Page 100 of Claimed By the Beastly Duke

He looked relieved. “Alright.”

“Why do you ask?” she inquired.

“Oh!” The relieved look suddenly vanished. “Nothing. I simply wanted to know. I shall leave you to it, then.”

With that, he was gone, leaving her staring after him.

Edwin sighed as he closed his ledger. He had spent all day working—or at least pretending to.

The truth was, he had not been able to get much work done, especially not when he knew that his wife might be in danger if she stepped out of the house.

He was relieved when she confirmed that she had nothing to do in town. However, he knew it was only a matter of time before the urge struck her.

Suddenly, the dinner gong sounded. Great, he needed a distraction from the storm raging inside him anyway.

He went down to the dining room and found his wife already seated. She looked rather regal in her red dress, and she beamed at him as soon as he entered.

“Edwin. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to join me for dinner after all,” she said, a sweet smile on her face.

“Is that so?” Edwin grunted as he took his seat on the other end of the table.

Two footmen served their food, and he immediately tucked in.

“The food is rather delicious, don’t you agree?” Ava asked, breaking the silence that had stretched on for long.

Edwin gave a brief nod. His mouth was full of vegetables, so he could not speak.

Ava heaved a weary sigh and lowered her cutlery to her plate, looking rather downcast.

Edwin quickly chewed on his food and swallowed. “What is the matter?” he asked.

Ava shook her head. “Nothing. I am quite fine, thank you.”

However, Edwin could tell that she was not fine.

“I suppose I don’t know. You left the house, spent the night outside, then returned, and now you have been rather cold,” she remarked.

Now it was Edwin’s turn to set down his cutlery.

“You are right, Ava,” he conceded. “I should have at least told you where I was going. You are my wife, after all.”

Ava’s eyes lit up, and she even smiled. “I was worried when you left and you did not return home. It was even more terrifying because the madman who attacked you at the ball is still out there.”

Edwin understood now. She had been worried for him in the same way he was now worried for her.

“I spent the night with Magnus. I only needed to clear my head.”

Edwin had not lied—not exactly. He had indeed spent the night with Magnus. He simply left out the fact that he had spent it at the gambling hell and not Magnus’s home.

Most members of the ton would not react kindly to Magnus operating a gambling hell, and Edwin simply did not want his wife to know about it.

Ava gave a little smile, and he sighed in relief. His explanation seemed to have eased her mind, at least for the time being.

“Could you please let me know of your whereabouts next time?” she asked.

Edwin nodded somberly. “Certainly.”

“Because when I don’t know where you are, I worry that you may have been attacked or…” she trailed off, looking away.

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