Chapter 10

“Duncan, that was incredible,” Ezra stated, shaking his hand aggressively. “That could not have gone any smoother. I cannot believe the new contracts you got for us on top of everything.”

“It was a great success,” Duncan agreed, accepting his rarely emotional friend’s handshake, happy to see his usually dull gray eyes bright with excitement.

“Alice went above and beyond for this. Please, give her my thanks again.”

She certainly did.

Duncan’s chest swelled with pride in his wife’s accomplishments. Alice’s attention to detail in regard to their guests had been the key to peace in what could have easily become a very volatile visit. The attention she paid to the wives had them at ease and infatuated with her presence, and in a surprise to them all, she had even read into the files on the dignitaries and asked them questions that garnered looks of praise and excited answers.

“I shall be sure to do so,” he assured Ezra, ushering him toward the door.

“And you are bringing her to the party on Saturday?” Ezra asked, making his way out.

Duncan nodded, dreading springing the last-minute information on Alice. She’d worked so hard to make this visit a success, and the last thing she deserved was another whirlwind of days dedicated to preparation. Unfortunately, though, it was an invitation they could not refuse. Her performance had gone so well that her presence had been personally requested.

Duncan waited until his butler shut the front door for a final time before he took a moment to gather himself, then went to look for his wife. It was late, and Ezra was the last to leave from the three-day visit, so he assumed he’d find her in her chambers. To his surprise, he found all of them empty.

“Rebecca,” he called, spotting her handmaid coming down the hallway.

The girl stopped immediately, making a bundle of fresh laundry spill out of her very full basket.

“Apologies,” he murmured, bending down to pick up the fallen pile of garments.

As he lifted them from the ground, Duncan felt a stir of desire as he realized it was one of Alice’s lace kerchiefs. It was white and delicate, barely useful at all for a damp brow. He drew the kerchief to his nose, curious, and when he inhaled softly, he was hit with a bolt of longing.

Alice.It smelled of Alice. Not soap from the wash or country air of the drying lines, but his wife. A scent of warmth and spring so pure that had him closing his eyes. The soft sound of someone clearing their throat had him dragging himself back to reality, and without giving it another thought, he tucked the bit of lace into his pocket as he rose back to his full height.

Rebecca gave him a startled look as he looked down into her eyes, but she quickly pressed her lips together and bowed her head, knowing better than to comment on what she had just seen.

“Have you seen my wife?” he asked her, keeping his deep tone steady as his piercing eyes forced her to look back at him.

“I believe she is in her library, Your Grace,” Rebecca answered without hesitation, her small body trembling beneath his domineering gaze.

Duncan’s mind immediately pictured Alice standing dangerously on that cursed ladder again, one wrong move away from falling, and he felt a surge of anger run through him.

“Thank you,” he said tersely, stepping around the maid.

He heard her let out a breath of relief behind him before she scurried away, and turned his attention to his path.

“If she is on that ladder, I swear to God…” he grumbled angrily, his quick walk turning into purposeful, long sides as his hands clenched into fists.

He opened the library door with force, ready to scale the ladder and drag her down himself, when, to his surprise, he was met with an entirely different scene. The dusty, half-empty, disorganized library had been scrubbed from top to bottom, the rich red oak of the shelves now gleaming brightly in the orange light of the large fire roaring in the massive stone hearth. The books themselves were no longer scattered in messy piles or flopped on any random shelf, but were instead organized by color grade neatly on the shelves, creating a rainbow of titles.

The half-broken furniture and mouse-eaten bear rug had been dragged out, and in its place laid a fine red and dark gold Persian rug beneath plush, luxurious-looking maroon sofas and chairs. On the walls, the rare few that weren’t lined with shelves, the brass lamps had been shined back to life and refilled. Their little dancing flames somehow all undulated in the same rhythm, making the shadows dance in time with the crackling of the wood. Large, potted plants and climbing vines sat in any space that would catch the sun, obviously thriving now that someone was paying attention to them.

Duncan found Alice not perched on a ladder, as he had feared, but she was instead lying comfortably on an array of plush, colorful pillows that covered a window ledge. She must have had a table of some sort built along the ledge, for it now extended out enough to be a bed comfortable for two. On a table by her side sat a nearly full bottle of wine, an untouched glass, and a stack of three books.

