Page 108 of Claiming his Cursed Duchess

With that, he pushed her skirts to her thighs and lowered his head between them, and there was no more talking, save for rushed breaths and soft sighs as her body came undone for her duke.

Epilogue

SEVEN MONTHS LATER

“Do you think he will propose tonight?” Rosaline asked as they watched Henry on the other side of the room.

Adam glanced at her with a severe expression, but it was rather ruined by the smile she could see at the corner of his mouth.

“He has danced with hertwice.”

“And he looks at her as though she were the most beautiful woman in the room.”

Adam took a sip of his drink. “Well he can continue looking at her that way, butIam married to themostbeautiful woman in the room, so he is mistaken.”

Rosaline laughed as Adam inched a little closer to her. She sipped her drink, her eye following the line of distorted candlelight as it played over her scarred skin.

It had been a long time since she had felt the need to cover herself.

Without the constant jibes and cruel words from her aunt and uncle, Rosaline felt as though she had thrown off the shroud of pain and anguish she had carried with her since her mother and brother had died.

She could be herself in a room full of people, show her scars to the world and understand that no harm could come from it.

Occasionally, she would notice a furtive glance from a stranger, but it no longer upset her as it once had.

“You look beautiful,” Adam said sincerely, and she dragged her eyes away, looking up at him to find him watching her carefully.

“Thank you, my love, I know I do,” she said teasingly. “But it is pleasant to hear you say it.”

He smiled as she absorbed the deep affection in his eyes that was reserved for her alone.

“What is the name of Henry’s dance partner?” Rosaline asked, watching Henry speaking animatedly with the woman across the room. She was tall with beautiful red hair and a dazzling smile.

“Lady Esther; she is the daughter of a marquess,” Adam’s tone sounded a little off.

“You do not approve?”

“On the contrary. But she is rather young—only twenty—and Henry could do with someone a little more experienced to keep him out of trouble.”

“He has not beenintrouble for some months,” Rosaline protested.

“No. Because you have had a good influence on him. He wishes to impress you, and therefore has toed the line.”

“Oh nonsense,” she said, chuckling. “Henry has only ever wished to impress one person, and that is you.”

Henry had blossomed over the last few months, applying himself to several tasks about the estate that Adam had given to him.

The specter of war had faded, and Henry was less prone to taking risks now that his future was secured.

She watched him as he led Lady Esther to the floor and Rosaline hid her smile behind her glass as Henry laughed far too loudly, making some other couples turn to stare at them.

“He is being too obvious,” Adam muttered. “She has a fortune of her own, thankfully, or I would think she was courting him for his inheritance.”

Rosaline sighed. “Would you prefer he were aloof and cold, like someone I knew once?”

Adam tensed, turning to her with an apologetic look in his eye and sighed.

“Touché, my dear.”