Chapter 6

Chapter Six

F or two days Aurelia kept to herself and interacted minimally with certain staff members. After her breakfast encounter with the Duke she had taken to eating alone in her chambers. The way he had touched her made her worry that she would be unable to resist him if it happened again.

He infuriated her with his need for control, but that same control had filled her with desire when he had backed her up against the wall.

What is wrong with me?

She racked her brain for an answer as she strolled through the gardens and allowed herself to catch her breath amongst the many rows of heavily scented flowers.

Her heart was heavy with a sudden sadness as she thought of her father. Why hadn't he written to her yet?

Suddenly, an arrow whizzed through the air above her head just as the tips of her fingers touched the petals of a lavender bush.

"What the devil?" She jumped back and looked around as she tried to ascertain where the offending shot had originated.

Shouts of triumph and laughter rang through the air as she was nearly run over by a young boy who clearly was not watching where he was going.

"Your Grace! I am so sorry." The scraggly lad with dirty clothes and an even dirtier face bowed repeatedly as he backed away from her. "I did not see you there. Please do not tell His Grace that I almost ran you over! I have lost his lucky arrow!"

The boy backed away even further, his eyes trained on the grass until he nearly fell into a flowerbed.

Aurelia gave him a moment to catch himself before asking, "His lucky arrow?"

She raised an eyebrow in question and waited patiently for a response.

"Yes, Your Grace. His Grace always practices with his lucky arrow in the afternoons. The arrow was given to His Grace as a gift, Your Grace." The boy almost raised a hand to salute her after explaining.

A deep frown creased her brow. She found it difficult to reconcile the image of the Duke having a lucky arrow with his cold and distant behavior.

"Now, if you would excuse me, Your Grace, I had better find that arrow before His Grace finds it and aims it at me!" The boy grew increasingly flustered and began to hop from foot to foot.

"Go on then." Aurelia dismissed him with a nod over her shoulder.

The boy sprinted away in search of the fabled arrow without so much as a second glance.

Aurelia began to turn toward the house, but curiosity halted her. She had not seen how the Duke spent his afternoons and had never imagined him as someone who would practice archery.

Hugging the line of flowerbeds, she made her way along the trees that bordered the open gardens on the estate. She did not have to go far to find her husband.

He stood feet away from a target and raised his bow in the air, perfectly aligning his elbow with the hand holding the bow before letting it loose. The hot afternoon sun made his white cotton shirt cling to his chest and arms, accentuating his strong muscles. The arrow flew true and struck its target dead center.

Feeling compelled to observe him even closer, she crept forward, using the line of trees as her cover.

How did he miss before?

She found her eyes traveling over his muscular body as if they possessed a mind of their own.

"Did no one ever teach you not to skulk in bushes around a man with a bow and arrow? The consequences could be quite severe if I was to miss the target." Philip dropped his arm, turning to her with a scowl.

"How did you…" Aurelia jumped back. "I mean, if you are so uncertain of your skills, then perhaps you shouldn't practice on an estate where people might be wandering the gardens."

She held her head high and came out of the bushes, feeling certain that she had gained the upper hand despite her spying.

The Duke placed the tip of his bow on the ground beside his boot and rested his arm on the top. "I never miss. The only possibility was that I would have mistaken you for a deer. But then again, you were making so much noise that you might as well have been a rogue bear."

Her cheeks flushed with heat as she glared at him. "So, you never miss?"

"Never." He returned her gaze without blinking.

"I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, Your Grace, but I have evidence that contradicts your claim." Aurelia sauntered closer to him and crossed her arms over her chest, relishing the fact that she was about to prove him wrong.

"Evidence?" His lips curled into an infuriating smirk that she itched to wipe off his face.

"If you never miss, then why is it that your so-called lucky arrow went flying over my head when I happened to be taking a walk?"

She exaggerated for effect, for the arrow had in fact flown above her head at a safe distance.

"I was not aiming at you. If I had, you would be dead." His smug confidence caught her off guard.

Had he been attempting to frighten her? If so, was it all part of his cruel game?