She had changed out of her ornate silk emerald gown and into one of her simple nightdresses—a baby blue shift and matching robe, both barely thick enough to cover her naked form. She had also released her dark curls from her classy updo, and they now lay in a long, loose braid over her right shoulder. She looked relaxed, at peace.

Duncan suddenly wondered what it would be like to just crawl in and lay his head on her chest. She would still hold her book in one hand, her eyes still reading the words on the pages as her other hand would come up and run through his hair, then down his back. He thought of what it would be like to let himself fall asleep that way. Sleep, a solace that now eluded him often. But in Alice’s embrace… would he finally get the rest he so badly needed?

He patiently waited for her to notice him, sure that she had heard how loudly he’d flung the door open, but as he stood there, watching her eyes roam hungrily over the pages of her book, he noticed her body had begun to slowly squirm into the pillows, almost unwittingly. Did she not realize that her legs were starting to part? That her back was arching ever so subtly and her breathing had quickened? What was she reading that had her looking so…

A strangled sort of sound erupted from Duncan’s chest as he remembered that he needed to breathe, and it was only then that Alice finally recognized his presence. Slowly, as if not at all disturbed, she looked up from the book and gazed back at him. There was something sensual in the way her green eyes glittered brightly as her lips curled and her head tilted slightly.

“Good evening, Duncan,” she greeted, closing her book.

Alice shifted to her side, her nightgown and robe dipping dangerously, almost revealing her left breast as she put her book on the table and grabbed her glass of wine.

“Good evening,” Duncan managed to return, suddenly forgetting all of his anger and remembering why he was looking for her in the first place.

Thank you, the words are thank you.

“You changed the room,” he said instead, slipping his hands in his pockets as he took a step forward.

His left fist closed around the scrap of lace he’d just stolen, and he felt lust shoot painfully to his groin. Where had she pressed the delicate cloth? To her neck? Her breasts? Had it ever been blessed enough to touch her thighs? Did she like the feel of it against her skin? He suddenly wanted to find out.

“Yes, as I told you I would,” Alice replied, her voice dragging him out of his dark thoughts. “Or have you changed your mind about letting me have it?”

Duncan smirked at her boldness. “Not yet,” he replied in the same tone, tilting his hide slightly as he stared at her steadily.

Another blush rose to her cheeks, and his lips twitched, his smile growing bigger.

“I have no wish to take this room or any other from you,” he continued, giving her a break from his teasing when her brow furrowed. “In fact, I had no idea this library was even here. I know of our larger one, and the private one off my study, but had you not discovered this one, I might have gone all my life knowing it was not here.”

Alice relaxed a little more, then moved a protective hand toward the stack of books on her table.

“And the books?” she asked hopefully. “They are mine to do with as I please?”

Duncan shrugged. They were books. How much trouble could she cause with them? And if he hadn’t missed any of them before, he certainly would not miss them now.

“As you wish,” he agreed.

Alice gave him such a warm, pleased smile that he suddenly wanted to say yes to something else. How could seeing someone else happy make him feel so… eager to please?

“It is beautiful in here, though,” she said with awe, taking a slow look around the room. “Does it not?”

Duncan nodded with a quickness that embarrassed him. “It certainly is,” he agreed, his eyes on her. “You did this yourself?”

Alice’s lips twitched as she gave him a level look. “I supervised,” she replied calmly, “since… someone has insisted that I am a danger to myself.”

Duncan smirked as he caught her mocking tone, annoyed that her response—as well as her obedience—was only driving him further toward madness. He took a deep breath, reminding himself that he was a man capable of control, and pulled a chair over to her. He should leave. Soon. But not yet.

She studied him quietly with a curious look, and once he sat, she offered him her glass of wine. He surprised them both when he took it and drained the glass.

“Are you well, husband?” Alice asked, giving him an amused look.

The wine’s relaxing effects worked just enough to take a sliver of his throbbing lust away, and he nodded.

“I am beyond well,” he replied, feeling more himself as he smiled at her. “All thanks to you. You went above your duties these last few days, Alice. Truly. Even Ezra was impressed, and that rarely happens. You have done the House of Banfield and its allies a great service.”

