My Dangerous Duke (The Twisted Dukes #2)

Chapter 10

Over A Week Later

“ D o you truly like it or are you just being nice?” Eleanor asked, looking at her friends dubiously.

“Eleanor, please,” Cordelia laughed as she waved her arm around the largest sitting room in the Hall. “Look at all of this! It is absolutely gorgeous!”

“You truly do have quite the talent for decorating,” Marina praised, delicately plucking a large, perfect, pink peony from the golden vase of many. “These flowers are absolutely vivid.”

“Why don’t our flowers grow like this in London?” Penelope asked, playing the bright arrangement on their tea table.

“We are not that far from London. Mrs. Gaines says it is because of Larsen’s waters and their special properties. They make them brighter than most. I thought bringing some inside could add a little light and warmth to the place.”

Though the flowers had indeed brought in just that, it was not the only change she had made in the whole week that her husband had been gone. In fact, she had made quite a few. She had had some curtains changed, some furniture moved, and had the more sinister-looking tapestries rehung in the Hall’s armory.

“Tell us, darling,” Cordelia said as the three of them joined Penelope back at the table. “Aside from these lovely new touches to your new home- how are you doing as a married woman?”

“Yes, dearest, how is married life treating you?” Penelope asked, her tone almost worried.

Her dear friend, the Duchess of Huxton, had only been married to the notorious ‘Cruel Duke’ for a year. Penelope had somehow found a way into his heart and now had the man wrapped around her pinky finger. Eleanor had had her doubts about the union at first, but now it was clear that they had found a true love match in one another.

She knew that Penelope wished that for her too, but with Xander’s constant absence, it was an impossible feat. Eleanor let out a dry laugh, feeling a sliver of hurt slide through her. No, her and Xander’s story would not turn out like Rhys and Penny’s.

“He truly is heartless, my husband,” she admitted, shaking her head and blinking her eyes rapidly. Around her, all of her friends gasped, and she felt all three of them put their hands over hers.

“Completely so?” Marina asked, her eyes full of sympathy as she looked at Eleanor.

“Could he not be persuaded or changed a bit?” Penelope gently offered. “You know, Rhysand–”

“Yes, completely, and no, he could not,” Eleanor replied, feeling both detached and obsessed at the same time. It was maddening. “This… farce must come to an end. I am going to have this marriage annulled.”

Penelope, Marina, and Cordelia all looked at her as if she had gone mad. They all turned to one another, sharing a concerned glance, and then Marina reached for Eleanor’s hand.

“Darling,” she stated, her tone coddling, “You are aware that you cannot “just annul” the marriage, are you not? His Grace must be the one to petition for it and even then-”

“I am not a fool, Marina,” Eleanor shot back in exasperation, pulling her hand away. “I know what has to happen. And while I may not be the one to orchestrate it, I have a plan. Once he sees we are a poor match, he will want me as far from him as possible.”

“Eleanor, come now,” Penelope urged, “You must give the marriage more time! Rhys was distant at first, too, but now…”

“Xander is not Rhysand,” Eleanor stated emphatically, then sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You think I want to do this?” She asked, looking from friend to another. “You think I have not tried to find happiness with this arrangement? This is a failure on my part, too, and I feel it heavily every day. But it must end.”

“Does he hold no affection for you at all?” Cordelia asked, her delicate brow furrowed with sadness.

Eleanor felt tears threaten to prick at her eyes, but she pushed them down and steeled herself from the heartache and loneliness that she felt. She would not cry for this man. And she would not pity herself.

“We have had moments where I thought he could possibly feel something,” she replied matter-of-factly. “But I have only seen him once since our wedding night, and he left me to go on business.”

“No doubt taking care of something very important, my dear,” the Dowager Duchess answered, announcing her presence.

Eleanor paled as she looked toward Xander’s grandmother, fearing what she might have heard, but relaxed when she saw that the doors to the room had only just opened. Collecting herself, Eleanor and her friends rose to their feet to curtsey. As she rose, she noticed that the Dowager Duchess was looking more at the room than them.

“What has happened in here?” Margaret asked, her brow furrowing as she seemed to study every inch of space.

Eleanor felt worried as her friends all looked at her timidly.

“Well…” she began, nearly stuttering. It had been a week since she had seen Xander’s grandmother and her curt tone caught her off guard. “I have been left to my own whims this week,” Eleanor explained, “so I thought I would rearrange some things. A little here and there to brighten up the space.”

“Hmm.” The Dowager hummed, “My grandson is very particular about his things, child. I am not sure he will be too happy with this new… ‘lighter’ look of things.”

“Well then, he can certainly come to speak to me about it,” Eleanor replied, gathering her courage, “But this is my home now, too, not just his. We shall have to find a compromise.”

The Dowager’s eyes snapped back at Eleanor as she still wore a rigid frown. Then, the old woman smirked, grinned, and then laughed rather loudly.

“Oh, I knew it,” the Dowager laughed. “I just knew you would do very well here.”

Surprised, Eleanor stood still and met her friends’ questioning glances as Margaret came to hug her tightly. They all looked back at her, shocked at first, then all of them began to giggle. It was clear now that Eleanor had just passed some sort of test, and the Dowager was quite happy about it.

“Would you join us for some tea?” Eleanor asked, happy that the Dowager had arrived.

Just as the woman was saying yes, the double doors to the sitting room suddenly flew open. It startled them all, but when Eleanor saw her husband’s silver gaze coming straight toward her, she felt anger instead of fear. She straightened her shoulders, raised her chin, and walked up to him with the same purposeful stride.

