Page 51 of Claimed By Her Forbidden Duke
As they took their seats, Finley frowned at her. “Pen, why on earth is your collar torn?”
Penelope barely heard him because of the blood roaring in her ears as she realized that the Duke truly had torn her dress.
In the dark theater, she tried not to be too obvious about looking out for the Duke’s return—until he was sitting down once again, pointedly not looking at her.
But he had, and he had kissed her, and she had felt every inch of his desire against her body. Even if he had not admitted it as verbally as he had, she would have known.
For the remainder of the opera, Penelope could hardly think of anything but the Duke’s mouth on hers, their kiss tangling her up in complications.
* * *
“Edmund! Do you take pleasure in startling my living, beating heart right out of my chest?”
Edmund smirked at his cousin, pushing off one of the decorative columns on the front porch of Benjamin’s townhouse. His cousin had a hand pressed to his chest, his back bowed as he clung to the doorframe for support.
“Warn a man next time, so he may call a doctor ahead to have his heart checked,” Benjamin sighed, straightening. “You are much better at sneaking than I.”
“As I have tried to tell you,” Edmund countered. “Since you are going to follow me tonight—I presume that you plan to leave your residence, anyway—I thought I might as well come over and pick you up. Save you the trouble of tracking me down.”
Benjamin’s face lit up with excitement before he scowled. “That takes away a lot of the mystery of actually following you. It ruins my whole appeal.”
“There is no mystery when I know you are there, Benjamin.”
“Yes, but… well, save a man some dignity,” he scoffed as the two headed down the path to the two horses Edmund had already prepared. “Picking me up—what do you take me for? Although, thisisa beautiful horse. He will do most excellently for me?—”
“Altair is mine,” Edmund interrupted. “You may take Elizabeth.” He nodded to the other horse.
“Elizabeth?” Benjamin echoed, looking forlorn. “You ride a beautiful beast, and I am on the back of a mare?”
“I am only teasing,” Edmund said. “That is Maverick.”
“Excellent. I am sure we shall get along splendidly.” Benjamin swung himself up into the saddle, as Edmund had already done. “I am rather honored you have invited me along to continue solving this mystery of yours.”
“Do not get too excited. I did have to save you last time.”
“Yes, and you have ignored every letter I’ve sent since.”
“I was angry with you,” Edmund said plainly, setting off down the street. “I warned you, and you still found trouble. Tonight will not be the same.”
Benjamin nodded, his expression grave as he finally understood the warning. “Where are we going?”
Edmund did not answer. He merely rode on, for his mind was sharpening into focus in a way he had not managed in several days.
Benjamin followed in silence for once, casting glances at Edmund now and then as they kept to the backstreets of London.
It wasn’t that Edmund wanted to avoid detection, but rather that he wanted to avoid the sight of the lady who had not left his mind. If he could not put her out of his mind, then he would at least keep her out of his sight.
Perhaps that was why he’d chosen tonight to visit Charles Thatcher’s residence—something concrete to distract him, Benjamin’s company to drive his thoughts from Lady Penelope, and a hunt to occupy his evening with until he hopefully became too exhausted to think when he collapsed into bed.
But his reprieve was cut short when they drew near the outskirts of London, only a short distance from Thatcher’s place.
“So,Cousin,” Benjamin began, a smirk on his face that Edmund quickly looked away from. That smirk never meant anything good. “Word has it that you and a particular lady have been seen together several times. A lady that you denied looking at. Yet my sources say otherwise.”
Edmund’s hands clenched around Altair’s reigns. “What sources?”
“I am very well connected, thanks to my time as interim Duke of Blackstone. I am fortunate that those connections remained despite my return to Enthorpe. I have heard you were seen leaving the theater during one of the acts of the lavishLa Ballade, as was Lady Penelope. Would you know anything about that?”
“No,” Edmund said defensively, too hastily, for he heard his cousin’s answering chuckle.
