Page 73 of My Blind Duke
“Oh, I insist,” William stated, noting the surprised inflection in her tone but unwilling to compromise or falter.
He was not going to let Prudence wander around in the dark with such despicable men loitering about.
“All right,” she conceded and took his arm to guide him in the right direction.
This close, he could smell her intoxicating sweet scent, could feel the warmth that he had dreamt of chasing after with more than just his hands, and regret swirled around in his chest.
Was there nothing more he could do? Nothing else that he could say to make her understand how valued she was in their home?
The cool night air and the relative seclusion of the winding paths offered a welcome respite. William, his internal fury still simmering, noticed Prudence’s form was quite tense and felt unhappy, believing he had made her uncomfortable.
“Fools, the lot of them. Ill-mannered, poorly bred and raised dimwits. How dare they behave so crassly before a duchess?” William grumbled angrily.
The thought of some of them touching her, reaching for the woman his heart desired filled his lungs with rage. He wanted to cut them apart and feed them to the dogs. But he had made this choice and he needed to keep his word.
“I know that you are upset with me, but I wish you would believe me when I say that I am doing what I think is best for you. I do not know what else to do, what with you so insistent on leaving without any aid from me,” he told her quietly after she had said nothing following his earlier statement.
Prudence sighed. “If you felt that way, then you would listen to what I have been trying to tell you, this whole time. I do not want this. To be here, to be paraded about like some prize. I have been under scrutiny for the last year of my life and I thought that you would understand me. Yet here you are, subjecting me to even more of it by having me engage with all those men I have no interest in, making yet another show of my life. If you truly cared, you would do nothing and let me go.”
Her words were a hard pill to swallow, and just as he was about to reiterate that he simply could not let her walk out of his life as she pleased, Lord Harrington approached them loudly.
“What are you doing lingering at the back like this? Come closer and join the group!” he urged.
Before William could send him away, the man had managed to pull Prudence away from his side. For a moment, William could only stand there, shock and fury flowing through his veins. Harrington was a man with a reputation for arrogance and a particularly unpleasant set of rumors swirling around him – according to what William had heard earlier that evening – and the thought of such a snake attaching himself to Prudence made the duke angry.
Quickly, William walked ahead, only slightly disconcerted by his lack of sight as he tried to find Prudence once more.
“Duchess,” William eventually caught wind of Harrington, his voice oily with insinuation as he seemed to steer Prudence even farther away from everyone else, “I find myself quite… intriguedby the whispers I have heard. A woman of your… vivacity… must have a great many secrets.”
When William got closer, he could smell Prudence’s lovely pomegranate scent, tainted by a hint of brandy as Lord Harrington continued to speak.
“Perhaps we could find a more secluded corner of this maze and share a few of them?” He reached out a hand, attempting to take hers.
Prudence recoiled slightly, a look of distaste crossing her face. “Lord Harrington,” she said, her voice cool, “I find your insinuations quite unwelcome.”
Before Harrington could press further, a firm hand clamped down on his arm.
“Lord Harrington,” William’s voice, though outwardly calm, carried a distinct undercurrent of menace that made the other man’s eyes widen. “I believe Her Grace has made her feelings quite clear. I suggest you respect them.”
Harrington, recognizing the Duke of Pemberly’s voice and recalling his formidable reputation that seemed to have also been a subject of discussion that night – both as a shrewd businessman and a man not to be trifled with – blanched. He mumbled a hasty apology and quickly melted back into the shadows of the maze.
William, his anger still simmering, turned to Prudence, his hand now gently but firmly taking her arm. Ignoring the likelihood of receiving curious glances from the remaining members of their group, he steered her away from the winding paths and back toward the brightly lit windows of the house.
Once they were inside, he did not stop, leading them further away from prying eyes and the suffocating crush of the ballroom, until he managed to lead them into a hallway. He picked the first door he could and walked in, locking the door behind them.
William was not surprised when Prudence wrenched her wrist from his grip as she whirled around to face him, her tone a mixture of bewildered hurt and lingering indignation.
“I thought,” she started softly, voice shaky, “I thought you wanted me to find a husband, Your Grace.”
William was breathing heavily, the indifference he had been trying to maintain finally shattering at his feet. Overwhelmed by a sudden, fierce wave of possessiveness, a raw protectiveness that surged through him at the memory of the men’s disrespectful words, he reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her closer to him.
“Forget what I said, Prudence,” he murmured, his voice low and filled with an intensity that made her breath catch in her throat. “Forget all of it. You are mine.”
And then, he pulled her into a kiss.
Chapter 24
“Will–”
