Page 41 of His Forbidden Duchess
“Not at all,” Arabella continued. “Not when one is in love.”
“In love?” Lord Mortcombe’s voice was barely a high squeak, and again, Felix resisted the urge to laugh.
“Why yes, my darling.”
Felix pictured her sidling up to Mortcombe, a hand on his arm, her eyelids batting. Seducing him as Eloise had meant to do.
As Eloise has seduced me.
“Well, thatdoeschange things somewhat,” Lord Peabody said with an air of skepticism. “As we all know, a scandal can always be avoided when one can discern the true intentions behind an act.”
Mortcombe cleared his throat. “Er… ahem. Why… er, yes, of course. Love. We are… in love. Lady Arabella and I… We… are… engaged to be married.”
“Well then,” Lord Peabody said with a clap of his hands. “How delightful. I would say this requires a tipple in celebration. Let us return to the ballroom.”
Felix and Eloise remained perfectly still as they listened to the footsteps and disgruntled voices receding from their hiding place.
Felix let out a long breath when he was perfectly sure they were safe although he did not loosen his hold on Eloise.
Not yet. He needed another moment with her under his control.
He looked into her eyes, but her desire had disappeared, replaced now with a fury that he had not expected. Astonished at her sudden change in demeanor, he abruptly let her go and quickly moved away.
She angrily brushed her skirt down as she glared at him.
“Congratulations. I have lost the bet. Mortcombe is to marry another!” As her voice cracked with emotion, Felix felt his ire rising rapidly.
He raised his eyebrows at her. Of course, she would be annoyed at losing, but why should she care so much about Mortcombe?He was merely a sensible, convenient solution to the problem of marriage, was he not? He was not a true love match for Eloise.
Surely not.
“I am sorry you lost, Eloise,” he tried softly, but she bared her teeth at him in barely controlled rage.
To his surprise, it was not just anger and frustration he saw in her eyes but also fear and sadness. Her chin quaked as though she was about to cry. Felix reached out his hand, wanting more than anything in the world to comfort her, to take away her pain?—
Eloise jerked herself away. “This is about so much more than losing a bet,” she snapped.
And then, with a swish of her gown, she marched into the corridor and back to the ballroom.
Chapter Sixteen
“Istill do not understand why you insisted on leaving so suddenly last night,” Eloise’s mother said the following afternoon as she stirred a fourth lump of sugar into her tea.
Eloise looked off into the distance, not truly hearing her mother or genuinely caring. She would normally reprimand her for taking too much sugar, but even that was too much today. She was exhausted. She had barely slept, and her mind had not stopped racing.
Mortcombe was now engaged, and it wasn’t to her. And then there were the complexities with Felix! It was no wonder Eloise was struggling to focus on anything.
“I mean,really. Is it because you thought Lord Mortcombe had developed affection for you? I know you spent some time together at previous dances, but…”
Eloise blinked slowly and looked at her mother. “I was tired. Nothing more. Please do not make a fuss about something that does not deserve it.”
“I never make a fuss,” Lady Danridge huffed. “You have not touched your tea. It will go cold if you leave it sitting any longer. Do you want some sugar?”
“No.”
Eloise’s reply was firm enough for her mother to remain quiet, at least for a few minutes. During her brief respite from her mother’s chatter, Eloise replayed the events of the previous night in her head.
As soon as Felix had let go of her, she had run to the ballroom her emotions a whirl of confusion and anger. In truth, her tryst with Felix—if that’s what it was—had excited her beyond measure, more than she had even imagined.
