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“I also wanted to see your wife.” Theo smiled. “You forbade us from attending the wedding.”

“Only because I knew you would spare no details of my embarrassing past.”

And William wasn’t ready to bring a wife he did not know into his world. His friends were his escape from life’s troubles, and if marriage to her turned out to be a grievous error in judgment, he needed a place to escape to.

“I would not have done so, but now that you mention it, perhaps I would go and search for your mystery Duchess myself.” Theo smirked, rising from his seat. “There are some stories she needs to hear about her dear Duke. Who knows? She might leave you for me.”

“Don’t you dare, Emerton,” William warned. “Leave my?—”

The door opened suddenly to reveal Eveline with a frown on her face, looking like a vision in the deep green dress she had chosen. Her eyes widened as she looked between William and Theo, the frown slipping off her face in surprise.

“Eveline,” William said, quickly rising from his seat. “Is anything the matter?”

Eveline had never come to his study before, and for her to do so now meant there had to be an emergency she could not solve on her own.

“N-No,” she stuttered, not meeting his eyes. “I did not know you had a guest. I am sorry to have interrupted.”

“You should not apologize, Duchess,” Theo told her, rising from his seat with a bright smile. “I was just asking your husband to introduce us. It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Eveline turned to William with a questioning look. Then, a hint of pity flickered in her eyes, which confused him, but it quickly disappeared.

He frowned, dreading introducing her to Theo. The man was charming and only had to smile at a woman to get her to forget propriety. He did not want to imagine Eveline so lacking in character or his friend stooping so low, but there was a sliver of fear in his heart.

“Eveline, this is my friend Theo, the Duke of Emerton,” he announced. “Theo, may I present my Duchess.”

Theo walked over to Eveline, who still had not moved away from the door, taking her hand in his to place a kiss on it.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” he said, smiling. “I wanted to see the woman who captured my stoic friend’s attention. You are more beautiful than I had imagined.”

William frowned when Eveline flushed, dipping her head the way she did with him. He narrowed his eyes at her hand still in Theo’s, and his ire flared.

“Thank you, Your Grace,” Eveline replied.

“What is the purpose of your visit, Eveline?” William asked sharply.

His tone was colder than he had intended, and he was pained to see her flinch, but it achieved the desired result of separating her hand from Theo’s.

“I…” Eveline lowered her head. “I was coming to remind you about our arrangement.”

He straightened as he remembered that he had indeed promised to have dinner with her.

Damn.

“I—”

“It is all right,” she said. “I shall leave you with your friend.”

She turned to leave, and guilt hit him heavier than anything he had ever felt. She had complained about her loneliness, and he had a major hand in it, taking her away from her home, where she at least had her sisters to keep her company. He knew his servants would refrain from forming a closer relationship with her for fear of insulting him.

“I will only be a moment,” he spoke up quickly before she left. “I am sorry to have made you wait.”

She turned back, her eyes bright and hopeful. “We can always have dinner tomorrow. I do not want to?—”

“It is not a bother, Eveline,” he assured her. “Theo was just leaving.”

“All right. I shall wait for?—”

Theo guffawed loudly, drawing their eyes to him. He was bent over in his amusement, slapping his thigh with no intention of stopping soon.