Page 49 of A Duke for Stealing
Then again, he’d never been as obsessed with a woman as he was with Rose. Part of him wanted that obsession to go away- the other part demanded more. In truth, it was wrecking him.
“I am just too busy to take on a lover right now,” he stated, feeling the need to say something regarding his wandering ways.
Yet even as he said it, he wondered if that was true. He’d been busy in the past before, yet he’d always found time to dip his wick when the urge came to him. Now, though, his interests seemed to lie in Rose, and Rose alone. Even if, at times, their growing closeness bothered him greatly.
Images of the night before flashed through his mind then, and Everett felt his body stir with lust as he was reminded of just how delicious he found his wife to be. It was not just her body that called to him, though. It was her hard work ethic. Her dedication to his nieces. To him. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, and it left him with a confounding mixture of longing and the urge to run away.
He’d chosen to run away, and now, for the first time in his life, he felt guilty about leaving a woman’s bed.
“Too busy,” Dominic scoffed, rising from his chair, “Right. Yet you make time to box with us.”
Everett pushed his thoughts of Rose away, but they did not go far. She was always there, standing at the frayed edge. Waiting. Haunting.
“Well, I have to,” Everett scoffed, pushing his troubling thoughts away as he followed Dominic to the ring, “You lot are the neediest buggers of them all. When I do not give you enough time, you whine and complain worse than any wife could.”
“Say that again,” Dominic goaded, smirking as he raised his fists, “Come whisper it in my ear.”
With a chuckle, Everett raised his fists, took his stance, and waited for Hugo to ring the next bell.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“She, in fact, saved me from a tremendous mistake,” Everett stated, interrupting the gossip.
Rose’s head whipped toward him, and he felt a savage response in his heart as he saw her cheeks were now as pink as her dress. He could not take it anymore. The ball he’d taken Rose to had become everything she had feared. The moment they had stepped into the room, all eyes had fallen on them, and not long after, whispers began to spread like wildfire.
It was not her dress or how beautiful she appeared in it that they were speaking of, however. Instead, those bold enough to approach her with questions had pressed her on their relationship, her mother’s supposed reputation, and many other things their peers had no business knowing.
He had tried to stay away. Tried to prove to himself that he did not need or want to be by her side. Yet it did not take long for Everett to decide that he’d had enough of their laughter andinappropriate questions, and he strode to Rose’s side and took her hand.
“Your Grace,” she murmured, her blush shifting to crimson, as her lashes fanned down her cheeks in a bashful manner, “All is well. You need not-”
“Need not tell them the truth?” He asked, his tone jovial and clear so those around them could hear. “Oh, come now, my love. Why not share the tale of our good fortune?”
He cast an amused grin toward the people around them, and not a single person looked apologetic over their curiosity. In fact, most of them looked at him expectantly, as if waiting to hear the tale of how he and Rose had fallen in love so deeply that it caused him to walk away from the season’s most precious diamond.
“My dear wife has always watched over her friends,” Everett stated, turning his eyes back to her. “She has been a guardian of many. Including her own Mother. Those who truly know her understand this.”
From Rose’s side, Theo, Seraphina, Amelia, and Ophelia all gave him a startling look. Each of them appeared curious as to where he was going with his speech, and he broadened his grin and cast them a quick wink.
“Rose and I became acquainted through our mutual friends, whom you all now know as the Duke and Duchess of Merrivale,” Everett went on, making a show of taking Rose’s hand andstroking it tenderly. “At first we were quite at odds with one another, were we not darling?”
“Oh, um, yes,” Rose answered, then forced a small laugh, “Yes, it is quite true. We found another quite bothersome.”
Around them, the once judgmental crowd shared a small laugh.
“Yes bothersome indeed, but those feelings of annoyance soon turned into something more tender, and instead of loathing the idea of seeing one another, we both began to look forward to it,” Everett continued, putting on an overly affectionate look toward Rose, “I being the dimwit I am when it comes to emotions, attempted to brush off these feelings. I thought I was a man above such fairytale things. Practical partnership, not love, was the way I, and many of you, see our world. It is a responsibility thrust upon the ranking members of society, and we alone know the heavy burden of that. But my wife- my Rose- she knew better. She knew my heart more than I did. And when she stood up that day, she did so for her as much as she did for me.”
A collectiveawecame from the crowd of their peers, and Everett watched in satisfaction as Rose’s shoulders slowly lowered away from her ears and her forced smile gradually became more genuine. Everett gave her one more compassionate smile, and as if he’d been practicing his part for this particular play for weeks, he cast his attention toward the crowd and gave the most pitying look.
“We, of course, do feel dreadful for the discomfort my late realization caused Miss Miller. No person deserves such a publicdisplay of humiliation. However, it would seem that she has found her happy ending as well. Is it not true that she has married a high-ranking member of the Italian court? And that she is already anticipating a no-doubt beautiful child with her true love?”
Murmurs of agreement came through the crowd. One lady even spoke up, saying, “Yes, it is true, and how lovely it is that both parties have found their bliss?”
“Lovely indeed,” Everett agreed quickly. “So you see, my wife not only saved me from a mistake. She saved Miss Miller as well. And we are happier for it.”
Another murmur of awe rose from the crowd, and Everett decided it was the perfect time to bring his story to a sweet end and allow their peers to focus elsewhere.
“Now, it is a beautiful day,” Everett went on, sweeping an arm toward the open double doors that led to the sun-filled lawn and garden beyond, “and are we not all to be in the garden? Come, my friends, let us move outside, move on to merrier times, and take part in some games!”
