Page 32 of A Duke Under Her Spell
Curtsying, Marybeth turned and walked back to the Dowager Duchess’s room where she saw to administering the Duchess’s afternoon treatment. “Felix was looking for you, my dear. He was not at all pleased that you had defied him once more. When he discovered that you had reentered the passageway, he nearly tore out the rest of the wall. I believe I heard him threatening to tie you up as he left the room. He sounded quite serious.”
“I am certain that he would very much like to do just that. I fear I have angered him beyond redemption.”
“Nonsense, Felix is very fond of you. He is simply not accustomed to being challenged; however, he is a great admirer of intelligence and industry in women. Both of which are qualities you have to spare,” the Dowager Duchess informed her with a knowing look.
“I hope that you are right. It was never my intent to vex him so. I simply cannot stand by and watch while others are in danger. I have also never been very good at sitting meekly by while others protect me. In the forest, I am the only one there to protect myself.”
“It sounds like a lonely existence,” the Dowager Duchess remarked, eyeing her with sympathy.
“It was not so when my grandmother was alive, but since her death I have felt increasingly lonesome, even when I am in a room with other people.”
“I am all too familiar with just such a feeling. After my dear husband died, I felt as if all the light had gone out of the world, all but that light which glowed inside of Felix. It was he who brought me back from the brink of despair when all else seemed lost.”
“He is a good man, but I do not think he knows what to do with a woman such as I.”
“I have a few ideas,” the Duke’s voice mused from the open doorway.
“I can only imagine,” Marybeth replied, standing to face whatever punishment he deemed to dole out.
He moved forward and took her hand in his. “You have frightened me more than once this day. You seem to have no regard for your own safety.”
“And if you were able to fit between the walls, would you not have done the very same thing?”
“Yes, I would have, but I am a man.”
“So, it is not a matter of concern,” she retorted angrily. “It is a matter of perceived incompetence due to my sex.”
The Duke stood staring at her, his mouth agape. When he closed it the muscles in his jaw spasmed as he clenched his teeth. “That was not my intended meaning.”
“Oh?” Marybeth knew she was being difficult, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She did not like the feeling of vulnerability that she felt at Arkley Hall. Feelings of weakness made her lash out in an effort to exert her own strength and independence.
“I simply meant that as the intruder is a man, it would be best if he were apprehended by a man of equal or greater strength.”
“I am strong.”
“I have no doubt, but if something were to happen to you what would become of Mother?” His words gave Marybeth pause. “You and your skill at healing are far more valuable than we mere mortal men.” The light in his eyes told her of his great affection for her. “I would not change one thing about you, Marybeth Wright, but I would very much like to keep you alive and safe. Will you permit me that?”
Marybeth nodded, suddenly ashamed of her over exuberant behavior. “Yes, thank you, Your Grace.”
“Felix, remember?” he murmured with a smile.
“Felix,” she replied blushing under his fervent gaze.
“Please do not ever scare me like that again,” he requested. The look in his eyes said that he wished to kiss her, but he chose to release her hands instead and took a step back away from her.
“I will do my best,” she answered. Men with tools entered the room and the Duke turned to lead them into the Dowager Duchess’s dressing room.
“We will stop this ghostly intruder if I must plaster over the entirety of the manor house,” he pledged as he disappeared from view.
* * *
Marybeth Wright is the most infuriating woman I have ever met!Felix stood watching the men repair the hole in the dressing room wall, unable to remove the woman from his mind.She could have been killed!
Felix shook his head in frustration. He had no actual control over Marybeth or her actions as she was not one of his servants or a tenant, and yet he felt that he should have some say in restraining her reckless behavior as she was residing under his roof, even if only for a brief time. He had grown quite fond of her in the short time since she had been at Arkley Hall and he could not countenance the thought of losing her in such a horrific fashion.
The man could have murdered her in cold blood right inside of my very own walls and I could have done naught to stop him.
Felix knew that Marybeth had grown up in the forest with no other authority but her grandmother. He also knew that with the recent loss of Abigail Wright, Marybeth would be feeling vulnerable and alone, causing her to act out in ways that were less than sound. For this reason alone, he had not unleashed his wrath upon her for her blatant disobedience.