Unlike the last time Duncan tried to give her a compliment, she did not get angry with him. Instead, a soft look of surprise came over her face, and a small smile touched her lips as she sat up among her pillows.

“You truly think so?” she asked, her eyes shining vulnerably. “I wanted it so badly to go well, but, to be honest, I was a bit nervous I was going to fail.”

“You did so well,” Duncan praised, knowing she’d earned it. “You did not even put yourself in danger in the process.”

He was rewarded with a bigger smile from her. One of self-pride, genuine happiness, and playfulness. He truly wanted to make her smile like that again, he realized, and the thought itself worried him.

What the hell is happening to me?

“I was truly happy to help, Duncan,” she replied sincerely, bowing her head slightly to him. “Please, let me know whenever you need my help. I do not want to be worthless here.”

“You could never be worthless,” Duncan told her, biting down his sudden annoyance as he poured her another glass of wine.

He wasn’t sure why his wife made these little, self-disparaging comments, but he despised them more than he despised her recklessness.

Alice’s eyes stayed on his task, and her lips slowly pressed together as she heard his words. It was only after she’d accepted the refilled wine glass and brought it to her lips that she reverently whispered, “Thank you.”

Duncan nodded silently, studying her for a moment as she sipped her wine slowly. “Why do you talk like this?” he asked, unable to ignore his curiosity anymore.

“Like what?” Alice asked, her eyebrows drawing down.

He smirked at her and rolled his eyes. “You know exactly what I am asking. Why do you talk about yourself like this? Like you are ugly or worthless. I have heard you say these things before, and in truth, I find them most confusing, because you are neither.”

Alice’s cheeks burned a bright red as she brought her glass up to her lips again and took a sip of her wine. “I just know how people see me,” she answered after what seemed like an eternity.

“And how do people see you?” Duncan asked, leaning toward her.

He did not like the tone of her voice—it came far too close to hurt.

A look of pure shame flashed across Alice’s face as her eyes grew glossy for a moment, but then she blinked and it was gone.

“It is a notion you need not concern yourself with,” she replied matter-of-factly, pulling her book back up to her face.

“Do not keep things from me,” he warned, a trace of amusement in his tone as reached for the book to pull it away from her face.

Alice yanked it away from him with a quickness that impressed him, parting her robe even further. Immediately, he was distracted by the glimpse of curves beneath. His hands itched to reach for her. He wanted to pull her toward him and rip the useless fabric off her. He wanted her beneath him. Writhing. Begging. Whispering his name.

Duncan dragged his eyes up to hers and saw that she was smiling at him, her green eyes twinkling with amusement and lust. He knew then if she did or said one more thing that would tempt him, it would be over, and he had no idea what that meant for either of them. But this was lust. Not love. And certainly not romance.

“Is there something else?” Alice asked, the apparent need in her voice dragging his focus back up to her face.

He could tell she was trying to look unaffected by the building heat between them, but he could see that she was failing as miserably as he was.

“There is a ball coming up,” he began, forcing his voice to work and his thoughts to cool down. “As you know, I tend to avoid these things at all costs, but with how successful this visit was, it is somewhat mandatory that we go.”

“I see,” she replied, a whisper of disappointment in her voice. “When is it?”

Duncan gave her a regretful look. “I am afraid that it is the day after tomorrow. It’s dreadfully short notice, I know.”

“Two days?!” Alice screeched, scrambling up to her knees. “That is not enough time! I have to get a dress made, not to mention shoes and?—”

Duncan’s hands wrapped around her upper arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. She stopped talking and looked directly into her husband’s calm expression, and he felt her body begin to relax in his grasp.

“It is inconvenient, I know,” he acknowledged, his deep voice calm. “But I will take care of it. Everything you need shall arrive the morning of.”

“But how?” Alice asked, stuck between staying calm and getting nervous.

Duncan gave her a mischievous grin as he reached a hand up and tenderly cupped her cheek. Her skin felt warm and soft under his palm, and he ached to brush his lips across her tender pink clouds.

“I have my ways,” he assured her, fighting the urge.

