Page 10 of An Unwanted Spinster for the Duke

“Yes,” she replied, grabbing her younger sister’s hand. “We need to go immediately.”

The Duke watched the two ladies leave in the direction of the manor. He’d lost his prey in just seconds, but now his sights were set on something else.

Someoneelse.

Chapter Five

“Don’t tell me that a woman is making you wonder whether you should shoot the stag when you see it again?” Dominic chided himself.

With Marianne and her sister gone—and the stag somewhere else in the forest—his surroundings seemed to have grown quieter. His body felt warm as it always did after the excitement ebbed.

His misfired shot echoed in his head. He could have been inside the manor now, drinking whiskey, but here he was, hoping for another shot. Hesitation seemed to have gripped a part of him.

Tension lingered after that woman drove his prey away.

Marianne. The girl called her that name.

He remembered how her eyes flashed when she shielded the stag with her body. He could still see her face as he squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.

Ridiculous woman.

Marianne, or whoever she was, would not stop him from catching his prey. He was still on the trail, gripping his rifle tightly, ready to aim it at the stag once he saw it again.

Even as he regained some semblance of composure, he realized that nobody had done that before—taken him off the scent. Shattered his concentration.

The trail was still fresh. Even though the stag was strong, fast, and clever, it was not clever enough. Or at least not as clever as its hunter. It had darted west into the forest’s densest part.

It was expected.

It also helped that the forest floor was still muddy. Dominic crouched down to examine the disturbed earth. He was right. He knew it when he saw the hoofprints and their westerly direction.

Stealthy and patient, he remained in his element for about half an hour. Somebody else would have left the place in a huff. It was not the case with Dominic, whose breathing had calmed. It was as steady as when he first started this hunt—before Marianne came to ruin his plans.

“Foolish girl,” he muttered.

Yet, she was brave. She didn’t flinch when he shouted, and still didn’t even when the rifle had discharged. She was either brave or damaged. Perhaps both.

A twig snapped not too far away from him.

He stilled, every muscle in his body coiled and ready to attack.

“Thought I might find you like this,” Simon boomed into the silence Dominic had started to thrive in.

The Earl’s rifle was slung casually over his shoulder, a big grin on his face. Dominic groaned.

“I heard the shot and knew it was you. But I see no game in your hands. You missed? That has never happened before,” Simon remarked. “Did something else happen?”

Dominic merely grunted.

Simon narrowed his eyes at his friend, his smile disappearing. “All right, all right. I won’t ask about what rattled you.”

“I’m not rattled,” Dominic growled.

A lie, of course, but a necessary one. He did not want Simon prying further, and discovering how a young woman had distracted him. He could already hear his jests.

“Well, there is that,” Simon said, taking the hint. “The beast is yours. Most of the gentlemen are hopeless. Most of them had retreated to the manor with their tails between their legs. One was even crying about tearing his new coat on a branch. I myself could barely follow the trail.”

Then, he disappeared into the trees as if he’d never been there.