Page 75 of Duke of Silver
After their dance, Percy approached them, his usual grin plastered on his face. “May I have this dance, Your Grace?” he asked, extending his hand toward Elizabeth.
Alexander hesitated for a moment, a brief flicker of something—whatexactly, he wasn’t sure—tugging at him. But then he recalled the night before, at the dinner party. He had seen Elizabeth with Percy, smiling as they stood together by the entrance. She had been lighthearted with his brother, something she had not been with him. A slight discomfort stirred in him now, but he quickly dismissed it. It was irrational to feel uneasy about such a thing.
He gave a small nod, handing Elizabeth to his brother. “Of course.”
As Percy led her away, Alexander found himself unable to take his eyes off them. There was something about the way they moved together, the way they seemed to fall so easily into conversation. Elizabeth, who had been so reserved with him, appeared... different with Percy. Livelier. Happier, even.
A soft laugh escaped her lips as Percy said something, and it was a sound Alexander hadn’t heard from her in days—weeks, even. It took him by surprise, the way she laughed so freely in his brother’s presence. And as he watched them, a thought struck him with unsettling clarity.
Had the scandal been for a reason?
The question made his stomach turn. He had never truly believed the rumors, dismissing them as idle gossip. But seeing Elizabeth now—laughing, smiling, so at ease with Percy—it made him wonder. What if there was more to the scandal than he had allowed himself to consider? What if Percy...desiredher?What if Elizabeth would have been happier had she married his brother instead?
The thought gnawed at him, bitter and sharp. His gaze followed them as they moved across the dance floor, Percy speaking animatedly, Elizabeth laughing at whatever he was saying. Something harsh and unpleasant rose in Alexander’s throat, tightening with every passing moment. His chest felt heavy, constricted, as though a weight was pressing down on him, threatening to choke him.
“What do we have here?” a voice interrupted his thoughts, pulling him back to the present.
He turned to find Georgianna standing beside him, her gaze following his to the dance floor. A knowing smile played on her lips as she watched Elizabeth and Percy, her expression one of satisfaction.
“What a lovely reunion I see,” she commented, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Alexander didn’t respond, his eyes still fixed on his wife and brother. Percy looked utterly animated, his gestures lively as he spoke, while Elizabeth’s face was lit with a brightness Alexander hadn’t seen in her for some time. She giggled—actuallygiggled—as Percy twirled her gracefully.
“They look quite comfortable and content, don’t you think, Alexander?” Georgianna continued, her voice soft but tinted with something darker.
Alexander clenched his jaw, his heart pounding uncomfortably. He had no words, his thoughts too clouded by the sight before him.
“My,toocomfortable, one might say,” Georgianna added, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “So much so that it brings into question whether or not those rumors in Town are indeed true... about the Duchess and Lord Percy.”
Her words hit him like a blow, and though Alexander had long since learned to disregard Georgianna’s venom, something about what she said lodged deep inside him. Were others seeing what he was seeing now? Had the guests at the ball noticed the ease with which Elizabeth and Percy moved together, the undeniable connection that seemed to flicker between them?
As the dance ended and Percy led Elizabeth off the floor, Alexander’s eyes followed them, unwavering and pained. He could feel something sour and bitter rise within him, something that made his chest tighten painfully. Jealousy. And it wasn’t just jealousy—it was the fear that perhaps, just perhaps, the rumors had held a grain of truth.
What if he had been blind all along?
Alexander felt his hands ball into fists beside him. The thoughts running through his mind were already hard enough to bear without Georgianna adding her venomous voice to the mix. It was as though she could sense his unease, could taste the bitterness of his jealousy, and she relished in it. He turned to her, his frustration bubbling to the surface.
“Is there a particular reason you insist on inserting yourself where you do not belong, Countess?” His tone was sharp, harsher than he intended, but he didn’t care. He had no patience for her tonight.
Georgianna arched a brow, affronted, but her expression remained smug. “I merely comment on what I see, Alexander. After all, what are we to think when your wife and your brother seem so... acquainted? Surely, you cannot fault me for stating the obvious.”
“Perhaps if you spent less time speculating and more time minding your own affairs, you might find your company more welcome,” Alexander snapped.
Georgianna’s smile tightened, her eyes flashing with irritation. But rather than back down, she leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “It is not my fault, dear Alexander, that others notice what you refuse to see.”
Before he could fire back another retort, the music came to an end, and Alexander felt a wave of relief wash over him. Elizabeth looked up from the dance floor, her gaze meeting his briefly before flicking to Georgianna at his side. He gave her a small, knowing smile, expecting her to come to his rescue, to extricate him from the Countess as she had done before. But instead, Elizabeth’s expression remained unreadable, and to his surprise, she turned away. She walked toward her sisters by the edge of the dance floor, leaving him standing there, the smile fading from his lips.
Something sank in his chest, heavy and cold.
Georgianna, ever perceptive, noticed the exchange and let out a quiet, mocking laugh. “Ah, it seems even your wife has tired of you, Alexander,” she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
Alexander’s jaw clenched, his temper flaring once more. “If only I could say the same about you, Countess,” he replied coldly, leaving her standing there with a miffed expression as he turned on his heel.
He made his way to Elizabeth, his insides twisting with a storm of emotions he couldn’t name. There was a burning desire for answers, an anger he couldn’t control, and beneath it all, a gnawing fear that he didn’t dare acknowledge. The distance she had placed between them lately, the closeness with Percy—it all clawed at him, making him feel off balance, uncertain. And he hated it.
When he reached her, she was engaged in conversation with her aunt and sisters, her face calm, composed, as though nothing were amiss. But Alexander couldn’t wait any longer.
“It is time we take our leave,” he said politely to the group, but there was an edge to his tone, a barely concealed urgency.
