My Dangerous Duke (The Twisted Dukes #2)

Chapter 15

Three Weeks Later

“ W hy are we doing this?” Xander fumed, staring daggers down at Eleanor. “After what happened last time, I was hoping we would have a valid reason to kick your parents out of our home.”

Eleanor had recovered from her bout of sickness, and since then, her relationship with Xander had changed drastically. He still was gone a lot, looking for a way to get them both out of this mess, and he still did not sleep in her bed; but he no longer tried to avoid her.

“We have many reasons,” Eleanor replied, continuing to toy with his cravat.

He was sure she was done now and just fussing, but he let her. Though he would never admit it, he had been starting to give in to his cravings a little. A touch of her hand here, or a tug of the arm there. Nowhere near enough; it only scraped the smallest surface of his deep itch.

“Name them,” he demanded, trying to stay focused.

She threw him a look that clearly said watch yourself, then gently pushed his chest and walked away from him.

“Well to start, yes. My parents have been pressuring me to host another soiree,” she replied, taking a seat, “Then there is the fact that all of our friends are here and how little time you have made for them.”

“You mean your friends .”

She glared at him and Xander grunted, casting his eyes away from her.

“And, most importantly, because your cousin Richard is back home. He shall be most thankful that you have held a little welcome party for him.”

“He is going to know right away it was not my idea,” Xander retorted.

“He will be thankful for your company all the same,” she chirped back cheerfully.

“And your parents?” He asked next.

Xander looked back over at her, but now it was Eleanor who was avoiding his gaze.

“You have given my father the help he needs to gain access to White’s,” she replied matter-of-factly, grabbing the book on the nearby table with lightning speed and opening it.

“Oh, look, Shakespeare,” she noted, throwing him a quick smile. “I never knew you were a romantic, darling.”

“He can be quite bloody with his battles when he is not writing love sonnets,” Xander quipped defensively as he plucked the book out of her hands and snapped it shut, “And what do you mean I have gained him access to White’s? Certainly, I would remember pulling such strings.”

“Well,” Eleanor sighed, crossing her arms and staring down at the carpet as Xander hunkered down before her. “Perhaps you do not remember because it was your wife who actually wrote the missive to the club. It just happened to be on your letterhead. Either way, the effects of such cause remain the same.”

Xander suddenly rose to his feet, not sure whether to be mad, offended, or impressed.

“You did what?” He asked. Oh, he realized, feeling the first emotion take over. It was going to be anger. Eleanor shot to her feet quickly, glaring up at him.

“It was a solution to a problem,” she argued. “We do not want him here and the only reason he wants to be here is to get access to White’s. This way we only have to put up with him and my family through dinner. They already have plans to sleep somewhere else, Mother’s cousins’ house in Bath, I assured it. This gives us as limited time with them as possible while still fulfilling obligations.”

“You should have talked to me about it first,” he argued, still angry despite her logic. “My word, unlike your father’s, means something to this society and if I vouch for a man like him so willingly, it brings a lot into question!”

“It is done,” Eleanor stated with a shrug, clearly unruffled by his outburst. “You will thank me for it later.”

Unable to help it, Xander actually felt his jaw drop.

“You are insane,” he breathed.

“You mispronounced clever,” she tossed back sarcastically, walking away. “Come, our guests are arriving any moment.”

“Say it,” Eleanor purred, sending a dangerous carnal shiver down Xander’s spine. He looked down at her sideways, a smile threatening to break the frown on his lips.

“You were right,” he sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I beg your pardon?” Eleanor asked, her beautiful smile growing bigger. She looked radiant tonight in her mint green satin gown with her hair only half up. And if her actions that evening did not deserve praise, her beauty certainly did. Either way, he had to admit the truth.

“You were right,” he stated louder, feeling downright wrong for verbalizing such a confession. “About everything.”

Indeed, she had. Eleanor’s deviant plan of sending her father off to the club had worked like a charm, and her family had barely been able to make it through dessert before they were bidding everyone goodbye. As for the rest of the guest list, Eleanor had done extremely well. Keeping the soiree simple and classy, the list consisted of her parents, his grandmother, Richard, Rhys, and Penelope.

Even Richard, to his surprise, had been a joy to have home so far. The only annoying part of the evening was Penelope’s uninvited brother, Patrick, showing up. Not liking strangers in his home, Xander was put off by this immediately. Patrick also did not help himself when he kept putting his hands on Xander’s wife.

Not much. A hand to her elbow, at her back. But Xander was ready to break the man’s hand if he pushed his luck.

“That is the nicest thing you have ever said to me,” Eleanor sighed dramatically, making him give in and chuckle.

