Page 14 of A Duchess Disciplined (Dukes of Dominance #1)

CHAPTER 13

H is wife burst into his study like a Fury, come to punish him for his misdeeds. He arched an eyebrow as she stood in the open doorway. The woman had not even bothered to knock or ask for entrance, and William was certain that Catherine knew she ought to do that .

He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was late in the evening, and he had worked through dinner, as often happened. William carefully set down his pen, watching as Catherine closed the door and stormed across the floor.

“ You are infuriating,” Catherine said.

William arched an eyebrow. “Am I?”

“Yes,” she said, curling her hands over the back of the chair across from his. “We have been married a week, and I have not seen you since our wedding night.”

His eyes flitted to the bodice of her gown, pleased with what he saw. He let his gaze wander leisurely down over those sinfully attractive curves. “Am I to assume that you are here to fulfill your wifely duties? You seem terribly eager,” William said. “It is most improper of you, my lady.”

Color rushed to the woman’s face, and William smirked.

“That is not why I am here, Your Grace.”

“Oh?”

“It concerns your sisters.”

William straightened his spine, his easy attitude vanishing in an instant. “What of them?”

“You would not need to ask that question if you had spent time with them,” Catherine replied, crossing her arms.

“Excuse me?”

“Your sisters are lonely,” Catherine said. “They need their brother to tear himself away from his desk long enough to show them attention.”

William scowled, frustration rising inside him. “That is why I married you , so they will not be lonely.”

“As if I am a replacement for their brother!” Catherine snapped.

“You have no place to tell me what to do,” William said. “Leave before I remind you of your place.”

“My place?” she scoffed. “Our agreement was that I could be myself in private , and we are in private . This is who I am. I am acting as Hester and Hannah’s guardian, which is the task you charged me with, and I am of the opinion that their brother needs to spend more time with them. They are lonely, and I am insufficient company. They need a family member.”

William scowled at her and tried to think through his feelings towards the young woman. On one hand, he found himself forced to admire her boldness. She was correct; their arrangement had been that she might be herself in private, and he had no argument for that.

On the other hand, a wife was not supposed to behave like this , and he found himself wanting to storm to her, take her over his knee, and give her a well-deserved reminder of what a wife was supposed to be.

“I am trying to manage the dukedom,” he said through gritted teeth. “Being a woman, you likely have no idea of everything involved with that.”

“I know exactly what is involved with that,” Catherine replied. “Do not forget that my brother is a duke as well.”

“A duke who wastes his time hunting fairies in the garden,” William said, scowling.

“A duke who loves his family!” Catherine retorted.

The young woman took a brazen step forward, her face bright red and her eyes alight with fire. She was beautiful when she was angry, and William’s manhood stirred with interest. No woman had ever dared be so obviously angry with him before, and that was novel enough to be alluring.

And yet infuriating .

“I love my sisters,” William said. “More than life itself. But I also have a responsibility to my tenants. I must ensure that they are well taken care of.”

“And do you imagine that if you leave your desk for just a handful of hours that the entire dukedom will fall into disarray?” Catherine asked, putting her hands on her hips. “It that is true, I fear that you are not doing an adequate job to begin with.”

“It does not befit a duke to become too comfortable,” William retorted. “Not that I would expect you to know.”

Catherine glared at him. “Excuses,” she said. “It will not be detrimental to the dukedom if you occasionally enjoy your sisters on some outing. Do you not realize how much they miss your company?”

“They are welcome to visit me any time that they wish,” William said, gesturing towards the door. “It is not as though my study exists on another continent.”

“No,” Catherine agreed. “But they will not. They fear that you will be vexed by their disturbances, and they do not wish for you to turn them away.”

William stared hard at her for a long time, considering her words. Hannah and Hester were his sisters . He would never find their presence vexing. Certainly, they knew that.

And yet, he had noticed that his sisters were lonely. That was why he had married Catherine, after all. She was meant to fill that void in their lives, and it seemed as if she was already trying to avoid those duties. William sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Even as he thought that, he knew it was an ungenerous interpretation of Catherine’s words.

