Page 16 of Trapped with the Forbidden Duke
Without another word, he stormed out of the breakfast room. Moments later, the sound of the front door slamming shut rang out, and her heart, as it always did whenever he left in a foul mood, sank.
She wondered what state he would come back in—andwhen. He was prone to staying out for hours, sometimes even a day or two.
And with the Duke present, Nicholas risked a lot if that was what he chose to do to deal with his high emotions.
Edwina turned to the Duke. “What do you think you are doing, provoking him like that?” she hissed.
The Duke only looked her up and down before answering, “No man has the right to speak to you the way he did, questioning your honor. Least of all family.”
She blinked, surprised by his protectiveness. But then she quickly schooled her features.
“And I will not stand by while you treat him as though he is some… some criminal.”
As the Duke stepped closer to her, she was once again captivated by his emerald-green eyes.
“If Nicholas does not change, you will lose everything. Is that what you want?”
The question hung in the air, but Edwina did not answer, for he already knew her response. Instead, she imagined herself as the sort of woman who might get lost in the eyes of the Duke of Stormhold. The sort of woman whocouldseduce rather than hold back. The sort of woman who would not refuse to admit any attraction, who would refuse to be anything other than the good lady her mother had taught her to be.
Yet, she could not look away, and she found herself gravitating closer to him, following the shape of his lips with her eyes as if that alone would help her know how they felt.
No. She pulled herself back from that edge. He was there to help her, nothing more.
Edwina glowered at the Duke before she stalked out of the room, leaving him to his business.
Chapter Six
“Ibelieve I am expected,” Lucien told Lord Stockton’s butler with a sardonic smile.
The man tried to shut the door in his face. It was an admirable effort, but Lucien pushed his way in.
“And if I am not expected, then I should be. You may tell your master that he is lucky I won’t leave his home the way he left mine.”
The butler nodded quickly, silently gesturing for Lucien to follow him. He pointed to the drawing room, and Lucien rounded the doorway with ease.
“Stockton.”
“Ah. Stormhold.”
Walter Davis, the Earl of Stockton, with his graying, thinning hair, lounged back in a square-shaped leather chair, mindlessly sipping brandy.
“I believe my butler was under orders not to let you through my door,” he muttered, fixing Lucien with a glare that did not have the desired effect.
Lucien pretended to brush lint off his jacket, ultimately unbothered. “He tried. I only returned the favor of howyouentered Montgomery Manor—uninvited and intruding.”
Lord Stockton gave a small, harsh laugh. “I see. You have indeed involved yourself with the girl, then. I hoped my little gift proved useful.”
Lucien possessed a lifetime of experience in mastering his expression, so at the mention of Lady Edwina, and Lord Stockton all but admitting to putting them together in the private room, he struggled not to show anything. Yet, his insides burned with rage at the way the man was all but boasting about being a puppeteer.
“Stay away from the Montgomeries,” Lucien warned him.
“Both of them or just the girl?” Lord Stockton asked, grinning cruelly. “Rumors say that her brother is rarely seen around.”
“I have heard that you saw plenty when you entered the home of an unmarried lady—when she was there alone. I imagine that will not do many good things to your reputation.”
Lord Stockton’s face fell. “That is not how it?—”
“Says who?” Lucien drawled. “For soon, the ton will know that I am residing in their home, and I will corroborate the story. That you, Lord Stockton, entered Montgomery Manor uninvited and blackmailed Lady Edwina while she was alone, forcing her into a position most uncomfortable for a lady of her station. Do you make such a habit of that?”