“What have you done?” He barked, coming so close she could have brushed her nose against his chest. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Since I was left alone by my husband? Whatever I wanted. I am the lady of this house by your decree,” she replied matter-of-factly.

Her honey eyes remained locked on his glaring molten stare, not giving him an ounce of intimidation. However… as they stood this close, she could see the handsome lines on his face; smell his masculine scent, she felt something… else .

A sound, something more beast than man, left Xander’s chest.

“I can see you have had the time of it,” he scoffed, stepping back to wave his hand toward the colorful flower-patterned tapestries. “Where are the pieces from before?”

“In the armory,” she replied coolly, crossing her arms.

Xander’s eyes flew to the motion and he glowered as if taking the stance as a hostile move. He moved close again, this time, putting his hands on her arms and sending a shock through both of them so intense they both silently gasped.

“Uncross them,” he commanded after seemingly struggling to find his voice. He brought his burning gaze slowly up to hers once more and suddenly Eleanor felt a rush of warmth spread over her inner thighs.

“Alexander James Harrison, you stop this ungentlemanly display this instant!” The Dowager Duchess ordered, her voice full of venom.

Against her will, Eleanor’s cheeks filled with flames as Xander kept her gaze and let her go. She felt her body tremble as she was released, her knees suddenly weak and her breath unsteady. Eventually, Xander dragged his eyes from hers and took a few more steps back before turning his full attention to his grandmother.

“Eleanor,” the Dowager sighed, turning an apologetic look toward her granddaughter-in-law. “Would you and your friends please give us some privacy? The west tulip gardens are particularly lovely this time of day. Perhaps a walk in the air would be the just the thing.”

Eleanor nodded as she felt her three friends gather around her. Her body was still reacting to Xander’s small touch, and it was it was taking an annoyingly long time to refocus. With whispered farewells, the four of them quickly left Xander and his grandmother to talk.

“What did you do with him?” His grandmother demanded as soon as Eleanor and her friends had left.

“Him who?” Xander asked bitterly, walking off to the drink cart.

“Do not be coy with me, boy,” Margaret scolded, hobbling right behind him. “Your bride might not know why you have been gone but I do. Richard is not here. I checked in every house we own and he is nowhere to be found. What have you done with him?”

“ Richard ,” Xander stated in a hard tone as he poured some whiskey, “Is now a proud member of His Majesty’s Navy. I had to take a few days to make sure he could not run away before his first deployment. Then I had some other matters to attend to.”

“You did what?” His grandmother hissed, coming at him with her cane.

Xander caught it before it could land on the bruise he still sported from Rhys’s cheap shot, and gently put the tip of the cane back to the ground. He did not want to hurt his grandmother, but he was not going to put up with her antics either.

“Do not do that again,” he warned, before slowly draining his glass.

“Richard is not perfect,” Margaret said in a trembling voice, “But he is still family. You are the head of this house and this Dukedom, Xander, and that means we all fall under your protection whether you like it or not.”

Xander let out a bitter laugh and poured himself another.

“I am protecting Richard,” he assured her, his tone like grit, “In the Navy, he can disappear and still have a good life. He has made too many mistakes here. It is to the point where I am paying too high a price for his stupidity, and it must stop. The boy needs to learn how to grow up and be a man.”

“What are you talking about?” His grandmother asked, coming around to look at his face. He rolled his eyes and went to take a drink from his glass when Margaret’s clawlike hand shot out and stole it from him. He looked at her in disbelief as she stared right into his eyes, and took the shot without so much as a cough.

“Do not play with me, boy,” Margaret threatened, rising to her full height as she slammed the glass down. “You forget who was by your grandfather’s side with pride when he ruled. Who helped you when you first took over his responsibilities? Tell me. What have you been keeping from me?”

“Fine,” Xander agreed, waving his grandmother to a seat, too weary to keep the secret any longer. “I shall be happy to explain. You see, darling little Richard wrote some very compromising letters that are currently being used to blackmail me.”

“What?” Margaret breathed, her eyes wide as she finally sank into the chair.

“That is what all of this has been about,” Xander confessed, waving his arm toward the newly changed scenery. “The marriage. Richard going into the Navy. It is all because Victor Langley has these letters. I need Richard away so I do not have to worry about him. And I need to be away from Eleanor because our wedding must be annulled after I find a way to destroy this evidence.”

“No,” Margaret gasped, shaking her head. “Xander, the circumstances are horrible, yes, but Eleanor is a wonderful young lady! She is not responsible for her father’s actions! I am sure she does not even know.

“She does not,” he confirmed quickly.

“Precisely! She will be a lovely duchess and a wonderful mother to your children.

“She needs something I cannot provide!” He did not mean to snarl the words, but it came out that way all the same. The now-familiar sense of guilt then resurfaced and he turned to the window. Margaret said nothing to his outburst, only giving him a pitying look.

He brought his fingertips to his temples and rubbed them as closed his eyes. He did not love Eleanor. It was true. But he could not deny the way his body responded to her presence. Each and every time she came near him, every muscle tightened, every breath became difficult. Thought was nearly impossible; save for fantasies of what she would feel like beneath him; her legs wrapped tightly around his hips as those honey-brown eyes looked at him with so much-

Xander let out a ragged sigh, shaking his head to erase yet another vividly erotic image of his wife, and walked away from his grandmother.

“Go back to London, Grandmother.”