Something about the way he said it sent a shiver down Alice’s spine, and her body reminded her just how attracted she was to this man. Duncan seemed to be studying the reddening spots on her cheeks intently, almost as if it pleased him to see her blush so. She could not read his thoughts, but his dark blue eyes told of lustful thoughts trapped inside a troubled mind.

“I shall be happy to attend then,” she assured him, putting her hands on his chest. His grip on her arms immediately loosened, but he didn’t let go, much to her relief.

A look of gratitude filled his blue eyes and she saw his rigid shoulders relax a little as he nodded.

“I am in your debt again, then,” he told her, starting to release her.

Not wanting to let go of her husband without a fight, Alice gripped his shirt and pulled him forward. It was only by her act of surprise that she was able to accomplish her feat, and Duncan fell onto her extended window bed. Using all of her weight, she pushed down on his shoulders and pinned him below her. It was a bold move, one she had no idea she was capable of, but she decided to let this sudden surge of power roll through her.

“It is not a debt,” she told him as he looked up at her with startled eyes. “I am your wife, Duncan. This is what I am supposed to do. I can help with many other things too, if you would just let me.”

An array of emotions flashed in Duncan’s eyes as they darted subtly back and forth, searching for some sort of angle. Distrust, surprise, hurt, yearning—they all took their turn showing themselves through his eyes, and she felt her heart ache for her mysteriously tight-lipped husband.

“I need to handle things on my own as much as I can,” Duncan said at last, his eyes finally settling on imploring understanding. “I cannot get too close to people.”

“Why?” she asked, lowering herself over him.

His breath hitched in his throat as her breasts brushed against his chest, but he made no move to stop her as she slid her entire body next to his, hitching a leg over his hips as one hand stayed on the center of his chest.

“They get hurt,” he rasped, letting his forehead rest against hers as his eyes fluttered shut, showing a rare glimpse of vulnerability. “And I cannot let you get hurt. Not you. Especially not you.”

Alice felt her heart swell and then tear as she heard the fear in her husband’s deep voice. He was trying so hard to hide it, but it was there, buried under his attempt at an emotionless timbre.

“I am not so easily broken as you may think,” she told him, sliding her hand up his neck. “Growth despite negligence is a rather bold feat in itself, and it is one that I have mastered.”

The emotions in Duncan’s eyes turned from interest to distrust to confusion as she caressed the naked part of his jaw just below his mask, and then, with relief, she felt his arms wrap around her back and pull her onto him. Their lips met with a muted passion, a silent understanding that this kiss was an act of solace more than pleasure. For whatever reason it was, though, Alice sank into it and reveled in the way their bodies naturally shifted until it was she who was slightly under him, and it was his hands that were pinning her to the pillows.

Their kiss lasted long, their hands and legs subtly sliding and shifting over one another as they both let their minds go blank. Alice felt her body slowly begin to hum with a new type of pleasure as they allowed themselves to sink deeper into the kiss. Of their own volition, her hips began to undulate slowly against the hard length between his legs. They gasped together at the pleasure, and their lust took over as their bodies locked tighter and began a primal movement all of their own.

Wanting to see all of him, Alice inched her fingers further up his face and attempted to slide off his mask. The small movement worked like the stroke of a quill on a death certificate—the moment Duncan felt the mask being lifted, he pulled away from her. His body flew like a bullet several feet away, both hands covering his face as he seemed to assure himself that his mask was still in place.

“Duncan, I am sorry,” Alice said quickly, reaching for him.

Disappointment filled her as he took a distrusting step back, refusing to come close again. Why had she done that? Why? If she had just left his mask alone…

“Please do not do that again.”

Alice knew it was not a request, but a demand. His deep voice shook with restrained emotion, and she could see his body begin to tremble. She had made a grave mistake.

Alice nodded numbly, not sure what else to do. “I am so sorry,” she repeated, her eyes begging him to look at her.

He would not, though, even when she caught him stealing a glance in her direction.

“I shall see you Saturday evening before the ball,” he told her, rubbing the fingers on each of his hands together anxiously.

“Where are you going?” she asked quickly, disappointment filling her as she watched him leave.

“I need some time to think,” he said over his shoulder. “If there is an emergency, send word with Mr. Fletcher to the club. I’ll be there.”