Page 64 of Bound By the Duke

“Let’s go,” he eventually muttered, before turning around and walking away.

Left with no choice, Aurelia followed after him as the shadows stretched around them.

CHAPTER 20

Whitmore Estate was elegant as ever when they returned. Candlelight flickered in the windows, drawing her eye.

The carriage rolled to a halt. Aurelia rose from her seat, and although Percival offered his hand, she ignored it.

She stepped down, expecting to feel a wave of relief at being home. However, her chest burned. The incident at the park lingered in her mind.

Her husband’s sharp words had cut her family deeply. The fact had gnawed at her for the whole ride back.

Her jaw clenched. She had tried to swallow it on the way home, but it lingered like wine on her tongue, heavy and impossible to ignore.

Her gaze flickered with hurt. Percival, of course, noticed. He always noticed. His blue eyes flicked over her face as they stepped into the manor. But, as always, he didn’t ask. He let the silence reign, as if daring her to speak.

By the time they reached her chamber door, he offered a slight bow. The gesture was so perfectly measured that it made her pulse quicken with irritation.

When he turned, she resisted the urge to speak. But the moment he took a step forward, she snapped.

“Is that all?”

Her voice was sharper than she had intended, but she didn’t care.

Percival stopped, his hand resting on the doorframe. Then, slowly, he turned back to her.

“Pardon?” He narrowed his eyes just a fraction.

Aurelia scoffed, then stepped closer, her chest heaving. “You think this is how one re-enters society? By berating my family as if they were children? By speaking for me as though I were mute?”

His brows drew together, and a frown deepened the lines of his face. “They disrespected you,” he reminded her, as though she hadn’t witnessed it. “I will not allow that.”

She laughed so hard that his brows rose slowly in confusion, especially as the sound was bitter, almost trembling.

“Allow?” She cocked her head. “You are not my keeper, Percival.”

“No,” he said smoothly, though there was a warning under his tone. “I am your husband, and if you do not claim your place as my duchess, then I will do it for you.”

The words struck her like fire and ice at once. Her lips parted with shock, fury inspiring her next words.

“So you admit it,” she hissed. “This isn’t about me at all. It’s about you.” Her voice cracked with emotion. “About keeping your title polished and your wife spotless, so no one whispers about you. You don’t defend me out of care. You defend me because I bear your name, and you can’t stand the thought of being embarrassed.”

Silence fell between them. His frown deepened, his gaze locking onto hers with startling intensity. He didn’t speak right away, simply studying her as though the heat in his stare could burn the thought out of her mind.

She had done it again. Testing him. Taunting him. Driving him mad.

“Is that truly what you think of me?” he asked, his voice low.

Aurelia swallowed thickly. She knew that tone. Yet, she refused to back down.

“Yes,” she whispered, jutting her chin stubbornly even though a huge knot had formed in her stomach. “Why else would you be so quick to silence them? You don’t trust me to stand on my own.”

“You think I did it for my own pride?” he rasped. Her gaze lowered, and she saw his hands curl into fists at his sides. “That I silenced them because I feared being embarrassed?”

“Isn’t it true?” she challenged. “You were so quick to cut me off because you didn’t believe in me. Youdon’tbelieve in me. I embarrass you, don’t I?” Her voice trembled slightly.

His chest rose and fell with a heavy breath. Her words had cut deeper than she meant, and the hurt on his face made her almost wish she could take them back.