Page 32 of Trapped with the Forbidden Duke
He had done such things for women before—his cousin Rose most often—but he had never felt this angry, this pressing need to act on his anger.
After a while, Lady Edwina sighed. “Do you always think violence solves everything?”
Lucien could not help but smirk at her. “It worked tonight, did it not?”
Her eyes narrowed, and he found himself weak in the face of the defiance in her eyes.
“It did, but it did not work with Nicholas. If anything, I believe your violence made him sneak out more to avoid you.”
“In fact, it was he who came for me first.”
“So you thought to respond with your fists?”
“Forgive me, My Lady, but when a man wild with hatred comes swinging at you and shows no signs of slowing down, I can hardly say,Oh, please let us discuss over tea, my old friend!”
His sarcastic tone only made Lady Edwina narrow her eyes further.
She shook her head and turned to look out the window.
Lucien sighed. “Lady Edwina, I think it is time we involve the authorities. I have connections within the team of constables, and?—”
“Absolutely not.” Her outright, quick refusal caught him off guard. “No. And I will not hear another word of it.”
Chapter Ten
“Why not? You have constantly rambled about caring for your brother and wishing him to be safe. Why do you refuse the authorities’ help?”
The Duke’s question made Edwina anxious, and she was already riled up enough from the night they had.
“My brother and I have always believed in handling things within the family,” she answered. “We have managed well enough.”
The Duke gave her a sharp look, and she could already feel his judgment. They were not managing at all.
He sighed. “Deal with this situation however you need. But if itdoescontinue, you will understand why I will insist on seeking the authorities’ help.”
Even though Edwina nodded, she swore to herself that she would see her brother safe and freed from his terrible addiction, or at least managing it much more safely, before the Duke intervened.
“Yes,” she finally answered. “I will understand.”
After that, she let silence fall between them. Her mind kept replaying the moment the Duke had protected her in the brothel, how he had threatened the man who’d implied awful things about her.
What had possessed him to do such a thing? For her, of all people.
She decided to keep her thoughts and questions to herself, lest he press her in return. This was a dance they were learning—questions were kept to a minimum. Neither wanted the other involved in business that was not theirs. Nicholas was their common ground, but that was all. This tentative understanding kept them steady.
And yet it kept Edwina’s thoughts in a tailspin.
What would it be like to share the burden of her brother’s addiction? Would the Duke of Stormhold be furious that she kept it to herself? Would he be more furious at Nicholas for burdening her with this, for reducing her life to a shadow of his chase for poison?
If her brother’s addiction became public knowledge, it would ruin the Montgomery name for good. Her aunt would be disgraced, Edwina herself would never secure a match, and her brother would be turned away from every respectable establishment. He’d be stripped of his status, and their name would be raked through the mud before Edwina could speak up for her brother’s pain.
“What is on your mind?” the Duke asked.
Edwina started, so used to the silence. “Nothing of import.”
He hesitated long enough that she turned to look at him and found him warring with himself.
“I understand what it is like to keep something within the family. I know… it is hard, and that support seems far-fetched in those moments. However, I do not wish to see you suffer through whatever is going on alone. And somethingisgoing on, Lady Edwina. I just do not know what it is. While that frustrates me, I respect your request for privacy. Family matters are complicated, and I am angry with Nicholas for making you go through this alone.”
