Page 31 of Captured By the Cold Duke
Dawson’s eyes had grown wide with horror, and he seemed to shrink under the force of Thomas’s shout.
“And if two dukes isn’t frightening enough,” Thomas finished, “then know she is protected by four fierce, strong women, and that whatever Vaston and I might do to you, it is nothing compared to what they will do.”
“That’s right,” Cherie said, and her voice did not so much as shake.
When Dawson still didn’t answer, Thomas took a threatening step forward.
“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”he repeated, for the third time, and his tone brooked no opposition.
“Perfectly,” Dawson spat. Then he turned and ran away into the night.
Thomas let out a deep, slow breath. He was suddenly exhausted. His jaw hurt, his hip was aching, and his hand felt as if all the bones in it were broken.
When he turned to the ladies, he saw that the three of them were now all standing. Lady Chastity was leaning against her sister, supported by her and Cherie.
“He won't be bothering you again, my lady,” Thomas said to Lady Chastity. “He is a weak man, and he might be spiteful, but he fears me now. He also knows I can crush him, and he will not risk my revenge.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
“There is no need to thank me. I would have done this for any lady. It is the gentlemanly thing to do. I just hope you know that you are not in the least to blame.”
“I d-don’t know that,” Lady Chastity mumbled, her lips quivering. “I shouldn’t have agreed to go on a walk with him. It was foolish. I’m s-so s-sorry, Minerva.” She turned to her sister, the tears spilling once more from her eyes. “I let you down. You t-taught me so w-well to deal with gentlemen, and then I got s-swept away…”
“Itisn’tyour fault,” Minerva said. “You merely thought you were going for a walk. You were expecting a proposal!”
“And even if you had wanted more from him, it still wouldn’t be your fault.” It was Cherie who was speaking now, and the rest of them turned to look at her. She looked nervous but determined.
“It’s okay for women to have wants,” she said quietly. “It’s okay for them to have desire.” Here, her eyes flickered very quickly to Thomas’s, then away again, back to Lady Chastity. “And even if there had been a part of you that hoped for a kiss, or for something—and I’m not saying there was—then that would not be anything to be sorry for. The moment you told Lord Dawson to stop, he should have. It wouldn’t have mattered what you had agreed to already, he still should have stopped. But he didn’t care about your desires, Chastity. He only cared about himself. And no gentleman should ever treat your desires as if they don’t matter.”
There was a short silence as all of them absorbed these words. They were unusual, but Thomas was surprised by how wholeheartedly he agreed with them.
“That is very wise, Duchess,” he said, and their eyes met once more.
Lady Chastity stopped crying. She smiled very weakly. “Thank you, Your Grace,” she whispered to Cherie. “And to you, Your Grace.” Her eyes flickered to Thomas’s. “I know you said I don’t have to thank you, but I do.”
“Yes, thank you,” Lady Minerva said, her eyes also shining with tears. “You have saved my sister from ruin.”
“It is Lord Dawson who should be ruined,” he said vehemently. “And I will make sure he is. Now, we should get Lady Chastity home as quickly as possible.”
He, Cherie, and Lady Minerva helped Lady Chastity out of the garden as quickly and quietly as they could. There were still couples concealed in the bushes as they passed, although fewer than there had been on the way in. Some of them had undoubtedly heard the commotion and left, not wanting to be caught up in a scandal.
Good. The fewer of them who see us leaving the garden, the better.
Once they reached the drive, Thomas went on ahead of the ladies. “Stay here,” he called back to them. “I’ll have the carriage come here to pick you up.”
Once he reached the front of the house, he had a footman bring round the Berrymoore carriage, then he asked the driver to stop down the drive where the ladies were waiting, so no one would see Lady Chastity’s state of disarray. He then quickly followed the carriage back to where Cherie and the Berrymoore sisters were waiting.
Once Lady Chastity and Lady Minerva had been safely loaded into the carriage, Cherie turned to Thomas.
“I'm going to go with them,” she said. “Just to make sure they're all right.”
“That's a good idea. I’ll send our carriage to wait for you at the Berrymoore house to bring you home when you're ready. Take all the time you need, and if there is anything that Lady Chastity needs—a doctor, anyone—then please send word at once. I can find someone discreet.”
“Thank you.” Cherie was looking at him as she never had before, a hard, intense look in her eyes. His heart hammering, he held out his hand to help her into the carriage. She took it and ascended the steps of the carriage. But just before she slipped inside, she turned back to him. In the dark night, her eyes were silver stars radiating out of the inky blackness, shining just for him.
“Thank you,” she murmured again. “Thank you, Thomas.”
Twelve
