Page 35 of Duke of Silver
“And what sort of books do you seek?” he asked, setting his own aside and rising from his chair to join her by the shelves. “I admit, I did not take you for one who spent late nights with books for company.”
Elizabeth glanced at him, catching the glimmer of amusement still in his eyes. “And I did not take you for a reader, Your Grace,” she replied, her tone light, but beneath the teasing, she felt the tension between them stir.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You would be surprised at what I read.”
Her curiosity was now piqued, and Elizabeth tilted her head. “Is that so? What do you read then, besides estate matters and the endless correspondence from London?”
Alexander chuckled softly. “History, politics... but occasionally, I find myself drawn to the works of adventurers. Tales of distant lands, wild journeys beyond our little world.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “I enjoy those stories as well. They take me away from... all of this.” She gestured vaguely around her. “I’ve always been fascinated by tales of exploration, of venturing into the unknown.”
Alexander raised a brow, his voice softening as he asked, “Do you yearn for adventure, Elizabeth?”
She looked away, her fingers stilling on the spine of a book as she considered his question. A moment passed before she nodded, her voice quiet. “I suppose I do... though I never truly had the chance. My world has always been rather small.”
A faint smile touched his lips when she looked up at him, as though her admission amused him in a way she couldn’t quite place. He turned to the shelves and retrieved a book, one with a worn leather cover. “Perhaps this will suffice for tonight’s adventure,” he said, handing it to her.
As their hands met, their fingers brushed—briefly at first, but neither pulled away. His hand lingered on hers, the warmth of his touch spreading through her. Her breath caught as their eyes met, and the room felt smaller, the air heavier, as if the space between them had narrowed to nothing.
Elizabeth quickly glanced down at the book he had given her.Tales of the Far East: Journeys into the Beyond. She smiled, though her heart still raced from the unexpected touch. “Thank you,” she whispered.
He regarded. “Are you certain one book will suffice? You seem like the sort who might devour it before morning.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks warmed, and she quickly tried to compose herself. “I suppose I’ll manage with just one, Your Grace. But I thank you for your concern.”
“I shall have more ready should you finish before the dawn,” he teased, though the air between them still crackled.
Elizabeth smiled. “I shall be sure to pace myself then.”
They stood there for a moment longer as the silence between them grew once more. Alexander’s gaze lingered on hers, his eyes unreadable, and for a moment, Elizabeth wondered if he, too, felt the pull that had drawn her here, to him, on this quiet night.
Finally, breaking the moment, he took a step back. “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
“Goodnight, Your Grace,” she replied.
But neither of them moved. They stood by the door, their eyes still locked. For a brief second, it seemed as if something more might happen, as if the air between them might shift again—but then, as though realizing that she needed to leave, Elizabeth tore her gaze from his, her heart pounding.
Without another word, she turned and hurried from the room, clutching the book to her chest, her thoughts swirling in the wake of their encounter. She could still feel the warmth of his touch lingering on her skin,
“Ah, nothing quite like the sight of a hearty meal,” Broughton gushed, his eyes alight with enthusiasm as they settled into their dinner.
Elizabeth forced a smile, though her thoughts were elsewhere. It was the first meal she was sharing with her husband sincetheir marriage, and it had taken inviting his friend just to secure that small liberty. The thought left her with a quiet sense of dejection.How strange, she mused, that she had to orchestrate the presence of another to simply sit with her own husband.
“Have you been starving all this while, Colin?” Alexander teased, his tone light as he glanced at his jovial friend.
“If the Sterlin cook’s meals are still as exquisite as I recall, then yes. I have been starved of his culinary magic,” the Marquess replied with a grin, his good humor infectious. Elizabeth found herself laughing softly, caught up in the warmth of the moment.
“You have a stingy husband, Elizabeth,” Colin turned to her, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “He never bothered to invite me to dinner like this.”
“We will have to remedy that, I see,” Elizabeth responded with another chuckle, though her laughter faltered slightly when her gaze met Alexander’s across the table.
His eyes were on her—steady, burning with an intensity she couldn’t quite decipher. The look sent an unexpected warmth coursing through her, unsettling her in the most maddening way. Her fingers instinctively tightened around her fork, the sensation spreading through her entire body. How was it that he could make her feel so acutely aware of him, even in moments like these?
She hated it—this constant, unbearable awareness of him. Even in his absence, her thoughts were plagued by the idea of him,by the memory of his touch, the sound of his voice. It was a torment she couldn’t escape, and yet… a part of her reveled in it, delighted in the way he had taken up residence in her mind.
“With meals like this, we are well on our way to doing just that,” Colin added heartily, pulling her from her thoughts. “You heard that, Sterlin? Your wife intends to remedy my starvation as your friend,” he added with a playful grin toward Alexander.
The dining room rang with laughter, the ease between the men palpable. But as Elizabeth sat there, her own laughter fading, she reminded herself of the second purpose for this dinner. The gentlemen were relaxed, which meant it was time to set her plan in motion. If she could catch Alexander in this mood, perhaps she could finally get him to agree to the Compton assembly.
