Page 35 of The Duke's Return
As Genevieve ate her food, picking at the bites and slowly filling her belly so the champagne didn’t keep her so light-headed, she repeated these words to herself over and over. She would not fall victim to a rake. Especially not her husband.
Such words played in her mind over and over even when he returned with two glasses of lemonade. “The ice is melting, so hurry,” he murmured.
She was proud of herself for not complaining then. He could have returned to her sooner. But she wasn’t going to care about anything he did if she could help it.
“Thank you,” she muttered and drank. As he took his seat to eat as well, she made sure to focus her attention elsewhere on watching the crowd.
It was easier to ignore him so long as she told herself repeatedly that he didn’t factor into her life beyond twenty-eight days. There was an end to all of this. That day would arrive before sheknew it, she just had to get there and endure a few weeks of being publicly married to a scoundrel and a rake.
Still, it wasn’t easy to not react.
When they were done eating, Julian helped her up with a hand and promptly spun her in a circle. The motion was so surprising, so playful, that a laugh escaped her lips before she knew what was happening. Then she landed in front of him with a hand on his arm.
“There she is,” he murmured. “I was looking for that smile.”
“That’s why you spun me?”
Julian corrected her with a wink. “Twirled. And I wanted to make sure you were feeling more grounded. More champagne?”
“I don’t think so, not anymore, thank you.” But she was feeling a little light-headed again with him staring right into her soul. Genevieve noted her hand still on his arm and hastily put that away. Feeling the gaze of others on them, she supposed this moment was for everyone else. Not for her. “We should rejoin the party.”
“Right, my dear.” Julian gave a slight frown at her like something wrong had just happened. Like he could tell she didn’t believe him. “Shall we?”
“Please.”
Away they went, following the waving hands that beckoned them toward a fountain. Lady Kettering introduced them to more people, names that Genevieve struggled to remember.
But the one thing she was determined not to forget was the lie that was her husband’s comforting hand at her side.
CHAPTER 14
“Finally,” Julian said in a low groan as he poured out a glass of brandy.
He had forgotten the energy that was required for a social function, even a garden fete that carried on into the evening. Part of him wanted to collapse in his chair here in the study to sleep. And then there was another part of him ready to keep going through the entire evening.
That was the life I lived. Who needs daylight when one has the night to enjoy oneself?
All of that had been his life just a few years ago. Though he had slowed down over time––the dukedom needed more attention, as did his growing family––he hadn’t expected it to come to such a strong halt. What he anticipated happening during his time in the navy, he couldn’t be particularly certain.
I suppose, in general, I simply don’t know what I’m doing.
“Blasted cad,” he muttered under his breath with a grimace.
He sipped and then moved behind his desk to study the dark landscape outside his window. There was a crescent moon. Was it waning? Waxing? He hardly knew. He should. Rubbing his neck, he thought of his men he had left behind in the war. Although his naval post focused on forging new paths and saving survivors in wreckage, they occasionally went off course.
A short prayer went out to them. He raised his glass and wished them well. Joining them had made it very clear to him just how fortunate a life he had been born into, one he didn’t particularly care for of late.
But he supposed he’d managed to have some fun this afternoon.
His first soiree in a year. How strange it had been to have all eyes on him once again. How easy it had been to fall back into that version of himself, ready to smile and tease and take absolutely nothing seriously.
It hadn’t been a problem previously, but now… now, something felt different. Julian had been consumed by this since midday.
First, he had twirled his wife to make her smile. The move always garnered attention. He particularly liked her smile, like a rare gem that sparkled when he did something right. But then they turned to grace everyone else with their presence, and that was usually when he was coming up with something clever to do or say.
And he couldn’t. He didn’t.
There was nothing new or thrilling to share or say or do at the party, which left him quieter than usual and unsettled. He made certain no one could see through to him. But an unease had slipped inside his stomach where he didn’t want to be doing any of this.
