Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

“ O ne would think that you already knew who I was. You seemed to have formed quite a grand opinion of me for someone who has never met me,” Octavia said.

The pit of her stomach fluttered uncontrollably as she glared at him. His dark hair, piercing green eyes, and rugged handsomeness had often made women of the ton swoon in droves. Yet she could not bring herself to look past his cool indifference. Why was he always so stoic?

Her heart raced with anger and a mixture of confusion as Octavia glared at her future husband. How could her uncle not see how cold he truly was? Her chest rose and fell with every breath as she stood her ground. The man was so infuriating with his attitude of superiority. Yet she could not help but feel drawn in by his eyes.

She attempted to ignore the fluttering sensations in the pit of her stomach. There was no time to be distracted by lust when the man had all but insulted her without even knowing who she really was as a person. They had had not even spoken in the past, yet he had summed her up as a saccharine virgin.

“Were you listening to my private conversations at the door?” Simon’s light green eyes darkened to an almost emerald hue.

The contrasting layers of green reminded her of a stormy sea when the waves raged against one another.

“I hardly think you are in a position to be accusing me of eavesdropping when you were the one dishing out insults as if they were canapés. I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time!”

Heat flooded her cheeks when his eyes swept over her body and rested for a moment on her chest. Biting her lip, she shifted slightly to the side in an attempt to slip his gaze.

“That is no excuse; you were listening to a private conversation, and you should have moved on the second you realized that. And as for your accusation, I was merely speaking in the heat of the moment. I did not…” His words trailed off when Octavia snapped at him, her eyes wild with anger and frustration.

“Spare me your cheap explanations, Your Grace. You owe me no apologies as I will not apologize for simply walking past an open door. This house does not belong to you, nor do you have the right to control my actions.”

She sliced decisively through the air with her hand, unwilling to back down despite the strange feelings that she experienced in his presence.

He has no control over me until we are married.

She felt her pulse racing again when he held her gaze for a little too long. “And I will add that you do not need to worry about my saccharinity, Your Grace. I did not wish to marry such a cold and aloof duke. In fact, I would never have even considered the proposal if it had not been for my cousin and the predicament she now finds herself in. Your brother has made matters difficult for all of us!” She felt her anger flaring again when his eyes darkened.

“My brother? It is not just my brother who is at fault here. Tell me, has your cousin sent word as to her whereabouts yet? If not, I will implore you to keep any accusations to a minimum. As far as I know, there are two parties that have contributed to the downfall of that arrangement. Who is to say that my brother did not find your cousin wanting?” He raised his voice and took a step forward, his tall stature towering over her in the moment.

“I hardly think that my cousin should be found wanting. She more than likely detested the arrangement as much as I detest this one.” She noted the flash of anger in his eyes at her words.

“Do you think that I want to marry you?” The coolness in his voice washed over her like an icy wind.

Feeling her breath catch in her throat, Octavia allowed her eyes to pierce his. “Then perhaps you should use this great control that you seem to have over everything and everyone to find another solution, Your Grace. Perhaps there is a far less saccharine young virgin that you can use as a sacrifice for your brother’s folly.”

Her words seemed to have struck a chord with him as the Duke clenched his jaw, showing the strong line of his jaw in the light of the moon.

There is no use in arguing with him.

Octavia felt her heart fluttering uncontrollably in his presence. Wanting to avoid any further confrontation that Octavia feared would end her snapping, she took a deep breath and pushed past him.

There were many times in her life when she had stood her ground and fought while remaining calm, yet the Duke seemed to bring the worst out in her with little to no effort at all.

“You will be my wife; the arrangements have been made. Neither of us can back our now even if we wanted to. You are mine whether you like it or not…” he growled at her in passing.

The sudden heat in his voice caught her off guard as she failed to notice the step leading back into the house.

Her eyes widened in shock when she felt her foot hooking on the hem of her dress. Panic set in when her arms flailed in the air in search of something to hold onto as she shut her eyes.

