Page 61 of Taken By the Duke of Stone

"It is different. You have been carrying on behind my back."

"I doubt you would have looked away from Miss Proctor long enough to notice us even if we had been carrying on right in front of you."

Victor's jaw clenched, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what it means. You have had your entire focus on her from the very first moment, and it has blinded you to everything else including the fact that Georgie and I are in love and she's happy."

A thought suddenly struck him, and he froze, hands curling into fists, "Have you taken her innocence? Is she-" he couldn't even get the words past his mouth. The horror of it was too great.

The Viscount's eyes flashed with something that resembled hatred, "Do you think so little of me? I could never do that to her. I would never dishonor a lady in such a way, not to mention Georgie."

Victor tensed, but this time it was with guilt that he tried hard to conceal, because his friend was a much better man than him, "Get out!"

"What did I expect from you?" He scoffed. "You are so hellbent on spending the rest of your life alone that you cannot bear to see someone else happy and in love."

"You bastard," the Duke growled, "get out before I toss you out."

The other man watched him for a second and then sighed. Grabbing his coat and hat he stormed out of the room, leaving a silence that was far more oppressive than their angry exchange of words.

He needed to speak to Georgie. He needed to hear her say with her own mouth that she knew nothing of Patrick's intention to marry her. But when he stepped out of the study, he found his sister weeping into the chest of the man in question.

"It will be alright, darling," Patrick was saying, stroking her back.

"How could he!" was his sister's tearful reply.

"Georgie, come here this instant!" Victor roared, and when his friend made to pull away from the woman in his embrace, she fisted her hands into the front of his chest and held him in place.

"You brute," Georgie turned accusing eyes on him.

"Please, don't," the Viscount said in a defeated voice.

She glared at him, "do you expect that we should just stay silent while he tries to ruin our life?"

"I am doing this for your own good."

Georgie's eyebrows hiked up in disbelief and she rounded on him. "My own good? You do not even know what is good for yourself, so how do you presume to know what is good for someone else?"

His only reply was to shift his gaze to the man behind him. The man who he had thought of as a brother, "I do not like to repeat myself."

Without another word, Patrick turned around and walked out. He didn't watch the man exit. No, his eyes were on his sister and he watched her forlorn gaze track the Viscount's exit.

"I will never forgive you," she didn't scream at him, but the words made him flinch anyway.

"He's no good for you," he tried to explain. "Up until a while ago, he was firmly against the idea of marriage."

"He changed. People change. You changed."

He scoffed, "I haven't changed."

"Keep telling yourself that," she scoffed back at him, "I do not care what you tell yourself, brother. What I do care about is you ruining the one good thing in my life. I will not let you destroy this for me. I refuse to let my chance at a great love pass me by because you thought you knew better."

"I know-"

"Nothing!" she screamed at him. "You know absolutely nothing."

And with that, she swept away from him and raced up the stairs, but the sound of her heartbroken sobs still echoed through his skull. Christ, what was it with him and making women cry today?

He decided that it just wasn't his day and he had best get himself to bed and forget about the entire affair. It didn't matter how much his sister cried, he was not going to change his mind about it. He knew the sort of man Patrick was and despite his heartfelt speech, there was no way his friend had done such a huge turnaround and decided to advocate for love.

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