Page 34 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

“Enter!” he called as he pulled on his coat, ready to leave for his club.

Louise came in, her face flushed from the chill outside, her eyes bright and curious. They skimmed over him as she pushed open the door, and then she glanced nervously at his desk. Christianhid a smile—what he wouldn’t give to repeat those few moments where he had held her in his arms.

Another time, I am already late.

“My mother is leaving,” she said stiffly. “I wanted to ask if I could send her home in your carriage.”

“Of course,” he replied. “It is your carriage, too—you do not need to ask.”

She nodded.

Christian expected her to leave, but instead, she stood there, clasping her hands behind her back, her eyes darting around the room.

“I wanted to thank you,” Louise said.

Christian tugged at his coat for the final time, raising an eyebrow at her curiously. “What for?”

Louise hesitated.

Am I really going to thank this man for helping me, when he is one of the most arrogant men in England?

“For defending me against my father. You did not have to do that.”

Christian scoffed, and she held back the urge to roll her eyes at his superior attitude.

“I will not be insulted in my own home. You are an extension of my position here, I will not listen to him ridicule your pursuits either. Besides, you did not need me to defend you—you did a good enough job of that yourself.”

He rounded the desk, pocketing a letter as he did so, and she felt a surge of unease at him leaving again.

Is this what this marriage will be like? Me waiting for him to return from his club at all hours of the night?

“Are you leaving?” she asked, irritated by the imploring tone of her voice.

Christian did not seem to notice, turning to face her and nodding as he straightened his sleeves. The jacket he was wearing was cut so close to his body that it looked like a second skin.

“I need to return to Orions, yes.”

“I know so little about it. My father has spoken many times about The Devils… Is Orions so different?”

Christian snorted. “It is superior in every sense of the word. We have the finest membership in London and alongwaiting list.”

Louise crossed her arms over her chest. “But what is it that makes it sosuperior? I do not understand how one can be so different from the other.”

“Apart from your father’s mismanagement and gambling, you mean?”

Louise balked at his tone and opened her mouth to argue, before closing it again in dismay.

“Hedidgamble your life on a deck of cards,” Christian added, but his voice was softer this time.

He wasn’t crowing about it, simply stating a fact.

I suppose there is no use in denying that my father has gambled away half of his fortune. Everyone in London seems to be aware of it.

“Well then, explain it to me. You are a founding member, are you not?”

Christian leaned back against his desk, impossibly tall and handsome. It seemed as though he were contemplating whether to give up his valuable time to answer her questions. Louise found that she wasdesperatefor him to stay and spend more time with her—it was infuriating.

“Orions was set upbecauseof your father.”