Moments seemed to pass when strong hands gripped her waist and kept her suspended above the floor.

“You need to be more careful,” Simon growled under his breath, his hands tightening on her slender waist.

Octavia opened her eyes and lowered her arms to find the brilliant depths of his irises staring into hers.

She was not even sure when and how her body had turned, but she was staring into his eyes as if he were dipping her amidst a waltz.

His face and lips were mere inches from hers as her chest rose and fell in rapid succession. Her cheeks flooded with heat when she realized that she was clutching his arms a little too tightly.

His eyes swept down her face, taking in the slender curve of her neck before lingering on her cleavage that had almost escaped the confines of her corset and undergarments.

“I would not have fallen if you hadn’t unnerved me so,” her voice was breathy and barely audible above a whisper as she felt unable to move beneath his gaze.

The feel of his arms holding her firmly in place sent a shiver of unwanted pleasure down her spine. The visceral response that she seemed to experience in his presence was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

The warmth of his hands moving up her back seeped through the fabric of her dress as he pulled her up straight.

Her lips parted with a gentle gasp when he kept her in place, the tips of his fingers brushing the flesh of her back where the fabric ended. His strong arms seemed to create something of a cage around her waist that warded off the chill from the breeze.

“I hardly think that you can blame me for your clumsiness.” His voice seemed deeper as he leaned in closer with his eyes fixed on her lips.

An almost arcane hunger lingered in his eyes as he tightened his grip. His strong jawline moved a fraction of an inch when his lips parted with a breath.

She suddenly snapped out of her daze and began to panic.

What am I doing?

She gripped his upper arms and pushed him away just as his lips brushed hers. Her sudden gesture seemed to snap him from his daze, and he took a step back and cleared his throat.

“Please excuse me; my godmother will be looking for me soon.” Octavia lifted her dress and rushed past him without waiting for a reply.

Her heart raced almost as fast as her feet carried her away from the Duke of Sunderley, and her thoughts raced just as quickly as she hurried down the hall back to the party.

Never in her life had she been so tempted to allow a man to kiss her. The worst part of the entire experience was that she had wanted to kiss him too. Their lips had come dangerously close to touching before her good sense had kicked in.

I will need to watch myself around him.

What was I thinking?

Simon felt his breathing deepen as he watched Octavia disappear down the hall. Her raven hair and dark dress fluttered behind her as she hurried to close the distance between them.

Everything had happened so fast that he was not quite sure what had happened. One minute he had been reaching for her, and then his lips were almost pressed against his.

I wanted to kiss her.

His body froze in place when he realized that he had not been the only one who seemed to have wanted the kiss. Octavia had not pulled away until the very end, and there was the fluttering of her lashes before she pushed him away.

Was she preparing for the kiss in anticipation?

The sudden thought shocked him almost as much as the realization of his still-present arousal. Shifting his legs, Simon attempted to calm his thoughts and tame the bulge that was pressing against his breeches.

He had been with his fair share of women in the past, albeit far more discreetly than his brother and Arthur. Yet there was something utterly alluring about Octavia that sparked his desires and muddled his mind. He had never had a problem controlling himself when it came to any other woman.

Octavia.

Saying her name had seemed so natural to him that he had not even realized what he was doing. The warmth of her skin still lingered on the tips of his fingers as he balled his hands into fists and unclenched them again. The faint scent of her perfume lingered on his coat as he tried to pinpoint the smell. It was far sweeter than lavender, yet he could not place his finger on it. There were notes of romance and intrigue that reminded him of the night.

“Your Grace?” Lady Trowbridge called to him from somewhere down the hall.

Turning to the side, Simon noticed his friend with his arm draped over his lover’s shoulder. He briefly wondered how much they had seen before Arthur opened his mouth in a drunken slur.

“Was that Lady Octavia that I saw running away just now?” He hiccupped halfway through her name and laughed.

Shaking his head, Simon closed the distance between them and shifted his friend’s weight onto his own shoulders.

