Page 52 of Wedded to the Scottish Duke

“All is well,” she said forcefully.

Diana seemed satisfied and proceeded to talk about the opera, but it did not escape Celia’s notice that Aaron continued to stare at her.

“Who else is going tonight?” Celia asked after some minutes of talking about the opera.

“The usual group,” Diana said. “Violet, Eleanor and Grace, along with Xander, Dorian and Philip.”

“The Duke of Hardbridge may come too,” the Duke of Rowley suddenly added.

“What?” Celia was aware she had stiffened.

Diana looked at her with raised eyebrows, and Aaron had the smallest of smiles on his face. She thought it might have been her imagination, for it was gone the next second.

“I mentioned it in passing to him when he came to practice his boxing with us,” Aaron explained.

“Boxing?” Celia asked, aware she must have sounded far more interested than she wanted to.

Diana looked at her with interest.

How can one not sound fascinated?

An image flashed through Celia’s mind—the Duke of Hardbridge, shirtless as he had been on the night he had carried her out of the lake, his hands raised to protect his face before he lashed out at an opponent in the boxing ring.

Oh my…

The extent to which those broad shoulders would have been on show had Celia pressing her thighs together beneath her gown, aware that the ache she had experienced before had started again between her legs.

“Unsurprisingly, he wiped the floor with most of us,” Aaron said with a slight smile. “It had been a while since I found a worthy opponent. It might be wise to put a wager on him sometime in a fight. Just not when he fights against me.”

“Aaron,” Diana whispered to him, her tone rather disapproving. Though, when he winked, she smiled and seemed to melt into his side.

Celia had to do her best not to scoff at the reaction.

“Well, I think he is an excellent choice for a sparring partner,” Celia declared.

“Celia!” Diana exclaimed.

“What?” Celia smiled a little. “Can one not admit that the Duke of Hardbridge is physically strong and therefore quite likely to win a match?”

Even if that was not at all what I was thinking of.

“Well, you may see him again tonight,” Diana warned.

Celia turned to look out the window. The news mattered more than it should, but the devil take her if she would let that show.

CHAPTER 15

Heavens, does he watch the stage at all?

Celia sat at the edge of her box. She was the closest one to the door, as the rest of her party were on her right, all avidly watching the performance.

Miriam was quite the star of the show, performing a perfect aria, her voice hitting the rafters. Celia did her best to focus on her friend, to praise her in her mind as she so often did, though at this point, it was proving difficult.

His gaze burns…

Out of the corner of her eye, she stole another glance at him, hoping the dimmed lanterns in the auditorium meant he couldn’t see her sneaking a peak.

The Duke of Hardbridge sat beside his mother and another group in the box opposite Celia’s, and he was not payingattention to the performance at all. In fact, his head was turned fully to face her. He made no pretense to be looking anywhere else, and the intensity of his gaze left her rather bewildered.