Page 25 of Dukes for Dessert

He was too serene, too prideful. Sophie narrowed her eyes as her heart began to pound. “What did you do?”

“Me?” David pressed a hand to his chest. “Why should I have anything to do with it?”

Sophie gripped the edge of the table. “You disappear to London and claim you won’t return, then you pop up again announcing that my marriage will be annulled, when neither my husband nor his solicitors have ever mentioned any such possibility. I can’t help but think this is down to you.”

“Exactly.” Uncle Lucas fixed him with a stern gaze. “Explain yourself, my boy.”

David lifted his teacup, glanced at the tea inside, then set the cup down and pulled out a silver flask. “I thought you’d be pleased.” He dolloped whisky into the teacup and tucked away the flask.

“I asked you not to interfere,” Sophie said in a hard voice. “Begged you, as I recall.”

“As did I,” Uncle Lucas put in. “Your name attached to Sophie’s will cause her even more scandal.”

“Worry not, my friends.” David sipped his doctored tea. “My name will not come up in this business at all. I do know how to go about these things. Please do not tell me you’d prefer a divorce, dear lady. An annulment is embarrassing, of course, but nothing that won’t blow over.”

“I will be ruined all the same.” Sophie’s cheeks went hot. “If the marriage is declared invalid, I will have been living with a man not my husband.”

Sharing his bed, she meant, but could not bring herself to say. Not that Laurie had touched her after the first few years of their marriage. When Sophie hadn’t conceived, he’d sought entertainment elsewhere.

David wore an odd smile. “I don’t believe so. You might be the object of pity, but you’ll weather it.” He had a smug gleam in his eyes, very pleased with himself.

Sophie wasn’t certain whether to laugh, scold, or throw up her hands and flee the room. She chose to remain quiet, retrieve the fallen sponge cake, and put it out of the way on a plate.

The discussion was nonsense, in any case. David could not change the world, or Laurie, no matter what he thought. There were no grounds for annulment, and the divorce would continue. Laurie was a spoiled man and would have his own way.

The situation was impossible, even for someone as canny as David. All she could hope was that he hadn’t made things worse for her.

She lifted her teacup and glared at David over it. She refused to be a namby-pamby chit in front of David about all this. She’d secured her future as Uncle’s secretary, and she’d have a fine time.

His look turned puzzled at her resolve, but he shrugged and lifted a profiterole—a puff pastry bursting with cream—and took a bite, cream sliding across his lips.

“Mmm.” David closed his eyes as he swiped up the cream with his tongue. “You’ve outdone yourself, Mrs. Corcoran,” he called out the open door.

“Go on with you,” Mrs. Corcoran’s good-natured voice floated back.

Sophie couldn’t move as David drew his tongue over his lips, licking the cream into his mouth. He opened his eyes to look directly at Sophie, and her blood burned.

She glanced quickly at Uncle Lucas, but he’d become absorbed in his notes on the dig while absently shoving cakes into his mouth.

David swallowed. “These truly are most excellent.”

He smiled across the table at Sophie, challenging her. He expected her to wilt at his sensuality, she realized, to fall under the table at his feet as she suspected many women did.

Blasted man. Sophie snatched a profiterole from the three-tiered tray and quickly stuffed the whole thing into her mouth.

A mistake. Cream gushed from her lips, and Sophie coughed. She snatched up her napkin and coughed into it, her face scalding. Silly Sophie, choking on a puff pastry to show a gentleman she cared nothing for him.

David was off his chair and around to hers, pounding her on the back. Uncle looked up from his notebook in concern.

Sophie wiped cream from her mouth and tears from her eyes. “I am well.” Her voice was a hoarse gasp.

David dropped into the empty chair next to her, his warmth too close. “Are you certain? Cream puffs can be deadly.”

Sophie patted her mouth with the napkin. “Don’t be absurd.”

Uncle, seeing she was truly all right, went back to his notes with a chuckle. “Deadly cream puffs, indeed.”

“Try another.” David plucked one from the tray. “A small bite. They are quite delicious.”

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