Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

A fter Louise and Marcus had left for their promenade, Christian sat in his study and seethed. Every thought in his head drifted to them walking hand in hand around the park, the whole of London laughing at him because she had so fooled him when, in truth, she was in love with his brother.

He was pulled out of his thoughts, however, when something fell from his desk. Turning away from the window, he saw Jack lying on his desk, pawing at his quill and trying to push the inkwell over the edge.

“Would you desist !” Christian said with exasperation, picking the kitten up from his desk and looking at the devastation in his wake.

Jack had chewed on a bundle of parchment, tiny teeth marks now showing on the edges of the document the solicitor had sent Christian.

Christian glowered down at the kitten, who looked up at him balefully and mewed loudly.

“Why are you eating paper?” he asked reluctantly. The kitten was far more adorable than he had initially given it credit for. “Are you hungry?”

To prevent Jack from destroying any more of his affairs, he left his study and headed to the library, where he rang the bell. He placed the kitten on the rug beside the fire, where he proceeded to leap on a spider that was scurrying for cover under a chair.

A footman soon arrived, and he looked down at the kitten in an arch manner that Christian could wholly sympathize with.

“Could you please have some food brought for this creature?” Christian asked irritably. “It is driving me to distraction.”

“Of course, Your Grace,” the footman replied dutifully before leaving the room.

“You are a menace,” Christian growled down at Jack, but the words died in his throat as he realized the kitten had disappeared. “I am not crouching on the floor to look for you, so you had better come out this instant.”

He waited, but there was no movement beneath the chair.

Lord knows what Louise will do to me if I lose the damn thing.

Groaning, he bent down and knelt on the rug, lowering himself so that he could look beneath the chair. The kitten was sitting right in the center beneath the low-hanging fabric, staring at Christian as though he had forced him to hide there.

Christian sighed, extending his arm underneath the chair to try and retrieve him.

“Whatever are you doing, old man?” a voice drawled beside him.

Christian knocked his head violently against the wooden base of the chair as he tried to retreat.

“Goddammit,” he growled as he drew back and looked up at Gabriel’s very amused face. Gabriel was holding a plate of fish in one hand.

“Traditionally, one does not barge into a man’s library without a warning,” Christian muttered as Jack, having smelled the fish, trotted out happily.

Gabriel put the plate on the rug, and the cat began to eat the fish with relish, his little purrs filling the room. He watched him with what could almost be adoration on his face.

“I did not wish to disturb your game,” he replied.

“It was not a game. The creature is intentionally tormenting me.”

“I can see that. Very fierce, indeed,” Gabriel mused.

“Not that I do not always enjoy your company,” Christian said as he rose to his feet. “But what are you doing here?”

“I came to see if you had followed up on the list I gave you of our members’ outstanding payments. I know you prefer to deal with such things yourself, but you have been somewhat distracted of late. I had intended to offer to take the burdensome task off your shoulders so you can concentrate on your wife.”

Christian scowled at him. “Yes. I sent the letters this morning, as a matter of fact. I am sure they will pay up forthwith—they usually do.” He brushed his hands over his knees, frowning at the dust that had accumulated there, and looked up at his friend as an idea occurred to him. “Seeing as you are here, however, we are going to Hyde Park.”

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. “Whatever for? I do not wish to catch anyone’s eye. Promenading is almost as bad as a ball, and I have had my fill of tedious conversations for the week.”

“ You will not be required to speak to anyone. But you will be accompanying me.”

“And where is your lady wife? Can you not take her with you?”

Christian’s neck flushed slightly as Gabriel’s dark eyes danced with humor.

“My, my, we are under the thumb. Why has she gone to Hyde Park, if I may ask?”

Christian stalked past him and out of the library, instructing a servant to watch the kitten while he was away. Gabriel followed at a leisurely pace, watching him with amusement as he put on his gloves and hat, which the butler had obediently brought over.

“She is with my brother. Are we going or not?” Christian snapped.

“You cannot go alone? Are you afraid you might look desperate for her attention?”

“You are insufferable this morning, I see,” Christian grumbled.

“Hmm. All right, I will go with you,” Gabriel relented with a long-suffering sigh. “But you owe me a favor. If I get approached by any ladies, you will buy me a case of that whiskey I had at your wedding. I declare it is the best I have had in an age.”

