Page 90 of The Duke's Indecent Match
The realization that he’d rather liked her being solely focused on him previously was unexpected.Harrowing, even.Nathanial was not sure he wanted to care where her attention was.
But the unavoidable truth was that he did.
“Are you looking for someone in particular?”he asked as they entered the ballroom, wondering if perhaps she was supposed to be meeting her friends.
His wife looked at him as if surprised.As though she’d forgotten he was there, despite the fact he was escorting her into the ball on his arm.If Nathanial’s feathers had been ruffled before, now they were positively disturbed.
“Oh… no.Is there someone I should be looking for?”Her gaze cast out, which was when he realized that previously her attention had been thoroughly inward.The contrast made that clear.
If she’d truly noticed anyone else in the ballroom before his query, he would be surprised.Unfortunately, he did not feel as though he could ask what she was thinking.That was hardly the kind of safe conversation they engaged in—if they spoke at all when it was just the two of them.
Nathanial tried to remember if he’d ever spoken with his wife, alone, since their marriage.
He did not think he had.
Besides, this was hardly the surrounds for such a conversation.They were supposed to becomfortablymarried.Amicable.Not hanging on to each other, the way Gregory and Tiffany did, which was tolerated by their peers only because they were understood to be a love match.If he started behaving oddly, attentively, that would only draw more eyes to them and engender more questions about their match, which was the opposite of his aim.
But he did not like it.
The uncomfortable thought occurred to him that in order to be more settled in his marriage, he might actually have to talk to his wife.
Kalina
The Styx’s ball was lovely, other than a few extremely awkward moments when Monkey Sinclair deserted the Duke of Grafton for Delilah… while the Duke of Grafton was escorting Lady Annabelle, and Delilah was waltzing with Conyngham.The earl had grinned as the monkey chittered at him as though scolding him, obviously not put off at all, but Delilah’s face had gone still as a stone at the sight of Lady Annabelle on Grafton’s arm.
Kalina did not tell Delilah that she later overheard Lady Walsh crowing over the triumph of her daughter catching a duke.The whole situation was painful enough, and Delilah already knew what was in the wind.
She was rather distracted by her own husband, who seemed to be blowing back and forth with his own wind.Though he did not cling to her side the way Gregory did with Tiffany, neither was he as absent as she had expected.He did step away to join his own conversations, but eventually made his way back to her.And after her dance with Lord Jarrett, she found her scowling husband had returned to her circle and immediately claimed her on his arm again.
Which was all very confusing because that was not what had been discussed when they’d made their plan with Tiffany and Gregory.
On the other hand, no one seemed to find it remarkable.Lord Jarrett simply nodded and smiled, taking himself off with a smug expression on his face, as if he knew something no one else did.Exactly what he felt he knew, Kalina was not entirely sure, but that was the impression she received from him.
By the time they made their excuses and said goodbye to their friends and hosts, Kalina was thoroughly confused.
They reached the carriage, and Hereford sat upright across from her.It was dark within the confines of the carriage, but she got the feeling he was looking at her.Studying her as best he could despite the dimness of the light.The close scrutiny made her feel a little breathless.
They were so rarely alone.
And when they were, it was even darker in her room.She could not see him there, nor could he see her.
But right now, only the upper part of his face was cast in shadow.She could see his jawline.His lips.Part of his cheek.The way his shoulders shifted against the seat behind him.His hands, where they rested on his thighs, one long finger tapping against his leg.A finger that had been inside her.
Something that was much easier to forget when they were surrounded by his sisters or the servants or theton.
Here, alone, in the intimate darkness of the carriage, she was very aware of his fingers.His hands.Her body reacted because she knew exactly how she could make him feel.
The silence hung heavy in the air, making her want to squirm in her seat.She pressed her thighs together at the unexpected arousal that just being alone with her husband caused.
“Did you enjoy the ball?”she asked, finally, because she could not bear the growing tension.
The tapping finger on his thigh stilled, and he cleared his throat.
“I did.Lady Styx is an excellent hostess.Didyouenjoy the ball?”
“I did.Thank you.”
The conversation was stilted, awkward, but it soothed her a little.At least it was not complete silence.
