Page 37 of A Duchess to Unravel

Alistair immediately regretted using the word as a forlorn look came over Theo’s face. She would have a new home now.Hishome. One she’d never known or even seen.

“You mean the Caldermere London house?” She asked, her tone laced with hope.

Alistair shook his head, hiding the flare of pity he suddenly had for her.

“Nay, lass. I need a reprieve from London and there is more business I must handle away from it. We are going to Caldermere.”

Theo’s eyes widened, and he hated the panic he saw in them. Still, he was impressed by the way she seemed to internally fight the emotion. When she spoke next, her tone held an iced edge.

“Well, can I at least bid goodbye to my friends and brother before we take our abrupt departure?”

Though annoyed with her tone and glare, Alistair gave her a stiff nod.

“Make it quick,” he commanded.

As she left his side to find her friends and Tristan, Alistair kept one eye on her and the other on the crowd. Wondering now, too, which one, if any, could possibly be stalking his wife.

CHAPTER NINE

“Iwould like us to go over our arrangement again,” Theo stated, breaking the silence.

They had been traveling for hours now in a tense silence. Theo had thought for a moment as she’d walked down the aisle toward Alistair, that perhaps their marriage could be bearable. After the way he dragged her from the reception, though, she had started to worry that she was making a mistake. Even if part of her had been relieved to be out of the watchful stare of their guests’ eyes, she was still annoyed that she’d had to make hurried goodbyes to her friends and Tristan.

Alistair, who had stared out the window of their carriage since the moment they’d boarded it, slowly turned his head toward her and lounged deeper into his seat. His large body took up most of the space already, but as he did that, it pushed his knees toward hers, brushing against them.

“Very well,” he acquiesced.

His bored tone instantly renewed Theo’s annoyance, and she shook her head.

“Never mind,” she huffed, crossing her arms.

The deep sound of Alistair’s chuckle both annoyed and aroused her and she silently cursed herself for being so attracted to him.

“Now, dinnae be a spoiled lass, come on and tell me what ye want to know. Have ye settled on ye wish?” He asked.

She looked back at him, tilted her chin up, and straightened her spine.

“I have several, actually,” she replied matter-of-factly.

He smirked.

“Let’s hear them then.”

“I want what you promised,” she replied. “That you will keep my secret about the Devil’s Masquerade.”

He rolled his eyes.

“That’s a given.”

“You will handle this situation with my stalker.”

“Aye, I already promised that,” he agreed, then yawned.

Theo’s annoyance sparked into fury at his bored nature.

“And once you are finished with your business in England, you will go back to Scotland where you belong.” She finished with venom.

“Gladly,” he said dryly, narrowing his eyes slightly at her.