“That is enough gloating,” Xander tried to chastise. It only made them both laugh, though, and Xander felt warmth fill his chest as he looked down at his wife.

“Very well,” she agreed, waving her hands in surrender. “On a serious note, your grandmother has sent me to fetch you, gentlemen. She declares that you have been out here smoking cigars long enough and that it is time to play cards. Also, she shall be taking everyone’s money.”

“Oh, she absolutely will,” Xander replied seriously, nodding toward Rhys and the others to come in. “Keep an eye on your cards, she is a beast.”

Back inside, Xander moved Eleanor’s chair so that she could sit at the card table. But, as he moved to sit down next to her, the Dowager’s cane came out of nowhere and thwacked him on the calf.

“What do you think you are doing?” The Dowager asked as Eleanor, Penelope, and her sister, Lydia, stifled their laughter.

“I thought we were playing cards?” Xander asked with a confused look.

“We are!” the Dowager agreed, smiling nicely, “But you go with the gentlemen and Eleanor is with us ladies. We shall declare the table winners at the end and then hold a two-card draw. Winner takes all.”

Smirking as he watched Eleanor try to hide her smile behind her cards, Xander cleared his throat, then went to take a seat at the other card table. A moment later, Rhysand and his friend, Patrick, filed in and joined him.

So much for a man who claimed he did not have any friends.

“So, Larsen,” Patrick said casually as they began their first hand. “How is it going making an heir?”

Patrick’s absurdly inappropriate question caught Xander off guard as he was taking a sip of his whiskey, and he coughed and sputtered as he felt his anger rise.

“I do not believe that is any of your business, Mr. Hislop,” he stated, trying to remain calm as the others laughed at Patrick’s boldness.

How did Penelope’s brother simply invite himself here?

“I believe it is,” Patrick quipped back, a tad more serious. “Eleanor is a friend to the ladies, and I, for one, am not looking forward to the tongue-lashing I shall receive when you break Eleanor’s heart. None of us are. For the sake of all of us give her a child already so we can all breathe easier.”

Blindsided by the man’s crude and blunt language, Xander did not immediately see that Rhys was giving him a steady glare. When he did though, Xander looked back at him challengingly, refusing to back down.

“It is true,” Rhys stated, “Penelope will not let me have a good night's sleep for months if you break Eleanor’s heart. She is already bothering me constantly about it; wondering why you are always leaving her alone.”

Rhys cocked his head slightly, still looking at Xander.

“Why are you always gone, Xander?” He asked with feigned innocence.

“Not a single part of my personal life is open for your discussion or judgment, and I hardly know you ,” he stated, giving Patrick a hard look first, then Rhys.

“But it is open to opinion,” Patrick pushed boldly, smirking. “Rumor has it you are slinking about trying to find ways to get an annulment. But you know what I saw tonight, Larsen?”

“You do not know me, you will not speak to me with such familiarity,” Xander warned.

“I saw your eyes glued to that pretty wife of yours. All. Night. Long,” Patrick stated with emphasis, ignoring him.

Xander deadpanned, the call out so blunt that he did not have anything to respond to it.

“You know,” Rhys chimed in, “It would not be the end of the world if you discovered you were in love.”

“Seeing as how I took your arse down to the mat four times the other night, you should be more worried about your boxing skills than my marriage,” Xander retorted defensively.

Finished with the conversation and unable to focus on his cards, Xander tossed them down to the table and rose from his chair.

“You have been boxing with Xander instead of me?” Patrick asked Rhys in a hurt tone. “I thought I was your best friend?”

“I never said you were my best friend,” Rhys quipped back as he got up to follow Xander, “Now be a man and get back to your cards.”

A roar of laughter went up behind Rhys and Xander as they walked out of the room, only serving to irritate Xander some more.

“Leave me be,” Xander warned. “Why did you bring him? He was not invited and he is extremely annoying.”

“He is Penelope’s brother and she wanted him to come,” Rhys scoffed, keeping up with Xander’s brisk pace easily. “Besides, everyone else loves him. Including your wife.”

This brought Xander up short, stopping so abruptly that Rhys actually walked several steps ahead before he realized it.

“What did you say?” Xander asked, feeling his vision turn red.

Rhys seemed to catch this and he rolled his eyes, walked back, and clapped Xander on the shoulder.

“Relax, Larsen. As friends. Siblings at most. He is Penelope’s brother after all. They practically all grew up together.”

Rhys then looked him down, his humor fading as he drew a more sincere conclusion.

“You know, you getting upset at this might be an indication that you are actually feeling something for this woman.”

“Just because it happened for you, it does not mean we are all the same.”

Xander glared down at Rhys threateningly for a moment before he kept walking. Then, from behind him, he heard Rhys sigh loudly and say, “I found your letters.”