Page 48 of His Ruined Duchess

“Did… did you have another alternative you wished to bring forth?”

What was she doing? Why was she asking him that? It was a terrible idea, putting too many unwise thoughts in both their heads. Hugh stared directly at her for several heartbeats, each one becoming more desperate than the last as the quiet proceeded. Words unspoken lingered in his gaze, and unaware that she was doing so, Selina took several steps closer to him.

His lips parted softly, as if he might speak, but the sound was still caught in his throat. Hugh ran his gaze over her face, the intensity of his eyes burning her flesh wherever they landed.

Selina remembered the incidents that had taken place in this room. She recalled the theater and how Hugh had excited her to the point of completion while she sat right next to her mother, her soon-to-be fiancé in the seat over. The feeling of his touch haunted her skin, goosebumps rising to the surface as they remained frozen in each other’s stares.

The desire for tears and furious heartbeats plagued her. What did Selina want from all this? What did she want from Hugh?

She could not bring herself to answer those questions. Too much could be steered off course by her previous rash actions. Selina didn’t dare risk another. Yet, something within her still called out silently for Hugh—a thread of shimmering red, only perceptible to heavenly eyes, that wound between them and would not let go.

Hugh blinked, seeming to catch himself in the act of staring at last. He quietly stepped back, his gaze dropping to the ground. At once, the aura around him shifted from charged to defeated.

“No.”

It was all he said in response to her, and Hugh did not look up from the floor. Pain lanced through Selina’s chest, a fissure appearing in the center of her being.

She was heartbroken.

A subconscious part of her had hoped he would say yes, that he would have another plan that might involve himself. The realization that she felt that way was only followed by the grief and disappointment she had come to see as constant bedfellows in her life. Duty and presentation took precedence, and it would remain that way, it seemed, until the day she claimed her last breath.

It had been foolish to think that she could seize a forbidden happiness. The was no life of passion with the man before her. There was only her obligation to her family, and the weight of caring for them forever mounted to her shoulders.

“Then, I shall proceed with the courting, ensuring that Magnus is willing to take in my family as well. There… there is space for them, so it should not be an issue.”

Hugh said nothing, but a single nod barely moved his head.

With her throat tightening and her chest aching, Selina turned away from Hugh and left the study behind her.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Thank you, Magnus.” Selina took the cup of tea, cradling it gently as she sat on the settee in the drawing room. He nodded, giving a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. That was hardly a surprise, however. Magnus had always been a rather stoic and obsessively even-keeled man. In fact, she could not remember a time when she saw the Duke of Aldworth more animated than he was when Ethel was around, provoking him.

And she had still not returned.

“You are quite welcome, Selina.”

She grinned back, bringing the teacup to her mouth and sipping gently. They’d returned to calling each other by their given names, the next level of courting beginning with this intimate teatime. Bridget still remained as chaperone, taking up the seat by the fire, but it was only the three of them now.

Hugh was nowhere in sight.

As she enjoyed the drink, sweetened just to her liking, Selina found herself staring at the empty corner of the room where Hugh would have been standing had he been there. So much about this afternoon’s meeting was quieter than any of the others. She found herself unwilling to fill the silence with idle small talk, even as she knew she should.

Magnus took his seat in the chair across from the settee after pouring himself some of the tea.Hewas not acting out of the ordinary of course. He remained as he always did, polite if reserved and detached. Still, that was like him. This was merely a business arrangement to the Duke, and while Easton might have sought to be warm and sociable to ease Selina’s worries in those first days of their arrangement, Magnus remained cold and calculating.

Silence descended upon the room, and Selina could even hear her mother stifle a yawn. It was too warm and quiet in the space to encourage her mother to remain conscious. With a sigh, Selina sipped at her tea once more, her eyes flicking to the closed door of the drawing room. Would Hugh enter at all today, or was he finished dogging her every interaction with Magnus?

“You have eyed that door several times, Selina.” She flicked her eyes up to Magnus, nearly choking on her mouthful of tea as his words startled her. “I dare say that you have stared at it and the corner of the room as if you are expecting to suddenly see them occupied.”

Embarrassment heated her cheeks, and Selina forced herself to remain steady as she set down her teacup on the small table in front of the settee.

“Apologies, Magnus. I will admit that I am a touch distracted. I assure you that it has nothing to do with you. You have been a lovely companion for tea.”

He narrowed his eyes at her before glancing over at Bridget, who had indeed fallen asleep in her chair with her teacup drained and perched precariously on her lap. Standing, Magnus retrieved the cup and set it atop the fireplace mantle. When her mother did not stir, he proceeded back to the settee and sat down next to Selina.

Keeping his voice low and even, Magnus said, “I have also noticed that the Duke has not been in attendance today. I can only assume that you have been looking forhimto come through that door and take up his place, brooding in the corner, yes?”

Selina was mortified. She had thought that she had maintained a level of secrecy regarding her feelings, but apparently, Magnus had noticed that the two of them stared at each other, bickering quietly, more often than not.

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