Page 65 of Wedded to the Scottish Duke

“So that is the man you were telling me about?” Miriam said with a giggle as Celia reached her in the tiered seating. “No wonder you find it hard to stay away from him.” She bit her lip as she watched the Duke of Hardbridge.

Celia couldn’t help watching him either as he took his place in the ring again. “Exactly, which is why I have to leave.”

“What, now?”

“Yes, now.” Celia gave her betting slips to Miriam, having no intention of collecting them—it would simply delay her. “Whenever I am around the Duke of Hardbridge, I do things I never thought I would do. It’s high time I took control back from him.”

“I don’t know.” There was a mischievous glint in Miriam’s eyes. “Something tells me it would be quite fun to give him control of my body.”

Jealousy roared inside Celia before she pushed it down.

“Then you go for him,” she said abruptly.

Her gaze flicked to the ring, where the Duke of Hardbridge’s next opponent had taken their place. The gentleman looked rather like a soldier. He was ready for the bout, though he looked cautiously at the Duke. Clearly, he had witnessed the fight against the Bear.

“I need to go home. From now on, I’m staying as far away from the Duke of Hardbridge as I can.”

CHAPTER 18

“Well, that was something.” Aaron looked Keith right in the eyes as Keith jumped down from the ring.

Keith had lost count of how many fights he’d had that night. There were only a few grazes on him, for all his opponents had barely been able to touch him. In fact, the only reason they had grazed him at all was that he had grown tired.

“Remind me never to bet against Keith,” Xander said thoughtfully as he counted up his winnings. “I’ve done mighty well tonight.”

“I’m glad at least someone’s happy.” Keith sat down on a bench as he was handed back his waistcoat and Philip tossed him a towel to wipe off the sweat.

“You’re not happy?” Philip raised an eyebrow. “You flattened everyone here tonight.”

“Well, maybe a little.” Keith permitted himself a small smile, much to the others’ amusement.

He wiped the sweat from his face, trying to hold on to the buzz and thrill of the fight. It was certainly exhilarating, and for a few minutes, he had been able to forget the ridiculous foppery of the ton and think about nothing but surviving the next blow.

That didn’t last long, though. Now that he was sitting down, he was thinking of the way Celia had been looking at him. He dwelled on how she had obviously been concerned about him, and the way she had gripped his shirt.

We cannot stay away from each other. This is exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

“You all right?” Xander asked, sitting beside him and passing him a flagon of something he first presumed to be water. He quickly realized it wasn’t and indulged in the burn at the back of his throat.

“Aye, fine,” Keith lied, trying to push all thoughts of Celia away.

“There’s something you should know.” Philip nodded at the crowd. “Whilst you were up there fighting, people have been talking.”

“Do they ever do anything else?” Keith asked with a sigh.

Xander snorted. “They always whisper. They spread rumors and tales, even if they’re entirely of their own creation.”

“They said some good things about you,” Aaron pointed out. “That you’re quite the fighter, and that a duke who was once a laird is something to be reckoned with.”

Keith took another hefty sip of his drink, for he had seen Philip wince at these words.

“They said other things too,” Philip whispered.

“Such as?” Keith prompted.

“You were seen talking to Celia.” Philip’s demeanor softened.

It was clear he was worried about Keith. It wasn’t like before, when he was trying to warn Keith off Celia. Now, he was concerned about the whole situation.