“Do you truly believe that my sisters feel that way?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” she said. “I know they do. You must make some time for them, Your Grace.”

“William,” he said suddenly.

“Excuse me?”

“You do not seem like a woman who would naturally call me Your Grace. If you are to be yourself when you are in private, you ought to call me William .”

Catherine stared at him for a long moment, and her fingers curled more tightly around the back of the chair. “I will not let you distract me from the topic at hand, William. Your sisters need you, and even if you mean well, it is unkind of you to hide yourself from them.”

“Perhaps, you are right.”

Catherine blinked at him, appearing taken aback. “I—I am right,” she said.

William’s lips twitched in amusement, and he almost laughed. It seemed as though Catherine had been anticipating more of a fight, and she did not know what to do when he had failed to provide one.

“We are going to the park tomorrow,” Catherine said. “It would be nice if you could join us.”

William sighed, his gaze drifting unwillingly to the documents spread out before him. “I have a great deal of work to do, and you are proposing that I abandon it all rather suddenly. You must provide me with more notice, my lady.”

“Catherine. If I am to call you William , I ought to be Catherine .”

He smiled, and she responded in kind.

“It is sudden,” William continued, “and I have much work to do. Perhaps, if you had asked me to join you at some engagement in a few weeks.”

“A few weeks?” Catherine asked in disbelief. “You cannot be serious.”

“I am entirely serious.”

“You need a little spontaneity in your life,” Catherine replied. “What is the worst that will happen if you abandon your papers for just a day? They will still be there on your desk tomorrow, and I doubt you will have already forgotten all of their contents so quickly.”

She abandoned the chair and instead splayed her fingers over his desk and smiled at him.

“Just one trip to the park,” she said softly. “It will not even be an affair that takes you all day—just a few hours spent with your wife and your sisters. You can manage that; I am certain.”

William clenched his jaw and gazed at her. Something about Catherine had softened, and where there had been brazenness before, there was instead just feminine softness.

“And what of you?” William asked. “Would you like me to join you in the park?”

Catherine’s cheeks pinkened. “I suppose I should like to see you more, also. We are married, after all.”

“Perhaps, you would like to see me in a different context,” William said, allowing himself a long, luxurious look over the length of her body.

Catherine’s breath hitched. “I do not…I am sure that I do not know what you mean.”

“I could show you,” he mused.

Catherine smiled, and her breath audibly quickened. “I should like that.”

“But not now,” he teased. “I have much work to finish, and you are determined to take me away from my desk tomorrow.”

He did not miss the look of disappointment in her eyes, fleeting though it was, and William delighted in it. His wife was a wicked, hungry woman. He considered briefly amending his teasing and instead making love to her with Catherine spread open above the desk.

“I see,” Catherine said. “You consider me to be a distraction. That is useful information to have.”

“Useful, how?”

She smiled coyly. “I do not feel inclined to tell you. I am sure that you will figure it out, though. With all your knowledge and experience.”

William clenched his jaw, and his loins stirred with interest. “If you continue to prove to be a distraction, I shall correct that behavior.”

“Will you?” she asked, her eyes wide with mock innocence. “I thought our agreement was that I might be myself in private. Perhaps, I wish to be distracting in private.”

“I suspect you are equally distracting in public,” he growled.

He needed her to leave before he succumbed to the temptations of her soft curves and sly smirks.

“You have delayed my work for long enough,” William said. “I shall take your words under careful consideration and determine if I may join you at the park tomorrow. The more that I accomplish today, the more likely that is to happen.”

Catherine nodded. “Very well,” she said. “I hope I am not disappointed in you.”

“I hope so, also.”

He considered her retreating back as she slipped from his study. He did not want to disappoint her, he decided. That was a problem. William did not like feelings, much less ones that involved a desire to please another person. Feelings were irrational and did not suit men with responsibilities. He preferred to be rational and focus his attention on facts. Catherine was his wife. He did not owe her anything.

But maybe in this matter, she was right.