Page 55 of Her Beast of a Duke
Oscar gazed back at her from where he leaned forward to watch her leave. Ever since the day in the study, he looked at her longer, not averting his gaze half as much.
“I will be meeting Edmund at a nearby gentleman’s club to discuss some business prospects,” he told her, smiling knowingly. “Though undoubtedly he will spend more time showering me with questions about you.”
“And how will you answer?”
He smirked deeper. “That you are the greatest bane of my life. Now, go spend time with your sisters. I am certain they miss you.”
To her own credit, she did not take offense at his words; on the contrary, she felt quite delighted by them. To be a bane was to matter, and she mattered enough to get under his skin. How much more could she ask for? He affected her; it was a comfort to know she affected him.
Still, the urge to ask about their time in the study—to know if it was ever something that would happen again, if it was a moment of weakness on his part, or if she pleased him in how she had acted and sounded and reacted—was strong, but she bit it back. It was not the place to do so.
Yet Oscar didn’t look away from her, and she ignored the fluttering in her stomach at that intense, pinning attention.
Did he think the same thing as she did? Had thoughts of that night in the study kept him awake at night, as it had her?
“Then I shall see you back at the townhouse later,” she said.
“And while we are here, I shall see you to the modiste. There is a ball we are due to attend in several days. I want you properly equipped.”
“I have plenty of dresses,” she pointed out.
“And you shall have infinitely more,” he promised, eyeing her keenly. She flushed at that and stepped back, nodding her farewell.
With that, she turned back to her parents’ townhouse, where the door had already opened, revealing her sisters.
Before either could get a glimpse of her husband, Oscar ordered the carriage to pull away.
So, Isabella opened her arms as Sibyl launched herself down the path, embracing her tightly.
“Izzie! Heavens, it feels like years since I’ve seen you,” she sighed.
“The house is ever so quiet without you and Hermia,” Alicia said, joining Sibyl and offering a brief embrace. “I didn’t think I would miss either of you bickering, but I find myself listening out for it. Nevertheless, I do make up for it by?—”
“Arguing with her tutor, as always,” Sibyl cut in, teasing her.
Isabella laughed at the two of them, linking her arms through theirs to situate herself in the middle before her mother or father emerged and caused any unrest.
Today was about the sisters, not the parents.
Together, they wandered toward Hyde Park, but Alicia barely waited until they were beyond the house’s gate before she began peppering Isabella with questions.
“How is it being a duchess? Anddoanswer us properly, unlike another sister of ours.”
Isabella smirked. “It is most wonderful, honestly,” she answered, knowing from experience when they used to question Hermia that Alicia wouldn’t give up easily. “I have actually been redecorating the castle?—”
“Castle?” Sibyl cried, stopping in her excitement. “Oh, I have heard rumors, but I did not truly think it would be a proper castle! Is it beautiful?”
“Do not be foolish,” Alicia said. “It is dark, gloomy, and drafty, I would assume. You know, to match the master within.”
Isabella bit her tongue, for it was still gloomier than she wanted it to be, but she didn’t want them to speak of her husband as the rest of the ton did. “Well, it is less dark now since I’ve taken over.”
“Excellent,” Alicia answered firmly. “You are taking your true power as the Duchess. I like to hear such things. Too many women bend to the whims of their husbands. I do not dare think Hermia changed anything about Charles’s house at first, butyou—you have swept in and… changed what, exactly?”
“The music room,” Isabella told her. “It is possibly my favorite redecoration. I have redone my own chamber to match my bedroom at our house, and I wished to redo the drawing room, but Os—His Grace—has asked me to leave it alone.”
“Really?” Sibyl asked. “Why?”
“He… values certain of the… original charms of the castle,” she answered, noncommittal, not wanting to reveal too much about her husband’s vulnerabilities and how he needed his shadows for protection. “So, I will honor those, but for other rooms that are not as frequently used, I have been given relatively free rein.”
