Page 83 of The Duke's Impossible Deal
“Are you all right?” Tobias asked as soon as Rowen was within earshot.
It had taken all of his willpower not to intervene when he saw her mother corner her. Every instinct had screamed at him to go to her, to protect her. But then she had met his gaze, and he had seen a determination in her eyes that had soothed the wild animal in his chest.
She can do this.
His eyes roamed over Rowen as he ran through a mental catalog of her body language. Her shoulders were relaxed, and she stood tall and proud. Her lips were not curled into a smile, but there was no hint of sadness in her eyes.
“I am fine.” She stopped just in front of him and let out a shaky breath. “In fact, I am better than fine.”
They were standing a little way away from the dance floor, but he could feel the eyes of the other guests on them.
“If you need to leave?—”
“I do not want to. I have no intention of letting my mother spoil an otherwise lovely evening.” Her eyes drifted back to her mother. “I want to dance.”
“Then that is what we shall do.” He held out a hand to her. “Assuming, of course, you wish to dance with me.” He canted his head towards her, a half-smile on his face.
She smiled back. “That would be perfect.”
The softness of her warm hand as she slipped it into his sent gooseflesh across his skin. He led her to the dance floor, all too aware of the eyes on them.
The orchestra burst to life, and they began to dance. The scent of violets filled his senses, and he could feel the warmth of her beneath his hands.
They moved in sync, almost as though they were one body and not two.
“Thank you,” Rowen said after a moment.
Tobias furrowed his brow. “For what?”
Rowen bit her lip, a crease forming on her brow as though she were searching for the right words. “When I was speaking to my mother, there was a moment when I thought you might join us. But you did not.”
“It seemed important to let you do it for yourself.” Tobias shrugged. “You did not need me, so I stayed away.”
His chest squeezed, and he saw a flicker of emotion cross Rowen’s face that he could not quite place.
“I did not need you beside me, that is true. But you gave me the strength to do something I should have done a long time ago.”
“Which is?”
“To see my mother’s true nature.” She let out a long breath, her smile fading. “All my life, she has torn me down, made me feel small and selfish and ugly. Tonight, I understood why. She is frightened and lonely. She thinks that to love someone is to control them.”
“She would have gotten on well with my father. He thought obedience was love.”
Tobias felt the corners of his mouth quirk down. The word ‘father’ tasted bitter on his tongue.
“Perhaps.” Rowen shook her head and let out a bitter laugh. “Though that would require her to change rather a lot aboutherself. She likes to cut people down, to attack rather than to connect.”
“And I suspect you gave her a taste of her own medicine.” Tobias smiled at her. “You have a rather sharp tongue.”
“In the past, I would have. I would have wanted to hurt her the way she hurt me. But tonight…” Rowen sighed. “I just felt sorry for her. It was like I could see all the lies that she had built her life upon. And all I could think was how sad and lonely that would be.”
Tobias’s confusion must have shown on his face, because she added, “That is not to say I forgive her or that I want her in my life. In fact, I know I do not. But I did not need to tear her down. I wished her peace, and I meant it. Whether she chooses to find it is out of my hands.”
“You are a better person than I am, Rowen. I could not have shown such compassion to her.” Tobias’s mind flashed to his father, to the last words he had said to him.
He felt Rowen’s thumb stroke his hand, pulling him back to the present. Her grey eyes glittered in the candlelight, and there was an emotion in them he could not name.
“It is easy to show someone else grace when you have received it.” Rowen’s voice was gentle but firm, her grey eyes serious. “I could see what drove her, and let it go, because of the lo—care I have received from everyone else in my life. Including you.”