"A loss is better admitted than covered up with a lie, Your Grace. There is no harm in admitting defeat. One cannot always be a master of everything, even with things such as archery."

She kept her cool despite the thudding of her heart. The wild look in his eyes made her nervous, and she regretted her decision to approach him.

"Oh, but I do admit things when I am wrong. I never miss, especially when practicing archery." He placed both hands on the tip of his bow and cocked his head in a challenge.

Aurelia ran her tongue over her lips before tilting her head to the side. "Tell me then, husband, why is it that a boy came rushing into the gardens looking for your arrow? Is there a target that I happened not to see on my walk?" She raised her eyebrows triumphantly.

Suddenly, the boy's voice rang out. "Your Grace, the arrow hit it dead in the head! I cannot believe that you made that shot from such a distance!"

The boy stopped running and bowed his head respectfully before hiding the duck behind his back when he caught sight of Aurelia.

Aurelia turned back to Philip, seething with anger when she realized what he had done. How did he manage to get the better of her no matter what the situation was?

"I simply never miss, wife," Philip reiterated, to her great annoyance.

She jutted her chin and huffed.

Philip let out a laugh and shook his head. "You may take the duck to Mrs. Jarrow, Timothy. We will have it roasted this evening for our dinner."

He shot Aurelia a bemused look as he waited for the boy to leave the arrow at his feet and run off with the duck.

"Poor thing," was all that Aurelia managed to say as a flush crept up the back of her neck.

"Are you referring to yourself or the duck?" Philip asked her with an even more infuriating smirk.

Closing her eyes for a second, she conceded defeat. "Fine. I was wrong. Now if you would excuse me, I would like to continue my walk."

She turned away from him, making an angry face and mimicking him.

"Just a moment, Duchess," Philip called, making her stop in her tracks.

She turned back around and glared at him, losing her temper after such a humiliating defeat. "What is it?" she snapped.

Philip narrowed his eyes at her despite the satisfied smirk on his lips. "I was only going to ask if you wanted to try your hand at shooting a target. Have you ever practiced archery?"

Aurelia was taken aback by his sudden offer, which contrasted markedly with his attitude. Did he suddenly enjoy her presence now that he had proven her wrong? If so, then he was far more sadistic than she had initially thought.

"Unless you don't believe you are up to the task?"

The challenge in his eyes ignited her fighting spirit as she took a step forward and held her hand out for the bow.

The look of surprise in his eyes made her heart skip a beat as he placed the bow in her hand. "Have you shot an arrow before?" He arched an eyebrow.

"Of course, I have," she lied, not wanting to hear him gloat.

Her fingertips brushed against his own for the briefest of seconds as she kept her eyes fixed on the bow, determined not to become distracted.

Walking past him, she retrieved an arrow from the quiver on the ground and fumbled for a few seconds before locking it in place. She took a deep breath and took her stance before letting go of the string.

The arrow whizzed through the air and fell into the grass a few pitiful steps away from the target.

"I'm impressed," the Duke remarked, without a note of sarcasm in his voice. "In all my years, I can honestly say that I have never seen anyone loose an arrow so badly that it landed flat on its side. That must be some kind of skill on its own."

"Right." Aurelia shook her head in frustration and placed the bow on the grass, before heading back toward the house without glancing in his direction.

The Duke stood in her path and placed his hand under her chin, so she was forced to look into his eyes. "I was not mocking you. That was a good start for someone who had never used a bow and arrow in her life."

His words caught her off guard. It was amazing how arrogant he could be one moment and…so caring the next.

"Try again," he said more forcefully, before dropping his hand and stepping aside as he pointed to the bow.

Unsure of how to react, Aurelia did as she was told, picking up the bow and retrieving another arrow. However, she once again missed the target entirely. She was about to give up and go back to the house when Philip placed his hand on her shoulder and angled her body toward the target.

"You need to breathe along with the arrow. You are treating your weapon as a separate piece of equipment, when you need to see it as an extension of yourself."

He reached for another arrow and placed it in the bow for her, before taking up a stance behind her.

