Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Evie found it quite fortunate that breakfasts in the city were held much later compared to the country. Otherwise, she never would have found the strength to crawl out of bed after spending the better part of her night tossing and turning, wondering what else Daniel might command her to do.

She honestly did not know why that idea sent a shiver down her spine.

“Oh, Evie, darling! There you are!” her grandmother called out with a smile that was much too bright for Evie’s tastes.

Lady Wellington set aside her fork as she bid her to sit by her side.

Opposite her grandmother, the Dowager Duchess of Ashton smiled serenely at her as she sipped her tea. At the head of the table, Daniel sat wordlessly, muttering a soft grunt when Evie took her place beside her grandmother.

Nothing unusual there. He never participates in conversations between women, anyway.

As she reached for a plate of freshly baked rolls, she stole a glance at him. Dressed in a fresh linen shirt, he looked the very picture of a wealthy English nobleman languidly enjoying his breakfast while the womenfolk of his household fluttered uselessly about him like butterflies.

Evie fought the scowl that threatened to break through her facade and forced a smile as she buttered her bread and listened to her grandmother and the Dowager Duchess chatter excitedly about the opera to be held next week.

“I heard that Miss Mallory will be singing the aria,” the Dowager Duchess remarked. “I must say, I have never come across someone as talented as her in a long while.”

“That is quite true.” Lady Wellington nodded slightly in agreement. “All these new singers coming along and they simply cannot compare.”

Evie stole a look at the stoic man who had turned his attention to the morning paper. Every once in a while, he would pause to take a sip from that wickedly strong coffee that was brewed especially for him in the morning.

She could not detect the slightest inflection from him. Not even a faint quiver.

His ability to remain unfazed is truly admirable.

She would have thought that he would show at least the slightest reaction. After all, it had been widely rumored once that Miss Mallory was his paramour.

“How I wish dear Colin would return soon,” Evie heard her grandmother sigh. “Then, I can hold another house party. These things have always been so entertaining, especially for one at my age.”

“Not to mention that it resulted in one of the most talked about matches of the last Season.” The Dowager Duchess smiled in agreement. “Would you not agree to that, my dear?”

The last question had been aimed at Daniel.

Evie surreptitiously watched him from beneath her lashes as she pretended to be wholly engrossed with the business of stirring the exact amount of sugar into her tea. She noted the minute changes flashing through his dark eyes as he casually set the paper aside.

“Indeed,” he bit out. “We are all looking forward to dear Colin’s return.”

He was staring at her so intensely that Evie could not trust herself to reply to that particular remark. Instead, she chose to simply let his comment roll over her as she nodded slightly and sipped her tea.

I should have added more sugar to it.

She was extremely proud of herself, as she did not deign to reply, choosing to merely smile and nod slightly as if to acknowledge that he had said something.

“Ladies, excuse me,” she heard him say in a low growl. “If anyone has need of me, I shall be in my study.”

Evie nearly laughed when the Dowager Duchess simply looked at him and, with a serene smile, said, “Oh, we would not think of disturbing you, my dear. You can leave us ladies to our own devices…”

As Daniel walked out of the breakfast hall, Evie could not help but gain a new level of admiration for the older woman.

Truly, it must take such great strength to be able to live with Daniel Stanton under one roof and not lose her sanity in the process.

In Society, if such a thing was never mentioned, then it could be considered as never having happened. After all, everyone loved to talk dearly, especially about other people’s business, so for a matter to not even merit a mention, then it was as good as having been efficiently swept under a rug.

Or so Evie had supposed as she sat in the parlor with an almost dazed expression on her face.

Across from her, Phoebe peered at her over her cup with a worried look on her pretty features.

“Dear Evie, have I called on you at an inopportune time?” she asked in concern. “Perhaps I was too early…”

Evie shook her head and reached out to clasp her friend’s hand in reassurance. “No, no, no.” She smiled. “I… was simply lost in my thoughts for a moment.”

Phoebe was probably much too polite to mention that she looked as if she had not had a wink of sleep the entire night—which was true, though.

Evie had spent the better part of her time in bed, tossing and turning. Torn between demanding more answers to an endless array of questions and doing as Daniel had suggested—to regard it as an unfortunate and unspeakable accident.

In the end, she had decided that if he was going to act like the entire thing did not matter, then she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing how his kiss left her so unsettled.

If only it was that simple.

She did, however, derive some sort of pleasure from seeing him in a bad mood that morning—well, worse than his usual, it would seem. At least to her, it looked like she was not the only one so affected by what had transpired between them.

A kiss, Evie, she reminded herself. It was a kiss, and you would do better to call it by its proper name.

A searing, toe-curling kiss that left her breathless even now, sitting in a sunlit parlor, sipping tea with her closest friend in all of London.

Phoebe let out a soft sigh and smiled slightly. “I had thought… well, I had thought that perhaps His Grace was cross with you. That he might have…”

She pursed her lips and did not finish her sentence.

