Page 32 of A Deal with her Forbidden Duke
Not to mention he was struggling more to resist kissing her, and she had pulled away from him. He did not want to overstep, even if he understood the desire with which she looked at him.
Kinsfeld does not deserve you.Kinsfeld is a fool to ever give you up.
But the more he searched the crowd, the more he came up empty. Madeleine was not there, and the only glimpses of blonde hair he got were women who flounced themselves before him in the hopes of being noticed by a duke.
He paid them no mind. The only woman he would dance with was not present.
He briefly considered leaving the host’s estate but he paused. There was another group of lords and ladies who beckoned him over to talk. There was the Lord and Lady of Inglebury, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Kingswell.
“Silverton,” Felix Kingswell greeted him, shaking his hand. “From one duke to another who understands that balls are… rather bothersome, how are you faring tonight?” He laughed jovially.
He and Kingswell went back many years, and had even conducted business together on a few occasions.
“It is rather pleasant, Kingswell, I cannot wait to go home.”
Felix laughed. “That is quite understandable.”
“Good evening, Duchess,” Alexander greeted Felix’s wife, Eloise.
She curtsied. “Your Grace. We were just discussing Lord Kinsfeld.” She looked out at the group, who all looked to Alexander eagerly, awaiting his input.
“What of him?”
“Oh.” Felix frowned, glancing at the Earl of Easthall, whose wife looked panicked. “You do not know the tragic news? Lord Kinsfeld has been found dead.”
Alexander knew it from his investigation, but the confirmation made his stomach drop out of his body.
The Countess of Easthall, whom he’d met at a few balls and knew to be Madeleine’s friend, was pale.
Had she told Madeleine the news?
“How do you know?”
“We saw Kinsfeld’s brother, Mr. Benjamin Cluett, and he told us. He was saying how he will inherit the earl’s title.”
“Has anybody checked on Lady Kinsfeld?” Alexander demanded, looking to Tessa.
She shook her head. “I have not had a chance.”
He did not wait for anybody to say anything else. “Excuse me.”
He wove his way through the crowd, and left the estate, directing his carriage right to Kinsfeld House.
“My lady,” Madeleine’s butler said, as she sat in the music room, looking through some old sheet music that she could not play easily. “Mr. Benjamin Cluett has arrived. He waits for you in the parlor.”
“Thank you,” she said, sighing.
She quickly went to the parlor, facing her husband’s brother. Benjamin was younger than Donald, but they shared the same thick, blonde hair, with brows so pale they barely looked present.
And Madeleine’s stomach dropped, knowing why he was there.
“Benjamin,” she greeted. “It is good to see you.”
“Let us skip the greetings, Lady Kinsfeld,” he responded icily, yet his eyes bore a spark ready to ignite into flame.
“Please, call me Madeleine,” she invited. “We are in-laws, are we not?”
“Not anymore.” His eyes flashed.
