Page 5

His arms were thick like tree trunks. His chest was meaty and round like a barrel. Selina was utterly helpless in his arms, which elicited excitement in ways that she had never known before and did not have time to contemplate because she was trying far too hard to resist the urge to wrap her arms around his large neck and?—

“Your room?” he prompted angrily. “Which way?”

“My… oh!” Her eyes widened when she realized the reason he was asking the question. Relief flooded her, or was that disappointment? “T-That way.” She pointed to the right.

“We better be quick,” he muttered, taking off.

She was so small in his huge arms. So helpless and powerless, completely at his mercy. Even if she wanted to, she would not have been able to fight him off. And while she should have wanted such a thing, the feel of those arms holding her as she rested against his large chest was a sensation that she relished quietly—and she refused to admit why.

The Duke suddenly came to a halt.

“What is the meaning of this!” Lady Langham stood at the end of the hallway. “Your Grace? Selina!”

“Lady Langham!” The Duke faltered, still holding Selina, seeming to clutch her even tighter to his muscled chest. “Your daughter fell,” he explained. “I was simply carrying her to her room.”

“And the nightgown?” Lady Langham raised an eyebrow at them both. “Need I ask my daughter what she was doing, wandering the halls dressed like this?”

It was a strange thing, but the Dowager Viscountess did not appear as angry as she ought to be. Not happy, yes. But not ropeable, as would have been expected. If anything—and only because Selina knew her mother so well—Lady Langham looked almost pleased… even vindicated.

“This is all perfectly explainable,” the Duke said with far more poise than Selina could fathom. “If you will allow me to?—”

“Brother!” Lord Edmund stepped out of the bedroom with his shirt open, his hands fumbling with his breeches as he pulled them up. “I cannot find my boots, and I—” He came to a grinding halt when he saw Lady Langham standing there.

“I am eagerly awaiting that explanation, Your Grace,” she said. She crossed her arms and looked between the three of them, a smirk working up the side of her face. “Let me see how you spin this!”

Selina’s heart raced as she assessed the situation. Caught being carried by the Duke. Still wearing a nightgown and looking as if she had only just woken up. The Duke’s half-naked brother coming out of the bedroom, stunned into silence as he realized what was happening.

Oh no… Please, God, no.

“Well!” the Dowager Viscountess snapped.

“My brother and your daughter…” The Duke’s body stiffened, and his jaw set determinedly. “There has been a slight misunderstanding, I am afraid. But they assured me that nothing untoward happened.”

“Iwill tell you what happened! Your brother seduced my daughter! Got her good and drunk and lured her into his room?—”

“That’s a lie!” Lord Edmund cried.

“Quiet!” the Duke snarled.

“He speaks the truth,” Selina implored. “Mother, please, this is not…” she trailed off as she realized how futile her argument was, especially considering the fact that she was still in the Duke’s arms.

“This is an outrage!” her mother exclaimed. “Your Grace, what do you have to say about this?!”

The Duke sucked air through his teeth, and despite the calamity of the situation, Selina was surprised at how calm he was—his heart rate was slow, and his chest rose and fell steadily.

“My brother has erred,” he relented. “And as far as I can see, there is but one solution.”

“I am listening.”

The Duke turned to his brother and shook his head in disappointment. “Lady Langham, I propose that my brother marry your daughter without delay.”

“What?” Selina tried to wriggle free, although she doubted the Duke so much as felt it. “Mother, no! Do not listen?—”

“I accept,” Lady Langham said quickly.

“What? Brother, no!” Lord Edmund cried. “I must protest?—”

“You will do no such thing!” the Duke snapped before fixing his attention back on the Dowager Viscountess. “There is to be a ball tonight, yes?”