Page 89 of Trapped with the Forbidden Duke
“I do not enjoy sugary things in my tea,” she said delicately. “However, if somebody puts a tray of chocolates before me, then I, like my aunt, would see them gone in a moment.”
“A woman of good taste, it seems. Both you and your aunt. That is Lady Isabel Vaughan, correct?” Allan asked her.
Edwina nodded happily. “My brother is the Earl of Montgomery.”
“I believe so, yes. It is only that my father, upon hearing about Lucien’s marriage, asked around so we would not feel utterly blindsided by the newest addition to the Fitzgerald family. I do hope that is all right with you.”
“Of course.” Edwina waved his question away, until he smirked as he took a sip of his tea.
“I must admit that we discovered your secrets.”
Edwina froze.
Nicholas.
Next to her, Lucien stiffened.
Allan continued, oblivious to the tension, “You pushed the poor Earl into the mud on his eighteenth birthday, when you were just a young girl. I believe he was terribly embarrassed.”
At his own joke—which seemed to fall short due to Edwina’s fear of her brother’s addiction being discovered—Allan laughed loudly, shaking his head. Only to realize that the laughter that joined was more nervous than amused.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, frowning. “My mother did always say I spoke too much, even as a young boy. She said I needed to stop learning another language, for it would only encourage me to chatter and chatter.”
“And yet you learned five.” Rose giggled. “I rather like hearing you shout at your peers in French, at the balls. It amuses me greatly, for half of them pretend not to know what you are saying, although they likely understand perfectly.”
“Oh, undoubtedly.” Allan chuckled. “Dites-moi, ma chère, parlez-vous français?”
Edwina was delighted to understand that he was asking if she spoke French. Smiling, she answered, “Oui. Très bien, m’a-t-on dit.”
“Ah,” Allan said, looking rather impressed. “I am glad you have been praised for your proficiency. There is barely any hesitation to understand or think of a response. Most impressive. Rose is rather proficient, too. Lucien, do you remember how we would once have conversations completely in other languages in the hopes of not being overheard by my mother?”
Edwina almost felt sorry for Allan. He was trying too hard to include Lucien in the conversation he clearly did not wish to be apart of. She felt a pang of guilt, but then she quickly shook it off. Her husband had agreed properly in the end, without the need for herotherpersuasive techniques.
“I do,” he answered stiffly. “However, I do not wish to at this present moment.En fait, je veux que vous quittiez ma maison.”
“Lucien!” Edwina gasped at the tone of his voice, right as he stood up.
Lucien just shook his head. “I am sorry, Edwina. But Allan, Rose, please. I must ask you both to leave. Edwina and I have engagements this afternoon, and we must prepare.”
For once, Edwina did not protest, reading the warning in her husband’s eyes. Something had snapped within him, and she could only gape at him.
What had his cousins done that had pushed him away so fiercely?
Regardless, both of his cousins stood up, but Allan held up a finger. “Do excuse me one moment.” He drank the remainder of his tea, and Edwina could not help but smile, turning her face away. “Thank you for your hospitality. Both of you. Lucien, I do hope we can meet halfway one day. That we might meet as we once did—friends and cousins. Let us depart, Rose.”
“It was lovely to meet you,” Edwina offered, wincing as she was hugged by Rose. Not because she did not enjoy the embrace butbecause she wished to speak with the siblings further, to get to know them better. But they both vacated the room.
Neither Lucien nor Edwina spoke until the front door closed.
And then his eyes were on hers, angry and dark.
“Lucien, I am sorry?—”
“If you are willing, I shall take you while facing the window,” he growled, already loosening his breeches.
Vexation flared inside him, and Edwina shuddered at the thought of receiving the brunt of it, of him choosing to let out his dark feelings about his family’s history in this way.
“Are you willing?” he demanded.
