Page 34 of Beneath the Beastly Duke's Mask
Jane loved her sleep, so Arabella couldn't ask that of her. Besides, she wasn't ready to discuss what had just happened. She wanted time to think about it.
“No, that is not necessary,” she replied. “But thank you. Now, go to sleep. You'll be tired in the morning.”
Jane nodded, her head falling heavily on the pillow. Within seconds, she was snoring again. Arabella admired her friend's ability to fall asleep so quickly, especially when it seemed she might have a sleepless night. Sighing, she got under the covers and folded her arms behind her head, staring at the beams above her.
Something traumatic must have happened to cause such a terrible nightmare. The duke had said something about the fire, and she was confident the scars on his body were caused by a fire.
“Could it be...?”
She fell silent. Arabella now had more questions than answers. She needed to work a little harder to discover the truth about the duke's past. But once she did, she would no longer have a reason to stay at Euston Halls. She didn't know if that was what she wanted.
***
Mirabel needed to break something—anything! The situation was worse than she initially believed. Arabella had been in the duke's room! Not even Mirabel had been so bold as to enter his private chambers and attempt to seduce him.
Mirabel had been on her way to steal a little of the duke's brandy as she often did when she heard the duke's moans. She wasn't the least bit surprised at that. The duke often had nightmares—everyone knew about them. It was rather ridiculous for a man his age to still suffer from night terrors.Childrenoften suffered from them, not grown men. The nightmares were yet another flaw the duke possessed.
The biggest were those horrible scars that covered most of his body. She shuddered just thinking about them. However, the man was a duke and could keep her in comfort, but he refused to give in to her seductions. Now that Arabella was also competing for his affections, it made it doubly hard for Mirabel to get his attention.
Mirabel had thought no more about the duke's nightmares, but she stalled on the stairs when she heard the distinct voice of a woman. She hadn't been certain if it was coming from the duke's room, so she had cautiously approached his private chambers, only to witness Arabella enter his room.
“That opportunist wench!” she cried, banging her fisted hand on her palm.
She looked around her room, displeased with its shoddiness. She shared it with one of the maids, a stupid girl with hair that stuck out like straw. Mirabel had returned to her room after waiting for Arabella to emerge from the duke's room, only to hear hersingingto him. She had hardly believed her ears.
Arabella was indeed doing everything possible to make the duke fall in love with her. She was a siren in disguise, using her sweet voice to trick the duke. Not only was Arabella educated, but she also had aristocratic blood flowing through her veins. Lord Kersey had told her all about it during his visit, earlier that day.
Even though he believed Arabella was up to no good, the others refused to see it. They thought she was sweet and innocent, but Mirabel knew better. Seeing her go into the duke's room had proved just how worldly she truly was.
Mirabel eventually emerged from the shadows and returned to her room a few minutes after Arabella, her mind no longer able to rest.
“I need to get rid of her,” she mumbled.
But her first attempt hadn't worked. Mirabel had tripped Arabella and had been satisfied when she fell down the stairs. She had been certain the little thing would not be able to handle the impact, but she had survived with just a few bruises. It wasn't fair. Unfortunately, Mirabel couldn't attempt anything so drastic again because she was almost certain that Arabella knew she had tripped her.
Mirabel had waited for Arabella to confront her or approach the duke with her suspicions, but she had remained silent. That made her nervous. Mirabel didn't like the uncertainty of the situation. She really needed to get Arabella out of the way, so life could return to the way it was before the woman arrived at Euston Hall.
The only person who could help her now was Lord Kersey. He was just as worried about the duke and Arabella, so he would be quite interested to hear about the latest incident. A simple letter would be enough to get him to offer his help.
Mirabel smiled. With the viscount's help, Arabella didn't stand a chance.
Chapter 13
“Your coffee is growing cold, Your Grace,” Truman reminded him.
Henry looked down at his cup. “So it is,” he said. “Would you ask the kitchen for another? Some biscuits as well.”
Truman stood up and bowed. “Yes, Your Grace. I shan't be long.”
The valet left the study, allowing Henry to return to his state of deep thought. He had been pensive for several days, unable to come to a conclusion.
Sighing, he pushed out of his chair and sauntered to the window, leaning against the windowsill. The afternoon was still fairly warm, but it was beginning to cool and would soon be pleasant enough to sit outside comfortably. Arabella liked walking through the garden in the evenings, usually when he was in the drawing room just before dinner.
He had often briefly seen her walking past the window, sometimes pausing to smell the flowers. She never thought to look up, so he was safe from her discovering his presence above her. It was still too early for her to appear, but he didn't mind admiring the estate instead.
Leaning his head back against the wooden frame, his mind traveled to the thoughts that had consumed him for the better part of a week. Henry often suffered from nightmares, although they were no longer so frequent. He accredited it to Arabella's lavender sachets beneath his pillow and the warm honey milk drink he often consumed at night before bed.
Unfortunately, he had experienced one of his crippling nightmares the other night, but the dream didn't proceed as it usually did. It started out just the same, with him trying to save the duke and duchess, then being terribly burned until almost his entire body was covered in blackness and angry red skin. However, this time, it was different.
