
Tristan chuckled, and then winced in pain.“I will heal in time, too.”He needed to see Imogene.He had promised to return, and he wanted to assure her that Norgrave would never trouble her again.“Is Imogene awake?”
“Not likely, son.The physician gave her something to ease her discomfort and help her sleep.My duchess and your aunt are watching over her.You can speak to her when she awakens.”
Tristan swallowed his protest.If Imogene was resting, he did not want to disturb her.“I feel I should inform you of my intentions.If your daughter will have me, I plan on marrying her.”
The Duke of Trevett reached for the decanter of brandy, and refilled their glasses.“It seems appropriate since you have already seduced my daughter.”He noticed Tristan’s discomfort and smiled.“Norgrave wasn’t the only man I was longing to see in chains.”
Tristan could hardly blame the man.“I understand that you find me unworthy.That your duchess had high hopes of finding a foreign prince or king for Imogene.”
The older man’s thick silvered eyebrows climbed north to meet his scalp, but he remained silent.
“I confess, my intentions have not always been honorable, but I fell in love with your daughter.I have never felt—” He cleared his throat and tried again.“As my duchess, she will never want for anything.I will protect her and vanquish anyone who dares to hurt her, even at the cost of my life.”
“A noble vow.What if I refuse to offer my blessing?”
The duke sounded more curious than angry.Tristan had not considered what he would do if her family rejected his offer of marriage.“If Imogene will have me, then I will marry her without it.”
Her father’s eyes gleamed with approval.“Blackbern, you are a swaggering, disrespectful fellow.If you had given me a different answer I would have been disappointed.Aye, if Imogene agrees, you have my blessing.You have already proven that you are willing to risk your life in my daughter’s name.”
***
An hour later, he said his farewells to the Duke of Trevett and his uncle.He left the duke to apprise Lord Ludsthorpe of the evening’s events.Tristan had collected his hat, and had planned to slip out the front door.The sudden arrival of his cousins had lured his aunt from Imogene’s bedside.The longcase clock had chimed the three o’clock hour minutes earlier.At this rate, everyone would still be awake at dawn.The sight of his bruised face brought the older woman to tears.She hugged him and cried on his shoulder, and seemed loath to let him go until one of her daughters needed her assistance.
