Page 85 of Married to the Icy Duke
“I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Trouble? Why, Your Grace, youarethe duchess! There’s been a great deal of talk about you and the duke in the papers—stuff and nonsense, of course, but everybody reads it—and a fine party will set them all right.”
Charlotte blinked, something like a glimmer of hope opening up in her chest.
Mrs. Ribb nodded firmly. “A sudden masquerade, with invitations sent out only hours before the party begins?Selectinvitations, no less? Why, it’ll send Society tripping over their feet. And when it’s become known that the party’s a success—and a success it shall be, I can promise you that—they’ll all be scratching each other’s eyes out to get an invite to one of the Duchess of Arkley’s parties. Nowthatis a promise.” Mrs. Ribb punctuated this speech with another firm nod, and Charlotte found herself grinning.
“And Tommy will love it, won’t he?” she added.
Mrs. Ribb smiled fondly. “As long as you and his Grace are there, that child will be as happy as anything.”
Isaac hit the punching bag so hard he felt a twinge of pain in one of his hands, a sure warning sign that he had better stop.
Dropping his arms to his sides, he stood there for a moment, gasping for breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead and chest, tracing tickling paths across his skin.
His mind was full of Charlotte. The way she had looked when he touched her, the way she had pushed herself against him, gasping and desperate for his touch. The way she had wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips smiling against his neck.
The dull throb of arousal returned, coiling and twisting in his stomach,wanting, yearning so badly it made him shake. Crawling back into bed beside her had been a foolish weakness, one which he should have easily avoided. He should never have done that, never touched her, never kissed her, neverthoughtof her. It was her request as well as his! What right had he to ignore it?
Squeezing his eyes closed, he dropped into a crouch, covering his face in his hands.
What am I doing? What have I done? She wants nothing to do with me. Devil by name, Devil by nature. I won’t make her happy. I took advantage of her naivety, her sweetness …
He had to undo this mess. Charlotte deserved more, much more.
I shall tell her at the masquerade tonight that there can be nothing between us, not ever. I can only hope that she will understand.
CHAPTER 25
“Duchess of Devils” Thrills Society!
A single day after the marriage of controversial Lady Charlotte Harding to none other than the Duke of Devils himself—that is, the Duke of Arkley—Society is rocked by her latest antic.
The very day following the wedding, the new Duchess sent out invitations to a mysterious masquerade party, shocking and thrilling us all in equal measure. A party thrown so soon after a wedding is almost unheard of, and a Devil-hosted masquerade is certainly something to thrill us all. All of Society has not been invited—far from it, in fact. Invitations are worryingly rare, with many great families shocked and hurt at not being invited.
So, what shall we expect from this masquerade? Has this author even secured an invitation?
Why, we shall see. All that can be said for sure is that all Society is watching and waiting, breathless, to see what the new Duchess will do next. Suffice to say, good things await this enterprising young lady!
“Did you see that, Sybella?” Charlotte laughed, tossing the folded paper down on her vanity table. “They called me anenterprising young lady. All I did was get married and throw a party.”
“It’s all about timing,” Sybella admonished. “You got married—to an infamous man—and thenpromptlythrew a mysterious masquerade party. It’s very clever.”
Charlotte snorted. “I wasn’t trying to be clever.”
“No, but you were, nonetheless. Now, what do you think for my mask? The black domino, or this blue silk one with feathers?”
Charlotte glanced up from her mirror and over at Sybella.
Sybella was wearing a blue muslin gown, fringed with feathers and a ruche of whitish lace, so that it looked as if she were dragging a trail of seafoam behind her. The shoulders were pointed and twisted up towards her ears, giving a sense of menace about the whole outfit.
“What are you supposed to be?” Charlotte asked. “A sea-witch?”
“I suppose so. But it’s a masquerade ball, not a costume ball. Oh, but you really should throw a costume ball sometime! We can make the Devil’s parties a little more interesting than a tense ball once a year. What about you? What are you supposed to be?”
Charlotte leaned back, eyeing herself curiously. “I … I don’t know. I had a rather specific idea in my head as to what this gown should look like, but now I don’t knowwhatI intended.”
Sybella nodded thoughtfully, inspecting Charlotte’s gown.
