Page 23 of Stolen By the Cruel Duke
“I don’t want to hear anymore,” Iris warned from where she sat near the hearth, a slight smile on her lips despite her stern tone. “Whatever happened this afternoon, I’m choosing to believe it was all within the bounds of decency.”
This made James smirk, and even Phineas had to hide his smile.
It was evening, and James and Nathan Goldwin had joined them for dinner. Since the company was so small, all the ladies andgentlemen were now gathered together in the parlor, Iris and her sisters drinking tea while the men sipped brandy. It had been a pleasant evening, and as Phineas felt tiredness beginning to overtake him, he was able to reflect on how pleasant it was to have his home full of people he cared about. It hadn’t happened in a very, very long time.
There had been a cheerful atmosphere in the house since Phineas had announced earlier that Violet would not be forced to marry Lord Redfield. The usually reserved Violet couldn’t stop smiling, and he hadn’t failed to notice that his wife kept throwing tender looks in his direction. Each time, his heart leaped uncomfortably in his chest.
It felt better than he had expected, to be needed, and to help someone who relied on him. More than that, it left him feeling warm and content to know that Iris was happy.
“I suppose Nathan should stay as well, then,” James argued, casting an appraising eye over his cousin. “He got it worse than I did.”
Indeed, the Marquess looked worse for wear. There was a bruise on his jawline, and one of his eyes was still half-closed, a cut on top of the lid. Still, he’d been in high spirits all night, flirting a little too obviously with Iris’s sisters and making them both flush scarlet.
“Do we have enough room for everyone?” Iris asked, catching Phineas’s eye. “I know Eavestone House is spacious, but it’s still just a townhouse…”
She was biting her lip, her brow furrowed in concern, and Phineas’s stomach fluttered with something he couldn’t quite place.
Pull yourself together, man.You’re making a fool of yourself.
“We will make do,” Phineas replied.
He scanned the room, counting the number of guests. One, two, three, four… Eavestone House had exactly five bedrooms. Which meant that Iris would have to give up her room to Violet and sleep in?—
“Violet and Rose will have to share a room,” Iris declared, her voice a little shrill, and Phineas knew that she’d realized the exact same thing at the exact same moment. She looked at him, but her eyes didn’t quite meet his.
Phineas felt a small flare of annoyance. His wife would rather make her grown sisters share a bed than sleep in his. Well, he was putting a stop to that right now.
“Absolutely not,” he said, his annoyance giving way to amusement as he saw her blanch. “Your sisters have been through an ordeal today, and I wish them to enjoy the finest hospitality we have to offer.”
“But—”
“The Eavestone dukedom is known for its generosity, my dear, and I won’t have it being said that I made my wife’s grown sisters share a bedroom.”
Iris opened her mouth to object, seemed unable to think of anything to say, and closed it again. Her cheeks were burning, and Phineas had to swallow a chuckle. His wife was embarrassed to share a bed with him, and he found her embarrassment wonderfully adorable.
Around the room, meanwhile, Phineas was sure he could feel their guests exchanging meaningful glances. He didn’t care. Let them gossip about them later. For tonight, he would get to share a bed with Iris. And while he knew that he would respect the agreement they had made to live not as man and wife, he couldn’t deny there was a part of him that longed to be so close to her for an entire night.
And from the look on her face, he suspected she felt the exact same way.
“Are you well, Your Grace?” Anna, Iris’s lady’s maid, asked, as she helped Iris out of her stays. “You’re trembling!”
Belatedly, Iris realized that Anna was right. As she lifted her leg to step out of her skirts, she noticed her whole body was shaking. But of course she was. This was the first time she would spend the night in her husband’s bedchamber. Phineas had thoughtfully said he would be having another brandy inhis library before coming up to bed, giving her time to change into her nightshift without his presence, but still, she felt his presence everywhere.
His chamber was decidedly masculine, from the dark mahogany wood paneling, to the wine-colored velvet curtains around the bed, to the lingering scent of her husband’seau de cologne, which smelled of bergamot and pine. There was also a large portrait of him hanging on one wall. It was a striking likeness, and as Iris stared up into the icy, penetrating blue eyes of her husband, she felt her heart flutter.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted at last, turning back to Anna, who was watching her with a puzzled look on her face.
Anna’s eyes flashed with understanding, and she tentatively put a hand on Iris’s arm. “You’re not… frightened of him, are you, Your Grace?”
“No,” Iris said, surprising herself by the vehemence of her declaration. “I’m not. Actually, it’s the opposite.”
Anna frowned, but she nodded as if she understood and scooped up the rest of Iris’s clothes from where she’d hung them on the changing screen.
“Well, if you ever feel frightened, you can always talk to me,” she offered. “We servants know His Grace’s reputation as well as you do…”
“Thank you, Anna,” Iris said, and she meant it.
Anna had been with her her whole life, and she knew she meant well. But Anna didn’t know the side of the Duke that Iris did. She hadn’t seen the way he’d burst into the parlor earlier, declaring that her sister wouldn’t marry Lord Redfield. She hadn’t felt his strong arms around her as she’d fussed over his injuries…
