Page 83 of Duke of Destruction
And, standing closer to the door, was the Earl of Crompton.
“Oh, Lord,” Catherine said. “Not him.”
“Who the hell ishim?” Xander asked with the exasperated air of a man who hadn’t the faintest idea of what was going on in his own home.
When the duke entered the room, the earl’s ingratiating smile spread, and he bent into a bow that he no doubt thought was polished and elegant but ultimately just made him look pathetic.
“Harry Crompton, Your Grace,” he said, ducking his head, as if the overblown bow hadn’t been enough. “I am here to ask your sister, Lady Ariadne, for her hand in marriage.”
“Oh, dear,” said Catherine.
And Ariadne—sweet Ariadne, who had been so nervous at her debut that her knees had trembled when she’d been presented to the queen, shy Ariadne, who had seen her Season as an exercise in torture because of all the people looking at her?—
She stamped her foot.
And shouted, “No!”
Xander looked very shocked. And then, when he looked over at the earl, very suspicious.
The Earl of Crompton, for his part, was chuckling, like Ariadne’s outburst was a charming thing that he and Ariadne had dreamed up together.
“Such a spirited lady, your sister,” he said. Catherine had known Ariadne since she’d been a squalling babe, and even then, she hadn’t been particularly spirited. She’d slept through the night in the nursery from her earliest days. Their nannies had been thrilled.
“Ariadne,” Xander said levelly, his eyes still on the earl. “Do you wish to marry this man?”
“No!” Ariadne said again, no less emphatically. It was as though the initial exclamation had shaken something loose inside her. “No, and I have beensopolite in trying to show him that I wasn’t interested. And do you know what? I should have been rude. But he couldn’t have misunderstood me. I simplyrefuseto believe it. And if hedidsomehow misunderstand—well! I would never marry a man so insufferably dense!”
A not insignificant part of Catherine wanted to cheer over this, but perhaps Ariadne wasn’t as committed to rudeness as she professed, for she cleared her throat rapidly.
“Although, I actually think he’s just irksomely determined, not dense,” she admitted. “But either way. I’m not going to marry him.”
Catherine had been watching her sister for all of this, interspersed with the occasional stolen peek at her brother, who was visibly working through deciding how angry he should be. But when she turned to look at the Earl of Crompton, she saw thathehad grown extremely angry, his expression twisting into a furious snarl.
“You littletease,” he snapped at Ariadne. “You think this is a game? You think you can make me look like a fool in front of?—”
That was as far as he got. As soon as the earl had started speaking, Xander had started moving. He’d crossed to the earl and then kept going until the other man was slammed up against the wall.
“I—” said the earl.
“Shut your mouth,” Xander snarled.
“But—”
Catherine disagreed with Ariadne; the earlwasdense.
But perhaps Xander’s swift punch to the gut got the message through.
“Never,” he said while the other man gasped for air, “speak to my sister again. I would tell you never to speak to my sisterlike thatagain, but that won’t be an issue, since you will never speak to—nor even look at—her ever again. And you had best hope that I don’t see you again, because if I do, that punch will look like a mere kiss on the mouth. Do you hear me? You’ll be lucky to make it out alive.”
This was a highly impressive speech, but?—
“Let’s not murder anyone, Xander,” Catherine murmured, placing a hand on her brother’s shoulder.
“Fine,” Xander said through gritted teeth. “I’ll just break his legs.”
Through his gasping, the earl let out a little whimper. Catherine shrugged at Ariadne, who was watching this as if uncertain whether she was delighted or upset.
“You won’t get hanged for that, so, fine,” Catherine said. This was mostly for the earl’s benefit, but, well. She’d had a very challenging week, and it felt good to take it out on someone who deserved it.
