Page 75 of His Forbidden Duchess
Why on earth was he talking to the Duke of Westley about this?
“Oh. I see.” the Duke of Westley looked at Felix. His eyes were dark and unyielding, but as he looked at Felix, there was a touch of kindred sympathy in them.
“Sometimes, Kingswell,” Westley said slowly, his tone firm but also strangely kind, “one must look out for one’s own happiness. Your wife’s brother shall see that too.”
Felix clenched his jaw as he nodded. At first he was grateful for his advice, as he was aware that the Duke of Westley was a perceptive man. However, he also knew that the Duke and his brother-in-law were not that close before the man had gone missing and the Duke proceeded to marry his current wife.
For Felix, it was far more complicated.
Sensing the tension in the air, Percy chimed in, “I have heard that the Duchess is now heavy with child, Your Grace,” he addressed Westley. “Congratulations. It seems there is happiness all around me.”
The Duke of Westley turned to Percy, his infamous mask of cool detachment once again in place. “Thank you, Lord Stentford. Now, gentlemen, if you will excuse me, there is business to which I must attend.”
“Westley,” Felix greeted him with a nod as the other duke walked away.
Felix’s mouth tightened, and for a brief, unguarded moment he imagined Eloise at his side, her hand resting protectively across her stomach.
The image was jarring but somehow entirely right. He looked away, struggling to steady himself as the music wound to an end.
What has gotten into me?
As Eloise and Stephen left the dance floor, he marched over to them, ignoring the calls from Percy.
He would not stand for this man’s impertinence any longer. Eloise belonged to him and no one else.
“Good evening, Your Grace,” Stephen said with a friendly nod. “I was hoping that we would get a chance to?—”
“I need a moment alone with my wife,” he interrupted, his lips tight and his eyes solely on her.
“But if you will only give me?—”
“Now.”
Felix reached out and took Eloise’s hand before Stephen could interject. His fingers wrapped around hers, warm and commanding, as he swiftly led her out of the ballroom and into a quiet corridor nearby.
Eloise stumbled after him, her stride too short to keep up with his long one, and tugged on his arm, trying to release her hand.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Felix! Let me go!” she hissed, trying to yank her arm away. “What on earth has gotten into you?”
Felix’s grip was firm as he guided Eloise down the dimly lit corridor, his jaw set and his eyes hooded. Eloise fought fiercely to twist her arm free, but he refused to release her.
“Felix!” she snapped. “What are you doing? You have ruined a perfectly polite exchange!”
He halted abruptly and turned to face her, his expression so fierce that she took a step backwards. “What were you thinking?” he growled, his voice low with barely restrained fury. “Perfectly polite? You cannot mean that, Eloise Manning.”
“EloiseGreystone,” she said snapped back, but Felix merely glared at her.
“Exactly,” he sneered.
He turned again and resumed pulling her down the corridor, but Eloise would not back down. She stumbled as he pulled, but she continued to yank her arm, indignation and fury also coursing through her veins.
“I was having fun at a social event. Is that not what one is supposed to do at a ball?” Her tone was sharp, and her cheeks were lit with anger and embarrassment. “And I thought we were not meant to care what the other was doing?”
“In private, no, but I will not be made a fool of in public,” he snapped over his shoulder. He narrowed his gaze, incredulous at her imperceptive comments. “Do you really think it is all in good fun to dance with some stranger and allow him put his hands on you?” He spun back around, his presence almost overwhelming. “You aremywife, Eloise. No one else should be touching you, let alone dancing with you.”
Eloise’s heart pounded, but she refused to be intimidated.