Her heart skittered furiously as he pressed himself against her back and pulled her into him with one arm on either side of her body.

"Keep this arm in line with the tip of the arrow. Use it as a guide to make sure that the weapon reaches its target. Sure and true as the breath in your lungs."

He corrected the position of her elbow before curling his fingers around the hand that was holding the string.

Her breathing became heavier as she felt his strong thighs against her hip. His body was strong and muscular, almost as formidable as the bear he had compared her to during their argument.

His breath was closer now, tickling her ear as he lowered his voice. "Use your mouth as an anchor. Place the hand pulling the string against your lips as if you are about to kiss it."

He dropped his hands to her waist, allowing her to take control as he simply guided her.

The feel of his strong hands on her waist nearly caused her to moan as she struggled to focus on the task at hand. Did he have to stand so close to me? Could he not help me from a distance?

His voice drew her out of her thoughts as he applied the slightest amount of pressure to her waist. "Focus on your breathing; you are in control of your body as well as the arrow. No breath can move through your lungs unless you permit it. And likewise, no arrow will miss its mark unless you allow it…"

The Duke's words had a strange calming effect on her as she suddenly found herself being able to focus on nothing other than the task at hand.

"Take a deep breath and release the arrow when you feel that you have given it permission to find its mark," he commanded in a gentle voice that sent shivers of pleasure down her spine.

"You are to obey my orders…"

His words came rushing back to her as she let out a breath, releasing the string at the same time.

The arrow flew through the air, strong and sure as it hit the target just to the side of the bullseye.

"I did it," she breathed.

"You did," he said in a low voice just a breeze picked up, whipping a few strands of her hair about her face.

Who is this man?

Aurelia wondered again about his brother and what had happened between him and her father. Surely a moment such as the one they were sharing could bring them closer to each other.

"Your Grace…I…I was wondering if you would tell me more about your brother and the circumstances that led to his death?"

She reached for a strand of hair that had become caught in her mouth and tucked it behind her ear.

The green in the Duke's eyes darkened until it resembled the color of a deep sea on a stormy night.

"You already know what happened. Your father owed my brother a great debt after being defeated by him in a game of cards. Your father promised him land as payment, and when he failed to follow through on his promise, my brother challenged him to a duel."

Her heart raced uncontrollably at the cool tone of his voice.

"I…I am sorry that your brother lost the duel, but is it right to punish me and my father for it?"

"That duel was rigged. Your father arranged matters so that my brother was bound to lose." The coldness of his voice now turned into a blizzard as the wind picked up.

"How sure are you of the matter?" Aurelia's fingers gripped the bow tightly as she felt her breath catching in her throat.

What evidence could there be in a situation like that? Dueling was a barbaric custom that men with lesser intellect used to settle their disputes.

He said that it was his brother who had laid down the challenge…

Her heart ached again as she thought of the man who had raised her. Someone as kind and caring as her father could not have done the things of which he had been accused. Even though he had accepted the challenge, she was certain of that, if nothing else.

It would take her time, but she would find out the truth in the end.

"There is evidence, but you are not ready to hear the truth. If you cannot see your father for what he truly is, even after he offered you up for his own gain, then there is no use in showing you the truth."

The Duke held her gaze, almost challenging her until she spoke again.

"Will you show me if I ask?"

Her heart yearned for the truth, but her mind was unwilling to accept the fact that her father could have been the one in the wrong.

"You are not ready for the truth," he repeated, clenching his jaw in anger.

"Then why am I even here?" Aurelia lost her patience and tossed the bow aside, staring him down as the wind whipped her dress about her legs.

"Because of your father." The Duke uttered the words as if he were spitting out the venom of a snake, before turning his back on her and heading back to the house.

Aurelia stood there for a while, hugging her waist long after his figure had disappeared into the distance.

She felt utterly conflicted about what to believe.

My father loves me, I am certain of that. But does that make him is incapable of taking another man's life out of greed? How can I choose between the man I have married and the man who has dedicated his life to raising me?

She had no answers.