Page 62 of A Virgin for the Duke of Scars
Why would she run from him after what they had just done?
More importantly, where would his wife run to that he would not immediately follow?
He followed her at a brisk walk, keeping pace with her to the tree line. Just as he was about to call out to her and grab her to stop her from disappearing into the darkness, she stopped and stooped down.
He grabbed her by the shoulder and jerked her up. “What were you thinking, running during a party like this? You may be married to a duke, but you cannot run from me.”
She smiled up at him as she turned up her hands and opened them.
“I did not run from you,” she said. “I went to rescue this tiny kitten. I heard him mew from the gazebo and could not bear the thought of him being here on his own.”
“You ran from me to rescue akitten?” Aaron scoffed, examining the creature.
He was curled up into a ball in her cupped hands, covered in dirt.
“Please tell me we can take him home with us,” she pleaded, her eyes wide with wonder.
“We rode here, remember? You can’t carry him atop your horse.”
“I will leave him with Juliette and Grandmama. He can ride in the carriage with them. Please, say yes.”
Aaron studied his wife. The color was back in her cheeks, and her eyes were bright.
She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen at that moment. A smile spread across his face at his good fortune.
Why deny her something as small as a kitten that could roam the garden and catch the mice in the stables? She asked for so little from him.
Aaron sighed and reached for the handkerchief in his pocket. He handed it to Theresa, who used it to wipe the mud and dirt from the kitten’s face.
“I will name him Ashball,” she announced. “He shall be my new companion when you are not around.”
“As long as you promise me one thing,” Aaron said. “That you will never run off like that again, no matter the reason.”
“You were so close, and we are in the midst of a party. Whatever do you think could have happened to me?” Theresa laughed.
Aaron gave her a somber look. He laid down so few rules for his wife and her comportment, but this is one he would stand by.
“I do not know. There are too many wolves in theton.”
“Wolves?” Theresa laughed and looked around. “I doubt there are wolves this close to the city. I’d more likely see them in the countryside, near the convent.”
“Do not mistake the city for safety, wife. Most of the wolves here are tame, but you never know who might want to steal a moment with a mesmerizing duchess.”
Theresa blushed at his compliment. How could she still be so sensitive to his praise despite everything they had shared? Piety and modesty must be so deeply ingrained in her.
“The only one I want to spend time with is you,” she said in a soft voice. She lifted her free hand and brushed it along the edge of his mask, this time on the cheek that sustained most of his scars. “I will be careful, even here in the city.”
“That is all I ask of you,” Aaron said.
He lowered her hand from his face, though it was the most tender touch he could have imagined.
How many times had he dreamed that someone would see past his scars to the man beneath?
“Husband, I must confess that this party has exhausted me. Can we please go home?”
They wove their way through the crowd after they handed the kitten to Juliette. Her sister-in-law had been suspicious when they found her, asking where they had stolen off to in the middle of the fireworks show.
“Nowhere special,” Aaron had responded with a shrug and a suggestive look at his wife.
