Page 68 of Unraveled By the Duke
She turned away, climbing up the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster, hearing him coming after her.
“By the way, your father told me about a fresh scandal. Rumors concerning your time in the country. Did you know?”
She stopped at a bend in the stairs, looking back to where he stood at the foot. The letter hung from his hand. It made her angry.
He cannot even bear to put it down! Why can’t he be honest with me? Why didn’t he tell me at the beginning so that I could control my feelings? So that I could build a wall of my own.Damn him! I gave myself to him! I gave that which a woman can only give once, and he treated me like a common whore!
That sent a thrill from her toes to her hair. A clenching excitement that quickened her breathing. Being treated as a whore. Being used by Alexander for his pleasure. She was reddening—she knew it, and could do nothing about it.
“I see that you did. Ah, I remember your odd behavior this morning. Your rustling dress. I was a fool. Was it a scandal sheet you picked up outside the printer’s shop?”
Celia lifted her chin, enduring her blushes and attempting to face him in as dignified a manner as she could. “Yes. I picked it up from the street when I saw my name in black and white.”
“And concealed it from me. You know, I’m employing a man to manage the scandal involving Aurelia. You did not think it important to tell me of this fresh development?”
He ascended a few steps, and Celia retreated the same number. He stopped.
“I was wary of your reaction,” she said.
“When your father told me that he knew too, my reaction was that I would manage it. You are my wife, and I won’t allow anyone to slander you.”
He advanced again, and Celia withdrew. She found herself wanting to smile.
He defended me! He defended his wife!
“You were not angry?” she asked.
“Of course, I was thoroughly vexed! But not with you. Even before I spoke to your father, I did not need to ask if it was true. I know it is not. Why are you running away from me? Dash it all!”
Celia grinned, relief flooding through her like a cool wave. She danced to the first-floor landing.
Alexander rushed to the top, the letter fluttering from his hand. It drifted over the banister and gently fluttered down the stairwell to settle on the wooden floor of the hall.
“How do you know?” Celia asked. “For all you know, my father is lying to protect my honor. How can you be so certain?”
“Why are you so determined to undermine yourself in my eyes?” Alexander demanded, advancing on her.
Celia had been afraid, wary of his reaction. Now, she was playing a game, testing how far she could push him to pursue her.
If he genuinely does not care, he will give up, damn me for a fool—or worse—and walk away.
“I merely seek to know the depth of your certainty. For my own safety. Am I not entitled to certainty?”
She had reached the door to her rooms and paused with her hand on the knob. Alexander marched down the hallway with the implacability of a storm-driven wave. Celia turned the knob, feeling the door give behind her and knowing there was nowhere else to run. A thrill in her loins made her feel more alive than she ever had, except for the glorious moment when she had lain with Alexander. When she had lain beneath him, their bodies joined.
“I know, Celia,” he said, drawing close, his voice softening, “because a man cannot help but be aware that the woman with whom he lies has been close to… other men. Or a baby. It irreversibly changes a maiden’s body.”
There was a smile on his lips now, half mocking.
Celia felt her blush deepen. She had forgotten that basic fact of biology and how Alexander had been aware.
“So you do,” she whispered. “Well, I thank you for standing by me.”
He was so close now that she could smell his musky cologne with a hint of spice and wood. With it came a momentary, teasing, half memory of perfume. It was as though the perfumed letter had imprinted itself on his hands, warning her that he belonged to another. It incensed her.
“I will not deny that when I read of it this morning, courtesy of Mr. Wainwright, I considered it an inconvenience. He asked for additional funds to manage this additional gossip for us. Quite inconvenient.”
“I will pay you back,” Celia promised automatically.
