Page 49 of Married to the Forbidden Duke
“I…” Whatdidshe think? He had taken her ability for clear-headed thought from her. “I think he adores her,” she said finally. “And I think he would do anything to provide for her.”
“He is young,” Frederick mused, “but he seems to have passion and drive.”
“I think he will do well.”
“Yes, I suspect he will, too.” He grimaced at her. “Though it pains me to admit it.”
She laughed, for once giddy. “That means you’ll speak to Lord Denshire?”
“I will speak to him, but I cannot promise he will come around.” He hesitated, as though thinking. “Though it’s not long until she becomes of age and no longer requires his permission to marry. Then she may do as she pleases.”
“But Mr. Kingsley won’t be here by then,” Alice reminded.
“Well, not immediately, perhaps, but he could get some days' leave to come back to London. Many things are possible if you merely put your mind to it. I’ll remind Denshire of that. Helena has grown up a lot over the past few years. She is not the girl she once was.”
Alice peered up at him, an awful suspicion occurring to her. “Youare not in love with her, are you?”
“Of course not!” He met her stare, affronted. “I’ve known her since she was a child in petticoats. I think of her as my sister, nothing more.”
Alice’s shoulders relaxed, though she refused to think about why that might be. Frederick could like whomever he pleased. It was certainly none of her concern; they were married in name only.
He leaned in closer, his lips just brushing her cheek. “Jealous, my love?”
“No! As though I would be jealous of whichever girl holds your affections.Icertainly do not deserve them.”
He chuckled, his breath brushing her ear. “So, you wouldn’t mind if I were to take a lover. A mistress or two?”
“That is the usual practice of husbands, I believe,” she muttered stiffly.
“Ah, but I had not intended for it to be the usual practice of this husband.”
She glanced at him sharply. “Whyever not?”
“Well, because I made my vows to my wife, and I intend to keep them.”
He is a romantic, Helena had told her. She, evidently, knew the man better than Alice ever did.
“What about you?” he asked, still in that hypnotic, low voice that made something liquid erupt in her stomach. “Would you be amenable to taking a lover? Does that contradict your principles as a wife?”
She had not allowed herself to think too deeply about her principles as a wife—largely because she didn’t quite know what they were. She had never really allowed herself to consider the reality that she wasmarried. By law, before God, in the eyes of the world. Whether she had meant them or not, she had sworn vows.
Had she meant them?
“I will do as I please,” she breathed, evading the question. Would she take a lover? The answer was certainly no, but she did not want to examine the reason behind that assumption.
“Of course you will. You would hardly be the Alice I know if you did not.” He didn’t seem put out by her question, holding her a little tighter as he swayed backward and forward with her. “How is your leg?”
“All right. Not too painful.”
“Good.” His hand splayed across the small of her back, and she shivered at the contact. “I’ll make sure I look after you when we get home.”
By ‘look after you’, she was sure he meant massaging, but the term made her think of other things. Soft mouths, hot tongues, and that endless wanting that assailed her whenever he was nearby.
She closed her eyes. The battle against this was a losing one, and she knew it.
Part of her wanted to give up. Let whatever was burning between them scorch them both, let her taste this intimacy so she knew what it was like—and then she could go back to loathing him.
Didshe loathe him?
