Page 75 of Duke of Wickedness

Letting herself think of this as anything more… It was dangerous.

“Thank you,” she said, and the awkwardness came back in full force. “I…I should be getting back to my friend.”

“Right,” he said, taking a step back. “Of course. I will…see you another time, then.”

“Of course,” she agreed. It was painful. Excruciating.

Curtseying did not make it better.

As soon as David was looking in another direction, Ariadne made a horrified face at Phoebe, who sent her back sympathy in return. She forced herself to keep moving, forced herself not to look back at David, no matter how much she might have wanted to.

Things with David might have been destined for disaster, but at least Ariadne had made a friend out of all of it.

At least she would have Phoebe’s shoulder to cry on when everything went to pieces.

CHAPTER 20

The letter was definitely odd.

You are cordially invited to a soiree at Bacchus House, by invitation only. Attire is informal; masks are required.

Then, there was a date and time.

And then, below that, a note in David’s own hand, not in the elegant calligraphy of the strangely formal invitation.

Come an hour early.

And that was it. Nolittle bird, no flirtatious comments.

For the first time, Ariadne was tempted not to do as he asked. This time, it wasn’t because going to the party remained a bad idea, although it was still certainly that. And it wasn’t becauseshe still feared that her emotions were a little too compromised—though they likely were.

It was because of all the mad emotions she’d had around David—and they had beenmany—this was the first time that she had felt mildly offended.

The note feltrude.

She went, but she did so in a bit of a huff.

“What,” she demanded, waving the note at him tartly as she barged into his study, “is this?”

“Hello, little bird,” he said from where he was lounging near an open set of veranda doors. He was wearing another one of those charming looks, the ones that she now knew were a front, a mask as much as the things he wore at his parties. She felt even more offended at the sight. Did he really think she could be fooled by this façade? Why did he even want to fool her? Hadn’t they always been clear with one another? Wasn’t that the wholepointof what they were doing with one another?

“Don’t youlittle birdme,” she said irritably. She planned to stay irritable, damn it all. She would not let his charm or his stupid, handsome face distract her. “What bizarre, impersonal,commandingtwaddle is this?”

He winced atimpersonaland cringed outright atcommanding.

“I… I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re right.”

Just like that, Ariadne’s anger went out like a candle that had been snuffed.

She hadn’t thought he would trulyadmitthat he’d been wrong. But he had—easily. And he hadapologized.

“Why are you like this?” she asked, throwing up her hands. She was wearing her beautiful swan dress again. She almost hadn’t—he didn’t deserve to see her looking so fine, not with how strangely he had been acting—but she didn’t have anything else that was suitable for the kind of parties that were thrown at Bacchus House.

“I…don’t follow,” David said slowly, rising and approaching her cautiously, like one might approach an animal suspected to be feral.

“You were sopolitein the park,” she said, making it sound like the vilest oath. “And then you sent me this note.” She shook it again. “Who even wrote this?” She kept going, not letting him answer. “Andthenyouapologize?”

“Was I not supposed to apologize?” he asked, sounding genuinely baffled.