“You can have a bottle of it if that happens, but I am not buying you a case. Besides, I shall protect you from the marriage mart.”

Christian marched out of the house, knowing his friend was following him from the gentle chuckle that drifted through the air.

Has Hyde Park doubled in size?

Christian looked around him in frustration. There seemed to be twice the number of trees he could recall and far too many places for couples to be seen and not heard. His agitation was growing, and he was desperate to find his wife.

Gabriel looked unfairly put together, looking around them with a steady eye. They were drawing a fair amount of attention, and Christian was once again relieved that he was married. He would definitely have to buy Gabriel that bottle of whisky he had demanded—there were already a number of ladies looking curiously in their direction.

“There!” Gabriel said suddenly. “By the lake.”

Christian turned to look, and his heart kicked against his ribs as he recognized Louise’s curvaceous figure and his brother’s thin form beside the water’s edge.

He set off at a fast pace while keeping her in sight, and Gabriel had to jog to keep up with him. As they approached them, Christian’s blood began to boil at the way she easily laughed with his brother. Her eyes were focused on Marcus, and he could hear her speaking about her book with great enthusiasm.

“And just as I promised, you shall be the first person to see it,” she said, looking up at Marcus admiringly.

Marcus grinned, his white teeth flashing, looking unfairly handsome despite his poor health. “I am truly privileged, in that case.”

Privileged and in a position that is superior to her own husband’s!

“Indeed,” Christian bit out, his temper rising. “You are very much privileged, it would seem.”

Louise and Marcus turned toward him in surprise, and two things happened simultaneously—Louise’s eyes flashed with anger, and Marcus rolled his eyes, which only made Christian’s irritation spike all the more.

“Christian!” Louise gasped in surprise, before curtsying to Gabriel, who bowed in return. “Duke,” she said easily. “I did not know I would be seeing you both today.”

Her eyes darted from Christian to Gabriel and back again, and Christian tried to keep his face as blank as possible.

You are a fool to have come here. What did you expect to happen as a result? You simply look infatuated.

Gabriel bowed before stepping forward and extending his hand toward Marcus. “Lord Marcus, I cannot tell you how glad I am to see you among us again.” His voice, which was often cold, held an unfamiliar timbre.

Marcus smiled at him warmly as the two men shook hands.

“I am most pleased to see you well and returned to the bosom of your family,” Gabriel added.

Marcus nodded. “I, too, am glad to be home, Your Grace. Has Orions fallen apart in my absence?”

“Very much so,” Gabriel joked. “I have several documents that I need you to review. We cannot be trusted with anything.”

Marcus snorted. “I am looking forward to returning as soon as I can. I have missed the place.”

“You have been missed,” Gabriel said. “Ensure that you are fully recovered before coming back.”

Then, he stepped aside, the affection and kindness in his expression fading away as his usual strict mask slid back on.

“I did not know you were coming to the park today, husband,” Louise said, her expression cold.

“No. I had not intended it, but Gabriel insisted that he needed some exercise,” Christian answered blithely.

Gabriel made a noise in the back of his throat at that.

“Well then,” Louise said icily, “we should make sure that he gets some.”

With that, she held out her arm to Christian, and he took it without question.

They walked a little way ahead of Gabriel and Marcus as the two men began to converse about Marcus’s absence and how things had been at the club.

“You are being ridiculous,” Louise hissed, perfectly summing up Christian’s feelings about himself and triggering his anger all the same.

“Of what are you speaking? Is it so unusual for a man to wish to spend time with his wife?”

“It is unusual for him to follow her when she is spending time with his brother . I have told you there is nothing between us. Do you not believe me? Considering that this marriage is nothing more than a convenient arrangement, I am amazed you are here at all.”

Christian tensed. “Marcus may have returned to us, but we still do not know the circumstances of his disappearance.”

“Which he can tell you about. You no longer need me or my father for that purpose. It would be best if we spend as little time as possible with one another from now on, just as you originally intended.”

“You forget, my sweet, that you and I have an agreement. And I am eager to honor it.”

“We are only four days into that agreement,” Louise protested.

“Indeed,” Christian muttered, the certainty of his next decision settling deep within him as he looked down at her beautiful face. “And I am pushing it forward. I am tired of these games, Duchess. I expect you in my chambers tonight, and I will be most displeased if I am kept waiting.”