“Not at all.” Evie shook her head. “He might be… a little difficult to get along with, but nothing so grave as what you are possibly thinking.”

Phoebe blushed slightly and looked down, although she looked slightly mollified by the reassurance that Evie was doing well, considering the circumstances.

Inwardly, Evie could only blame Daniel for her friend’s concern. He certainly did not have a reputation for being warm and congenial. In fact, he was mostly cold and hostile to anyone who dared to approach him. Even the most ambitious mamas steered clear of the Duke of Ashton and his forbidding presence.

Only the foolish ones dared approach him. I suppose I must be more foolish than most…

“I must say, I never thought I would see the interior of Ashton Hall,” Phoebe said softly. “His Grace normally does not welcome callers.”

Evie paused in the act of pouring herself more tea. “He does not? But certainly, the Dowager Duchess must have callers.”

Phoebe shook her head gently. “Her Grace receives visitors at a different residence. It is indeed an astounding concession that His Grace has allowed you to accept visitors here.”

And I am supposed to be grateful for his bountiful grace?

Evie scrunched up her nose.

It was more likely that Daniel allowed her to receive callers at Ashton Hall, not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he wanted to keep an eye on who was calling on her.

Which brought to mind another question—why were her gentlemen callers so drastically reduced? Had it been at Blackthorn Estate, the parlor would have been bustling with activity already.

If someone said that Daniel had nothing to do with the scarcity of her visitors, Evie would not have believed it.

“Perhaps they are simply afraid of him.” She shrugged. “Who could blame them? He can most certainly be quite vexing.”

“Vexing might not actually be the term I would use.” Phoebe smiled demurely. “His Grace is rather… forbidding.”

Evie snorted at that. Forbidding was putting it lightly—the man was a walking thundercloud. How he ever became friends with her brother was a total mystery to her.

How Colin could ever think that it was a good idea to entrust her to him was even more unfathomable. Love must have seriously altered her brother so much for him to have considered such a thing.

“Well, you have been fortunate to not spend a significant amount of time in his presence,” Evie reasoned. “But it is nothing that I cannot handle, in any case.”

“You truly are extremely brave.” Her friend shot her a hesitant smile. “Alice was exactly the same.”

Evie could not help but laugh a little at the mention of her resolute sister-in-law, who was also Phoebe’s older sister. In her case, however, she simply had to deal with Colin’s stubbornness.

Daniel was a whole different category.

“As long as you say that nothing is amiss, I shall believe you.” Phoebe set her cup down and delicately wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Well, I shall not take up all of your time, dearest. Besides, you know how Mama gets absolutely worried every time I go out…”

With one daughter making one of the most successful matches last Season, it was perfectly understandable for the Marchioness of Brandon to be so fretful.

Evie laughed and accompanied her friend to the door. “And I shall not keep you overlong, lest Lady Brandon should find some fault in our friendship. Will you be attending the opera next week?”

Phoebe nodded. “Mama insists that I should not miss it.”

“Of course.”

“By the way…” Her friend looked at her hesitantly. “Scarlett and I are going to the park tomorrow to promenade. You should come with us, Evie. It is so much better with you.”

Evie nodded and smiled. “All right. I shall be there tomorrow.”

The two young ladies exchanged a few more pleasantries before Phoebe finally boarded her carriage, with her maid trailing after her.

Evie was still smiling when she closed the door. However, when she turned around, she could not help but let out a short scream.

Standing just a short distance from her was none other than Daniel himself. He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered at her.

“Going somewhere?”

Evie lifted her chin in defiance. “That is none of your business.”

“On the contrary, sweetheart, it is very much my business⁠—”

“I know, I know!” Evie threw her hands up in frustration. “My foolish brother left me in your care.”

He snorted. “Seeing as you are well aware of it, I shall ask you again—where are you going?”

“Nowhere.” She glared at him. “With you breathing down my neck at every opportunity, how am I supposed to go anywhere? I will have no future, no prospects—nothing.”

“Good.”

Evie felt like exploding. The man was not only insufferable, but he was also determined to ruin her life!

“Good? What is so good about that?” she all but screeched.

“The more you stay out of trouble, the easier it will be for you and me.”

She could not believe what she was hearing from him.

“Why do you insist so much on getting in my way?” she asked him.

He only raised his eyebrow at her and replied coolly, “Because, apparently, you do not know what is good for you.”

“If you know what is good for you,” she seethed, “then you should know that you cannot control me, Your Grace!”

With that, she stomped off in the direction of her rooms and slammed the door shut behind her.

Even Colin had not meddled so much in her business. Besides, she had her grandmother or her maid to accompany her at all times, and her reputation was spotless.

But Daniel, it would seem, was hellbent on making her a spinster!

Evie could not, would not allow such a thing to happen!

The Duke of Ashton would soon find out that she was not like the other women he was used to ordering around. She was not going to allow him to walk all over her.

Even if his kiss made her weak in the knees just thinking about it.

Now more than ever, she was determined to thwart his controlling behavior.