Page 70

Hector could feel himself stirring. His yearning set his skin and flesh alight as he contemplated rolling her onto her stomach and pressing into her until his name was all she could utter.

Before he could put his thoughts into action, he was interrupted by a knock upon his door.

“Your Grace?” came John’s voice. “I understand that you might require your rest, but there is still the matter of Lord Elwike’s outstanding dinner invitation to you and the Duchess which has been scheduled for this evening.”

Juliet raised her head in confusion. “What dinner invitation?”

Hector sighed and leaned away from her slightly to shout in the direction of the door.

“I did not forget. The Duchess and I will be ready in time. Thank you, John.”

“Of course, Your Grace.” the butler responded, followed by the footfall of his retreat.

“Hector, what is he talking about? What dinner invitation?” Juliet questioned with a frown.

Hector could already sense this wasn’t a conversation that would progress well, but it was necessary that she understood what was happening, so he fought the urge to be nonchalant about it.

“My cousin and his wife invited us for dinner upon hearing of our arrival in London. It is to take place tonight.”

“And you are just telling me this now?” she asked incredulously.

Hector fought the urge to sigh again.

“We were occupied with other matters. And now, you know, so you can prepare yourself for it.”

“You are easily the most infuriating person I have ever met,” she stated coolly, rising out of the bed.

“After last night, I was of the impression that you were willing to excuse that side of me,” he grinned and watched as she rifled through his wardrobe for a dressing gown.

She merely scoffed as she found one to shroud herself in, not bothering to answer him before she left the room.

Hector lay in bed for a while longer, pretending he didn’t already miss her warmth, and tried to ignore how her absence tugged at his heart.

CHAPTER 26

“Idon’t know if this will do.”

Juliet saw Leila smile down at her in the mirror before them as she tugged gently at the black bow that held back some of her hair.

“I promise, Your Grace, you look wonderful. It will be fine.”

Juliet sighed and wished she had more time to properly prepare for the dinner.

Hector had treated the invitation so casually, as though it was not an important event. Perhaps it wasn’t to him because he had known the Marquess of Elwike and his wife for a much longer period of time than she had. To him, it was simply a regular evening spent in the company of dear friends.

To her, it was much more than that. She would be dining with the only family he had left, and it afforded her the opportunity to show that she was worthy of Hector.

Although the Marquess was quite pleasant at their wedding party, he could still deem her unfit for his cousin and declare her a potential risk to his title and reputation. The thought of that worried Juliet immensely.

“I wish I had been given more time to prepare,” the Duchess sighed as she tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the exposed skin of her neck.

Hector had left marks all over her from their activities last night, and she was worried that some of them might not be easily concealed. But Leila had proved to be an excellent help, expertly covering up whatever marks were visible using the cosmetics they had on hand.

It had been a bittersweet to watch the redness that served as proof of what they had done disappear, but she consoled herself, knowing they were merely concealed, not completely gone, and last night had indeed happened.

“You are all right, Your Grace,” Leila assured gently. “You have my word.”

Just then there was a knock at the door. As Leila opened it, a maid entered and politely curtsied before announcing, “The Duke awaits your presence, Your Grace, if you are ready.”