Page 5 of Duke of Pride

“Oh, dear!” she gasped, realizing the implication of Stephen arriving in the middle of the night. “He must have been shocked to find you in his room.”

In his dressing room, to be more precise.

Victoria bit her lip to chase the memory of the ‘incident’ away. It would do no one any good to inform Dorothy exactly how both her companion and her son were entangled, naked, in the dark.

Blood rushed to Victoria’s cheeks as she thought of his stormy blue eyes. She shook her head sharply and took a sip of her tea, now lukewarm. No, this would not do. She would compose herself. She would regain her balance.

“Please tell me he did not overreact. He can be so…”

So massive and solid? Hot? Dangerous? Because he could be all things and then some.

“He was surprised, of course,” Victoria replied carefully. “But he was an absolute gentleman.”

She may have stretched the truth a little bit too much there.

“Ah,” Dorothy sighed.

“He insisted I return to bed, but I thought that it was too much to keep him out of his room.”

Dorothy nodded and smiled.

Victoria opened her mouth to ask why the Dowager Duchess had failed to inform him about her presence in the house as her companion when the air shifted. She knew instinctively why, the way innocent prey would freeze when a dangerous animal prowled around.

The Duke entered the room—fully clothed, thank the Heavens—in confident strides. Not that it helped at all. He was fully dressed last night, too. Well, in wet clothes that clung to his body, almost transparent. In addition, he hadn’t bothered with a cravat or properly buttoned up his shirt, so Victoria got a glimpse of his collarbone. A sight that has proved to be more upsetting than she would have thought about mere bones on a body.

Focus on something else, for all that is holy!

Victoria decided to notice how Dorothy’s face lit up when she saw her son, and she smiled.

The older woman stood up and wrapped her arms around her son. For a few precious moments, Stephen returned the embrace before he tensed.

“Dear, you never sent word that you were coming,” Dorothy said.

“I did not exactly plan to come, to be honest.” Stephen took his seat at the table.

Then, he turned to Victoria painfully slow, as if he too was mortified of their late-night ‘incident.’

“Miss Victoria,” he greeted.

“Your Grace.” Victoria smiled for Dorothy’s sake.

They resumed their breakfast.

Victoria could already feel the change in the air, the shift that his presence brought. Breakfasts with Dorothy were usually fun and light, filled with crazy stories, gossip, and plans for the day. Now, it was all cups clinking against saucers and the soft rustling of clothes.

Dorothy looked at Victoria, imploring her to end the silence, but Victoria motioned that she was on her own in that venture.

“You are staying for long, I hope,” Dorothy said sincerely. “Or even better, you are back for good.”

“It depends on how a certain matter is resolved.” Stephen’s deep voice filled the room.

“A certain matter?”

Stephen took a letter out of his pocket and handed it to his mother. He kept drinking his black tea, looking at her over the rim of his cup.

“Well, that is…” Dorothy frowned.

“Concerning,” Stephen supplied.