His companion gave the Duke a grateful smile as she passed him over as if he were a parcel.

“Do not avoid my question just because I am inebriated. Was that Lady Octavia that we saw rushing past you?” Arthur narrowed his eyes in suspicion while trying to focus on his friend.

The blurriness in his eyes let Simon know that there was still a chance that he could convince him otherwise.

“I think you have had far too many glasses of drink to assume anything right now. How many other hallucinations have you seen this evening?” Simon shifted slightly as he allowed his friend to lean on him.

Arthur’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “That is a good point; I did wonder if Lady Octavia had a twin sister that I was not aware of. I think I had better get some rest. Seeing two women running away from you at the same time did seem like quite a stretch for you. You are not even that handsome.” He looked up at Simon with a sheepish grin.

Lady Trowbridge suppressed a giggle before biting on her lip.

She cannot possibly find this alluring.

Simon resisted the urge to roll his eyes, yet he could not help but notice the warm affection in the widow’s gaze. She seemed to not only flirt with Arthur but to tolerate all of his quirks. Then again, Arthur did possess the innate ability to win anyone over.

“I think we had better exit through the back door. Would you ask one of the footmen to bring the carriage around? I will take him back to my lodgings where he can sleep it off.” Simon asked her respectfully, half dragging his friend past her when Arthur decided to fall asleep.

“I think that is a good idea.” She nodded in agreement with a final glance at Arthur.

The Duke noted her hesitation as she lingered for a moment.

“Is something the matter?” He raised an eyebrow in question.

“I wanted to reassure you that nothing I saw or heard this evening will be remembered. If anything, Arthur has taught me the value of discretion. His present state obviously does not help my point.” She suppressed another giggle when Arthur grumbled in his sleep.

Simon looked at her differently as he realized that she was more than just a silly flirt. She was a woman of good heart who was simply mourning the death of her husband.

“I do think you were wrong, though, judging by what I overheard. Lady Octavia is far more than a saccharine virgin. She will surprise you if you give her half the chance.”

Lady Trowbridge curtsied politely and left as the Duke made his way down the hallway under the weight of Arthur.

Confusion set in once again as Simon watched her leave. Octavia’s response had certainly caught him off guard. He had not realized how strong-willed and fiery she was.

Shifting Arthur’s weight once again, he carried his friend down the hall in the opposite direction.

None of the servants seemed to bother with them as they made their way through passages and out the back door where a carriage was waiting. Simon had barely placed his friend in his seat when Arthur began to sing at the top of his lungs.

“Oh, what I would give for a love like yours! The world would look upon us both with such envy if they knew the sweetness of your skin!” His voice reached an octave that would have made any nearby dogs howl in pain.

“It astounds me how you manage to charm so many women,” Simon grumbled under his breath and shut the carriage door before looking at the driver and signaling for him to move on. “I will get another carriage; take him to my lodgings and instruct the butler to put him to bed.”

The man atop the carriage in dark blue livery nodded his acknowledgment and flicked the reins.

The horses began to move, pulling the carriage behind them as Arthur continued to sing of the sorrows of his heart.

Simon took one last look at the carriage before turning back to the house. He was just about to go back inside when his breath caught in his chest. There in the distance was Lady Octavia entering the carriage with an older woman.

She is leaving already.

His mouth suddenly felt dry as he wondered if she was trying to run away from him. He quickly shook his head and headed back toward the house. Out of everything that had happened between them during the evening, the most surprising of all was the fact that he had felt a pang of disappointment.

Did I want to speak to her again?

He questioned the odd sensations she had awoken in him as he chose a path that would lead him away from the mansion. He needed a moment to compose his thoughts before he could face anyone else.

Roses.

He realized why Lady Octavia had smelled so sweet in his arms almost as soon as he entered the garden.

She smelled like the hundreds of roses glistening with evening dew beneath the light of the moon.

Simon had smelled roses before in his life. But why did her scent stand out so much to him?

And for that reason, he had to stay as far away from her as possible.