Page 5 of A Duke's Scandalous Obsession
“Thank you, Your Grace, for a delightful dance,” she smiled. “But if you will excuse me, I find myself a bit tired tonight and I shall go find a seat for the remainder of the evening. I hope you understand.”
Momentarily stunned, he couldn’t hide a flicker of disappointment. It was truly an excuse he could not undermine, lest he was considered aggressive, and that was the last thing he wanted to be. What he couldn’t understand was her reluctance to be in his company.
Neither of them could deny the chemistry that blossomed between them during the dance. It ignited like fire in pitch darkness, and Dominic could find no way to extinguish it other than to have her by his side. Yet, she kept stubbornly refusing him that privilege.
“Of course,” he nodded politely, bowing before her, with his arm bent at the elbow.
With a polite, but reserved smile, she moved away from him, disappearing into the vibrant crowd, away from him. Dominic still couldn’t wrap his mind around what had just happened. No woman had ever refused a dance with him. In fact, it was he who had to hide away in other rooms, so he would have a moment of peace.
Now the tables had turned. Lady Catherine wanted to hide away fromhim.And it drove him insane.
Chapter 3
Catherine managed to avoid the duke for the rest of the evening, deciding that would be the safer option. Although extremely handsome, she felt that he was too confident, a little aggressively so, and she did not fancy it one bit. However, she realized that other ladies around did not seem to find a single fault with him and were pining for even a moment with him. Catherine could not, for the life of her, understand why.
He is good-looking and charming,a little voice inside of her replied.He doesn’t need to be anything else to be considered a highly desirable bachelor.
While that was all true, Catherine was not impressed. Not during the ball, and not when she returned to the opulent townhome she shared with her brother. She summoned Anna, her lady’s maid, who was well-versed in the delicate art of assisting her mistress. Anna approached the task of undressing Catherine with practiced grace. The atmosphere in the room was hushed, as the soft glow of the candles cast a warm light on the two ladies.
Despite thinking him mildly obnoxious, Catherine couldn’t stop thinking about the duke, even as Anna began carefully unfastening the intricate clasps and buttons that adorned Catherine’s gown.
Each delicate closure yielded easily to the maid’s skilled fingers, revealing the layers of fabric that made up Catherine’s gown that evening. Secretly, Catherine wondered what it would feel like to havehimdisrobe her tenderly, with delicate fingers grazing against her naked skin.
Catherine suddenly remembered something. Although Anna was highly skilled in her work, she was also highly skilled in something else, something Catherine did not appreciate nearly as much, as that was familiarity with the town gossip. Curiosity got the best of her, as she sought to unravel the enigma of the duke’s character and see whether her initial impressions of him were correct.
“Anna?” Catherine started cautiously, as her maid turned her attention to the additional layers, that consisted of ribbons and laces, expertly unfastening them while maintaining an air of distress professionalism as always. Although this was quite an intimate task, to have someone disrobe her, Catherine always trusted Anna, as she had been her lady’s maid since she was a young girl.
“Yes, my lady?” Anna replied, as her busy fingers stopped working for a moment.
“Do you know of the Duke of Fairhaven?” Catherine inquired, aiming to sound indifferent while she did so, but the truth was that she was anything but.
“Everyone knows of him, my lady,” Anna replied with a shrug.
“Everyone?” Catherine echoed, somehow proud that she was not counted among everyone. “Does he have a reputation which precedes him then?” If he did, that usually wouldn’t be a good thing. As it turned out, Catherine was right.
“Well,” Anna started, obviously careful of the words she would use, “the whispers are quite pointed, I have to say. They paint him as a man of temper and unfriendliness.”
“Unfriendliness, you say?” Catherine was surprised to hear that, especially seeing that he had approached her and her brother, with the obvious intention of being introduced.
“Yes,” Anna confirmed, as her fingers slowly continued to work, but her focus was now on their conversation. “They say he has challenged a man to a duel simply for looking at him the wrong way!”
Catherine frowned, although she was still amused. “Well, that seems a bit of an exaggeration, Anna.”
“That’s what I heard, my lady,” Anna said, but it was evident that she believed every word of it. “They also say that he lost a small fortune at the cards table at White’s several nights ago, and that he is still recovering from the loss.”
“That seems more believable,” Catherine mused. He did seem like the type who would boast his knowledge of cards then lose embarrassingly.
“Also, he is close friends with Lord Davenport, who is known for his love of liquor and women, from what I’ve heard not always in that order,” Anna added, although Catherine wasn’t paying attention any longer. She had heard enough. More than enough.
“Thank you, Anna,” Catherine nodded, getting up from her chair, enveloped in the soft elegance of her undergarments. “A tempestuous duke, indeed. But I’m afraid it’s getting rather late. It’s time for both of us to rest.”
“Yes, my lady,” Anna agreed, curtsying before Catherine immediately. “Good night.”
With a gracious dismissal, Catherine sent her maid on her way, allowing the weight of the gossip to dissipate with the closing of the door. She knew that much of that gossip was not really true. After all, that was the essence of gossip: embellished stories which might or might not have actually taken place in real life.
Catherine readied herself for bed, still entwined in contemplation regarding the duke. His treacherous mind presented her with images that made her blush fervently. Yet, she enjoyed them more than she was willing to admit.
She closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips, as she remembered being held by the duke during their dance, the way his eyes seemed to traverse every inch of her body slowly and tantalizingly. She wondered how scorchingly hot his hands would be on her naked skin, and at that very thought, her body erupted into a million little goosebumps. She had no idea why this egotistical man had such a profound effect on her. What on earth was happening?
